Day 12 - Aswan Dam

Another busy day!  Docked in the city of Aswan.  Toured the Aswan Dam(s), went shopping at a local market, then boarded a felucca for a leisurely sail back to our ship. 


Approaching our dock in Aswan

Gangplank is up, time to get off the ship!


First stop, the "Lower" Aswan Dam.  The "Upper" Aswan Dam is the large ridge in the back of the photo...

... another view!


Cross section schematic of the High Aswan Dam. it’s composed mostly of sand and rock muck.

What happens when you dam up the Nile?  You get this - Lake Nasser! Up to 22 miles wide and 300+ miles long. The dam allows Egyptian farmers downstream to plant/grow/harvest three crops a year!


John posing on the dam with Lake Nassar in the background...

Outflow back into the Nile on the north side of the lake...


Russian-Egyptian Friendship Monument. Per our tour guide, something like 2000 Russian engineers worked side by side with the Egyptians to build the dam.

Cool interior view looking up the monument tower...


At the local market, spices...

... and souvenirs galore!


Another spice shop.  Boy did it smell good!

Onboard our felucca, leisurely sailing back to our ship...


Burial tombs cut into the hillside...

Former Egyptian royal residence, now a hotel. Per our tour guide, this was the setting for the Agatha Christie novel “Death on the Nile”!


Floating up towards our cruise ship, the MS Antares. Ship was leased by Viking to supplement their fleet pending the launch of additional Viking river boats. Viking aptly renamed the ship Antares - the brightest star in the constellation Scorpio...

The small balcony right above the three portholes is our cabin. No passengers forward of us so we got a real nice view!