Luka Esenko's blog » Egypt

Nubians of Aswan

Luka — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:20:23 +0000

Aswan is the southernmost city in Egypt and a place where the Nile cataracts begin. Impossibly hot in summer and pleasantly warm in winter. When I first visited Aswan I thought this place is magic! Now after a few years I still think the same. Whenever I am in Egypt I just can’t wait to relax on the felucca Nile cruise operated skillfully by a Nubian captain.

Nile at Aswan is different than the Nile in Lower Egypt. There are no green cultivated fields by the river banks, sand dunes of the Western desert reach to the river directly. While the city of Aswan dominates the eastern side of the river, there are only a few Nubian villages and the desert on the western side. There is no bridge at Aswan and the feluccas and motor boats are the only way to get from one side of the river to another.

Who are Nubians? Nubians are the people that live in Upper Egypt and Northern Sudan in the region called Nubia. (Do not confuse them with Nuba people that live in the Southern Sudan and are being victims of a nasty civil war) With a history and traditions which can be traced to the dawn of civilization, the Nubian first settled along the banks of the Nile from Aswan. Along this great river they developed one of the oldest and greatest civilizations in Africa. Until they lost their last kingdom (Christian Nubia) only five centuries back the Nubians remained as the main rivals to the other great African civilization of Egypt.

In the 1960-ties most of their traditional homeland was submerged because of the construction of the Aswan’s high dam. The 500 km long Lake Nasser now stretches along Nubia and many Nubian people were resettled further down the Nile.

One of the Nubian villages on the western bank of the Nile. You can easily recognise their villages by nicely painted houses which represent a stark contrast to dull desert colours.

Aga Khan mausoleum on the western bank of the Nile.

Aswan (from left), Elephantine island and Lord Kitchener’s botanical gardens as seen from the top of the Tombs of the nobles.

A young Nubian boy in front of one of the painted houses. In some villages children (and sometimes even women) will beg for money or sweets. Please do not encourage them by giving them something! Buy a bracelet or some other handicrafts from them instead! This way they can earn money in a honourable way. A bracelet usually costs 5LE and a necklace around 10-15LE (Egyptian Pound).

Nubian housewife at her kitchen. Her mother invited us for a cup of tea and she was kind enough to show me around her modest but clean house.

Nubian girls in front of their house. Before marriage Nubian women wear colourful dresses and after wedding they wear black (at least their head scarf). I hope it doesn’t mean they stop living;)

Hamdi. A chief of the Nubian village on Elephantine island. Very friendly and easy-going man that proudly took us around his village.

Nubian lady with hand-made baskets.

Some of the hand-made crafts Nubians sell to tourists to supplement their income. They are natural musicians and have incredible feeling for rhythm (especially with drums). The funny looking “violins” are called Rababa and after years I still haven’t found out how to get a decent non-window-breaking sound out of it.

A boy wearing Man United jersey and a billiard table in Nubian village – well even Nubians are not immune to western influences. Not to mention TV sets and fans in every house

Shutters are closed during the day to prevent the heat coming into the house. Do not ask me what all these decorations mean. They look nice though.

I met this Nubian boy at a bazaar close to Philae island. He was selling hats and when he saw my big camera asked me to photograph him. It was a pleasure for both of us…

Felucca on the Nile – a must do when you visit Aswan. And try to speak to your Nubian captain – they are friendly and proud people and maybe he will invite yu to visit his village.

Next February or March (2011) I am preparing a photographic tour to Egypt. 15 days, from Alexandria to Aswan plus Sinai – an unforgettable journey and lifetime experience. If you are interested, let me know – I will have the details ready soon!

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Following the steps of Moses

Luka — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 00:07:02 +0000

“In the third month,
when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt,
the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai…”
-Exodus, Chapter 19-

Sinai peninsula in Egypt is totally amazing place to visit! At a first glance it looks kind of dull – just rocks and sand – everywhere the same. But the longer you stay there the more it has to offer. Everybody finds something for himself – rich history, moon-like landscape with colourful canyons, religious experience, sun and sand holidays, local Bedouin culture experience, adrenaline sports or amazing underwater world. It pays to do a little bit of reading before you visit the peninsula. Even if you are not interested in history, it is not hard to imagine that this was the place where Pharaohs were passing when going to wars, where Moses was wandering with his nation and where he received the ten commandments. And recent history is turbulent as well – the building of Suez canal, the six-day war in 1967 and other more recent conflicts with Egypt’s strong neighbor.
One of the must-dos is definitely a climb to Mount Sinai. In local language it is called Gebel musa, which would be translated to Moses’s mountain. The mountain is believed to be the place where Moses received the ten comandments from God. It is a very special place, sacred to Muslims, Christians and Jews. At the foot of the Mount Sinai lies the Saint Catherine monastery and this is the starting point of the climb. It usually starts soon after midnight as the majority of people want to experience the sunrise on the mountain. This is also the most crowded time of the day(or night) to make visit. There are allways hundreds of people ascending the Camel route with flashlights, which looks like a serpent of light – you can see this ont the first two photos.

The night sky is incredibly clear – there is not much light pollution around.

Everybody is expecting the magnificet moment – the birth of a new day.

The sun has not risen yet, but the first light has already lightened ridged mountains.

The last climbers are hurrying up not to miss the sunrise.

The moment has come! The amazing sunlight has illuminated the ridge in completely different colour.

A view to the same direction as three minutes ago – what a difference!

Young backpackers enjoying the gentle sun on the top.

Preparing for the morning mass on the top of the mountain. A profound experience!

A view to the south.

A Christian Chapel on top of Gebel Musa.

Bedouin boy named Husein is selling semi-precious stones. He speaks understandble English and he told be a few interesting things. A building behind him is a Mosque.

The night shift is over. Young Bedouin is collecting the warm blankets he rented to pilgrims during the cold night.

Stairway to heaven?

A view to the monastery from the end of the stone step way.

Mighty walls of the monastery.

A climb to Mt. Sinai is an experience you will never forget. It is not demanding as it seems at first – a lot of people I wouldn’t think they are capable of doing it, went right to the top. Everybody can do it with his own pace and if the body lets you down you can always hire a camel:). Maybe the lat part of the way is a bit more demanding due to steepness of the stone steps, but it is just a few hundred meters below the peak. there are two ways to the top – a Camel way, which is easier and most of the people take this one. The other is shorter but more steep and I would recommend it to you on the way back to the monastery. It is not suitable to climb this way up during the night. The climb usually takes around 2-3 hours, but one can be to the top in less than 1,5 hours. It is not a race though.

A trip to Saint Catherine can be easily organised from your hotel or at local travel agencies. You can also rent a taxi or join a private van from all the major tourist towns (Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba,…) at the Sinai coastline. The cheapest way to get there is public bus, but its schedule is not as convenient as with organised trips.

Some additional reading:
All Sinai info
Official tourism portal of Egypt
Moses receiving the 15, oops – 10 commandments.

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Sunset on the Nile

Luka — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 20:48:25 +0000

Felucca is cruising down the Nile while the sun sets over the western banks of the mighty river.

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Sufi dancing in Cairo

Luka — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 18:16:05 +0000

Cairo, the capital city of Egypt is one of the most fascinating places I’ve ever been to. Chaos at its best; polluted air, traffic jams, rubbish everywhere, all the smells of the world, street touts – it all adds to the great atmosphere of the city. I really enjoyed Cairo this new year’s holidays and one of the things I liked the most was the Al Taura Troupe and their Sufi dance performance. Actually I’ve seen them couple of times before, but this time I had my camera with me, so I used the opportunity to make some shots.

Read on for more photos and information about the show.

For some time the Sufis were performing at the Citadel, but now they returned to Al-Ghouri Mausoleum. This picturesque place is situated nearby the Khan el Khalili souk. You will find it in a narrow street between the Al Azhar and Al Ghouri mosques. If you have problems with finding the location just ask locals, they will be glad to take you there – for a small compensation – baksheesh. Sufis perform twice a week on Wednesday and Saturday at 8:30 pm. Admission free. Be sure that you get there early as it fills up quickly. Sound recording and filming with video-camera is prohibited, but you can take photos freely. And believe me – you will take a lot of photos!

You can read more about the show and Sufism here or at Wikipedia.

UPDATE March 2010: Sufis still perform at the same days and hours as described in this post….

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Luka Esenko's blog » Egypt

Nubians of Aswan

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Following the steps of Moses

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