Nubian Village Wonders: Our Aswan Adventure
I realize I waited too long to book a hotel in Aswan the evening before we go on our cruise between Aswan and Luxor. In retrospect, many, many people will be doing a similar cruise as ours and will need a night in Aswan as well. But now most options are way too high for our budget. My preferred vendor of choice, Hotels.com, has super slim pickings, so I find a low-cost option through Bookings.com. It’s directly on the Nile, but I missed the nuance that it’s on the West Bank. I don’t worry about it too much because there are boats everywhere to take you across the river. The hotel proactively reaches out to see when we are arriving from Luxor and asks if we need transportation from the train station to the hotel. Of course we do, so we get a price and confirm plans. The hotel communicates well through WhatsApp and asks us to let them know when we are boarding the train, when we reach Edfu, and then again when our train leaves the Kom Ombo station. We do all this expecting that the driver will arrive at or around the time we arrive in Aswan. We look for the black Hyundai, but it hasn’t arrived. The hotel assures us that the driver is on his way. We’re hungry and hot and swarmed by taxi drivers. Like everywhere in Egypt, people want to know where you are from so that they can establish a relationship and then pitch their wares. I’m polite, but assure each person who asks that I already have a driver coming. They are persistent but friendly. The hotel assures us that the driver is only five minutes away, but after another 30 minutes, we are frustrated. We step away from the shaded taxi area into the baking sun, but that doesn’t help our mood.
The driver finally shows up and wants to make small talk, but I’m not really feeling it. I am trying to understand why he’s late despite all of our communication with the hotel. As we leave the busy part of the city, I warm up to the difficulty of this commute. We eventually start going through sandy areas and weave through an open-air market of vendors that goes on for quite a distance. At one point the vehicle gets stuck in sand and we panic that we’ll be stuck somewhere. This isn’t the driver’s first rodeo, and before long, we are going again. Along the way we pass camels and this area feels somewhat similar to the rural West Bank of Luxor where our Airbnb is located.
Our cruise company pings me and we go back and forth regarding where to meet up in the morning for our tours that begin at 8am. They’re supposed to be providing transportation for us, but they tell us that we should coordinate with our hotel to take us across the river. I have questions that I hope the hotel will be able to clear up for us. We finally arrive at Nubian Palace, which is a stucco building painted in bright colors similar to the others in the area. Kevin and I still have to improve how we communicate. He asked me how much to give as a tip, but I didn’t realize that he didn’t actually pay the driver for the ride. It turned out in our favor since apparently the hotel was getting a cut of the total (£200 Egyptian) and they needed us to pay them versus the driver.
Once we take a beat, we drink in our surroundings. Nubian Village is bright, colorful, welcoming, and like nothing we’ve ever seen. We later learn that Nubians are indigenous people from the ancient African civilization that once lived and ruled in Egypt. Most live in their ancestral homeland in southern Egypt and northern Sudan. We begin to understand that this out-of-the way hotel is part of something special, and we are grateful to be here and learn more about it.
We’re starving, so we opt for a late, leisurely lunch, which also allows us to soak in everything around us. Camels with tourists seated on colorful rugs strut by, and then their guides sprint back solo so that more tourists can see the sights from these high perches. We are steps from the Nile and watch the ferries and feluccas float down the river. When the food comes, we’re overwhelmed by the quantity and the fragrant smells. The food is traditional Egyptian but with a twist. There is more spice and heat, and it’s delicious. It’s exactly what our taste buds have been craving. We’re shocked that this meal is included in the tiny nightly cost for the hotel.
We go up to our room, and at each landing there is something unique to see. There are sheets hanging to dry and a room with couches for lounging, and above all, the traditional taxidermy crocodiles that are revered here. Our room has a beautiful outdoor patio, and while there are mosquitos, there also are colorful boats, some with flashing lights and lively music, to distract us. The full moon completes the scene, and we once again have to pinch ourselves that we get to be here and experience all this beauty.
The lure of the water and the memory of the energy lure us outside to explore our location. Aswan is known for its perfumeries, essential oils, incense, and spices, so the smells in the air match the explosion of colors and sounds. We hear children laughing during their games of chase, barking dogs, vendors cajoling people into their stalls, horns honking, motorcycles revving, and disco music rounding out it all. We soak it all in because we know we only have this evening to enjoy it all. Our trepidation at booking in this unfamiliar, dusty, out-of-the-way place has transformed into being one of our most magical days in Egypt.
