Land of the Pharaohs

       (continued)

            Photography by Roy Slovenko

Among the locals, the common means of river transport is the felucca, the traditional Egyptian sailboat.

In the scene below, felucca water-taxis are lined up at the dock of the Mausoleum of Aga Khan, in Aswan.  (The Aga Khan was the leader of the Ismaili sect of Muslim Shiites.)

During the tourist season, hundreds of cruise boats of various types and sizes sail up and down the Nile River.  Shallow water and ever-shifting sandbars make navigation tricky.

A felucca sailor

Aswan musician

On a rocky island south of Aswan stands Philae Temple, dedicated to Isis, the sister of Osiris.  The temple originally stood on another island, now submerged in the artificial lake formed when the High Dam of Aswan was built.  The buildings were carefully dismantled and rebuilt on this island, higher than the waters of the lake.