Early this morning our yacht started sailing towards our next destination. The breakfast outside was a lovely scene of the banks of the Nile. Our first stop is at the Gebel Silsila Temple and Quarries. The quarries are for mining sandstones, which are softer and easier to cut. Many of the monuments in Egypt are built from sandstones. They are not as hard as granite, which are often used for obelisks.
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| Carvings from the Temple |
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| Sandstone that has been cut |
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| Straight edge of sandstone that were cut |
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| A group picture at the quarry |
We'll follow up the quarry visit with a visit to visit a local farm in Beast Island This is part of OAT's "A Day in the Life" series where we visit a local person to understand their lives, family and occupation. The farmer's ancestors moved here after the Aswan High Dam was built. The land was previously owned by weather landowners. The farmers grow mango, bananas, dates, guava, and fish for tilapia and crawfish, which they export to other countries. The farmer also grow other vegetables in the winter time - zucchini, okra, tomatoes, lettuce, etc. They also have livestock that they care for. We have to take a smaller boat to reach the farmer's island.
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| Visiting the village |
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| A traditional oven |
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| Explaining how he pumps water. In the background are banana trees and date palms |
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| Gathering to talk about girls' education and lunch |
That evening the yacht docked at a nearby village. The crew set up a beautiful dinner with music to entertain us. It was a departure from the typical on-board dinner. Everyone enjoyed the surprise entertainment.
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