This is Part 3 of the series “Middle East 2024” which took place in Aswan in November 2024.

I finally reached Aswan close to midnight after a 3-hour Uber from Alexandria to Cairo Airport and a 1-hour flight. I got on my pre-arranged taxi to my accommodation which took around half an hour. It was 550 EGP which I paid to the hostel with no tips given.

Wanees Hostel

I stayed in Wanees Hostel which is in the midst of the souq which was thankfully not too noisy. I got a nice double room to myself with a clean shared bathroom. There was thankfully not much noise, probably because it was at the fourth floor. There was no elevator so I had to carry my suitcase all the way up. The host Biba was really friendly and reached out to me via WhatsApp to finalise details on the airport transfer. Overall a nice and affordable stay!

Starting my day

After a good night’s rest, I was ready to explore Aswan. I was hoping to explore the western bank as well as the islands, perhaps on a boat. I did not have a concrete plan, I just wanted to somehow get there. Some blogs mentioned public transport while others mentioned boat and camel. In the end, I managed to visit the western bank of Aswan and Elephantine Island on a felucca.

After having breakfast at McDonald’s, I was greeted by someone called Mustafa who asked if I wanted to take his felucca for 700 EGP (around US$14 / S$20). After confirming that includes the western bank and Elephantine Island, I said yes. Yes, I did not even bargain because the prices online for a one-hour ride were at least double of that. In retrospect, I could have negotiated further. Always negotiate in Egypt.

Mustafa and I immediately went up the boat operated by his assistant, a sweet middle-aged man who smiled a lot. The ride started at around 10:45am. The ride took quite long because it is powered by wind rather than motor. The impatient city boy in me was a little annoyed but I took this time to just relax and feel the breeze. Good thing today was meant to be a chill day and how else to do so by taking a relaxing felucca on the river?

Musing Through a Mausoleum and Monastic Marvels

After an hour on the felucca, we finally reached the western bank where the Aga Khan Mausoleum and the Coptic monasteries are. There were some camels and donkeys resting under the hot sun. It is possible to take a camel ride up the slope although we just walked.

Aga Khan Mausoleum & St Hedra Monastery

The entrance to Aga Khan Mausoleum was very close to the shore but is unfortunately not open to the public. It is built of pink limestone and modelled after Masjid al-Juyushi, a Fatimid mosque in Cairo. This was built for Aga Khan III who passed on in 1957. His wife Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan was known for placing a red rose on his tomb every day when she was in Egypt. Their son Aga Khan IV was also buried there in 2025.

We spent around 10 minutes walking up the slope from the shore to St Hedra Monastery which was also closed. I took a few photos quickly before we continued to St Simeon Monastery.

St Simeon Monastery

We walked for another 10 minutes (which included a walk around the perimeter of St Simeon Monastery) before entering. It was built in the 7th-century and was initially dedicated to Anba Hedra, a local saint who renounced the world on his wedding day. It was rebuilt in the 10th century and dedicated to its namesake, St Simeon. Monks will then travel from here to Nubia to preach. The church of the monastery is one of the first domed Egyptian churches, this website provides further details on the architecture. I paid 100 EGP in cash to enter.

A guide “adopted” me by showing me around the monastery with 10-metre high walls surrounding it. There were traces of frescoes and we could see where they did their cooking. The monastery also hosted up to 1,000 monks as well as travellers (even of different religions) with graffiti marking their presence from centuries ago. Egypt really doesn’t just have ancient Pharaohs, it also has plenty of history from other time periods.

After the short tour, I gave my guide a tip. He said that sunglasses were expensive in Egypt so I guess that travellers can give sunglasses as tips? After all, some on Xiaohongshu claim that they give cooling balm and pens as tips. Looks like I should have made a trip to Yiwu before this…

In total, we spent around 20 minutes in the monastery. I took my time to explore the ruins and to admire the desert and the Nile.

Tomb and Dome sound similar

We then returned to the boat where we spent 30-40 minutes moving northwards. I wanted to see the Tombs of the Nobles but they somehow heard “tomb” as “dome” so off I went on the camel to Dome of Abu Al-Hawa.

I scanned the QR code to purchase my ticket online. Mustafa then brought me to his Nubian friend to bring me up to the Dome on the camel for an extra 700 EGP.

The Nubian dude then walked in front of the camel to go up the slope and kept saying how money wasn’t the most important thing for Nubians. Walking up the slope on the camel was rather shaky and I did not dare to use my phone much. We made a short stop to get some rest as well as to take photos. The views of the eastern bank and the Nile with all the boats were just phenomenal.

We reached the peak where there were some local boys visiting and we took some photos together. Frankly, the Dome did not feel like the main attraction, it was more of the panoramic views that we could get from this viewpoint. How nice it would have been to view the sunset from here! We stayed from around 10 minutes.

Walking through Nubian Village

We then headed back down and walked through the Nubian village which has many colourful houses. He asked if I wanted to have tea (for a fee of course!) but by then, it was almost 3 pm so I declined.

I definitely wasn’t miffed about going up to the Dome (the camel ride took around an hour) as I was already expecting to see many tombs on my Nile cruise and this was something different from the usual attractions. The views from the top were also magnificent where I could also speak to some locals.

Elephantine Island

In the interest of time, I requested Mustafa to drop me off at Elephantine Island.

After 40 minutes on the boat, we finally arrived at Elephantine Island. I ran out of Egyptian pounds so I paid Mustafa in US$20 which was 43% more than his original price. Of course he asked for more (they almost always do!) and I gave an additional 300 EGP to him and his assistant. Still, I didn’t think it was unreasonable since we did spend quite a lot of time on the boat and he brought me to the various attractions that I wanted to visit.

I then went to Nubian Dreams for an early dinner. The restaurant first served me a cold bottle of beer and the famous Nubian tea. The main course then arrived, it consisted of camel meat tagine with rice, bread, salad and tahini. It was a fantastic meal!

I walked around the streets of the island with little streets and colourful houses everywhere. It reminds me of the kampongs (villages) that have almost totally disappeared from Singapore.

Ancient monuments in the southern part of Elephantine Island

I walked to the southern end of the island where there were some ancient structures. Unfortunately, I did not manage to visit Aswan Museum and the Nilometer as it was already 5pm and they were closed.

I paid the attendant 200 EGP in cash to see the Elephantine Island pyramids and a few other structures. Frankly, I did not know what I was seeing and he could not explain too. The attendant may have walked with me but we seemed to have just covered a small portion of the site, likely because it was almost closing time. As such, I missed the Temple of Khnum, The Mysterious Granite Box and a stone gateway which may have been the most crucial parts of the site that I missed.

Is it possible to stay on Elephantine Island?

Yes, there are many guesthouses on the island! In fact, I was deciding between Elephantine Island and the eastern bank. Ultimately, I still chose staying on the mainland since it is more happening with fewer insects (many reviews mentioned insects). I feel more safe when there are more crowds. I also did not need to worry about taking the boat between the island and the mainland. It also got very dark after sunset which further confirmed my choice.

Walking around the souqs of Aswan

I walked around the souqs to see what was being sold. Generally, I don’t shop as much overseas, especially after learning about the existence of Alibaba and Yiwu. Furthermore, I had read up quite a bit on the rampant scamming in Egypt so I avoided looking too long at a single shop in general.

I ended up buying sugarcane juice as well as some water and juices to bring up to the cruise. There did not seem to be supermarkets nearby so I ended up stocking up for the cruise at a minimart. I paid 20 EGP for each 1.5L bottle of water and 25 EGP for each packet of Juhayna juice which were at least double the price of a supermarket. Looks like I could have even tried to negotiate in the minimart, especially since there were no price tags.

Epilogue

It was a relaxing day in Aswan today where I spent almost 5 hours on a so-called half-day tour visiting the Coptic and Islamic attractions of Aswan. There were far fewer foreign tourists on the western bank, making this more off the beaten path.

In retrospect, I should have opted for a quicker motorboat as the slow felucca ride resulted in me being unable to explore Elephantine Island as much as I would like. Those in a rush certainly should get a motorboat which is not subjected to the uncertainties of the wind. Furthermore, I wished I had done more research on the sites to get the most out of my visit.

I would also spend the next day exploring more of the eastern bank of Aswan.