1000places > KITCHENER'S ISLAND - Some of the multi-hued hydrangas growing on Kitchener's Island.
1000places > CONQUER A COUNTRY, GET AN ISLAND - One of our felucca trips took us to Kitchener’s Island.  Lord Horatio Herbert Kitchener was an Irish-born British Field Marshal, diplomat, and statesman in the 1890s.  In 1899, for his part in helping to re-conquer the Sudan, he was given his own island. Kitchener was a keen horticulturist and turned his island home into a botanical garden.
1000places > ASWAN - Two of the "gin-and-tonic" crowd we ran into on the balcony of the Old Cataract Hotel.
1000places > FELUCCA FLOATING - Soon after our arrival in Aswan, we were treated to a sail onboard a felucca.  An Egyptian proverb says: "The one who voyages the Nile must have sails made of patience. If Allah wills it, the wind will come and give speed for your journey.”  Allah must have been willing.  Our pilot sought out and caught the light breeze, and we drifted silently across the river.
1000places > FELUCCA FLOATING - The most mesmerizing aspect of the Nile was watching the feluccas silently drift from one side of the river to the other.  With their towering triangular sails, feluccas have been used for thousands of years on the Nile.  They are still a common mode of transport for people and goods.
1000places > ASWAN - For some of our trips across the river, particularly when our schedule was tight, we chose not to rely on the whims of Allah and the wind; instead, we would board a more modern motorboat.
1000places > ASWAN - As interesting as the passing scenery was, however, the more intriquing photograph was often of our stoic pilot.
1000places > ASWAN - WHERE EGYPT BEGINS – We landed after dark in Aswan, so it wasn't until dawn the next morning when we could get our first look at the city.  In antiquity, Aswan was considered the “front door” of Egypt because the Egyptians always oriented themselves to the south toward the source of the Nile.
1000places > ASWAN - THE VIEW! -- And what a first view it was.  Looking out our hotel room, we had this view of the Nile, the First Cataract, and on the far hillside, the Mausoleum of Aga Khan.
KITCHENER'S ISLAND - Some of the multi-hued hydrangas growing on Kitchener's Island.

1000places > KITCHENER'S ISLAND - Some of the multi-hued hydrangas growing on Kitchener's Island.
KITCHENER'S ISLAND - Some of the multi-hued hydrangas growing on Kitchener's Island.

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