Long Camelride from Aga Khan to the Monastery of Simeon, Qubbet-el-Hawa and the Tombs of the Nobles (and boat to bring and get you from there)

I meet Mustafa at Elefantine near the ferry facing Aswan. Its always nice again to suround the island by boat, I love the sights of other feluccas sailing, the sight of Ibises sitting nearby. We arrive at the beach on the other side of the Nile and Mustafa asks Chratib to bring me with his camel up to the Monastery of Simeon. Both were laughing while the camel stood up, with me on top of it. What a funny feeling. He returned to his felucca, which had brought me from Elephantine to Aga Khan, where the camels are waiting, and let me ride west with the cameleer beside me. "Just call me after you finished."

We move up to the Monastery of Simeon. I am the only tourist up there, buy a ticket (20 EGP) and the waiter invites me to be my guide. It is an amazing tour I get: he does not only explain, he is acting, he should get the next Oscar in Hollywood. He knots his (imagined long hair) up into a hole in the ceiling, to show - in case the monch would fall asleep during prayer and his head drop down - the pain would wake him up. He is acting inside this beautiful surrounding and let me guess what he is doing: baptising, baking bread, eating, making wine - just to mention a few. He shows me the sleeping rooms, the "garage of the camels" and many more interesting places. He was worth the tip I give him after the tour.

We continue the ride to Qubbet El Hawa, the "Dome of the Winds". My guide and his camel try to catch their breath after a long and steep way up through a lot of sand. I climb the ruin and feel the winds meet under the cuppola: what a nice view! Left, I see Gharb Aswan, the big Nubian village with all its blue houses, beneath feluccas in the blue river, the skyline of Awan behind, to the right Elephantine and Kitchener Island, at the horizon the highdam,

Mustafa is already waiting with his felucca. I had called him from Qubbet-El-Hawa to come and bring me back to Aswan. I will have to come back with more time to visit the Tombs of the Nobles inside.

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