In Aswan, a photo from Aswan, Inland

Photographer's Note

when I was in Aswan in the nineties, it was a rather small town with just two streets in the centre. Now it is a big city. From Aswan, we went to see the Dam, Philae Temples and the Botanical Garden on the Kitchener island, so there was no time for the city itself. In my free time, I went with my friend for a two hours lazy ride by felucca.

In antiquity, Aswan was called Syene. There was a well there, that once in a year, at noon each summer solstice, the Sun rays went straight down to the bottom of it. It means that Sun was straight ahead. Eratosthenes, a Greek polymath, was a chief librarian in Alexandria. According to the legend, he hired the bematist, the professional man trained to heave equal steps, to measure the distance from Alexandria to Aswan. He got 5000 stadia (the ancient unit of length). On the same day of the solstice, he measured the angle cast by the shadow of the vertical rod in Alexandria. It was a bit more than 7 degrees. Having these data, he could find the circumference of the Earth - 40 000 km.

And think that there are still the people who argue that the Earth is flat!

Here is the view of the Qubbet el Hawa - the necropolis dating from 2500 BC to Roman times. I would love to climb the hill but there was not enough time.

Two more photos in Workshops.

holmertz, ikeharel, jhm, pierrefonds, Royaldevon, jean113, PaulVDV, COSTANTINO, jemaflor, adramad, mcmtanyel, aliabazari ha contrassegnato questa nota come utile

Critiques | Translate

holmertz (102636) 2022-02-02 2:26

Hello Malgo,
I have never been here, but I think this is a classic view of that hill. Tourism seems to have been reasonably busy, judging from the several boats that animate the view. It was a good idea to include a slice of the canvas to show that this was taken from a similar boat. Colours are good and there are nice reflections in the water. Nice WS too, but I would find it more respectful to the Nubian to call him a 'man', rather than a 'guy'.
Kind regards,
Gert

jhm (211736) 2022-02-02 4:50

Hello Malgo,

The last years are villages, cities become, this is not only in Egypte.
We see no city on your picture but a very nice and quiet trip with the boat.
An excellent composition.
Colours are soft and pleasant.
Very well done, TFS.

Best regards,
John

pierrefonds (114371) 2022-02-02 5:14

Hi Malgo,

The length of the river is creating depth. The point of view is showing the details of the boats and of the hill in the background. The light is bringing out the colors. Have a nice day.

Pierre

Royaldevon (85862) 2022-02-02 7:20

Hello Malgo,

Your inclusion of the bridge, and the boats, creates a fine sense of place, a sense of movement and depth to the hill.
Love the colours and reflections on the water.
The w/s are interesting additions.

My warm regards,
Bev :-)

jean113 (27819) 2022-02-02 10:02

Hello Malgo, a fascinating note.
Three good shots that give us a flavour of your trip on the dam.
Interesting reflection of the hill on the water.
Kind regards, Jean.

Tue (92312) 2022-02-02 10:40

Hello Malgo,
A nice view across the river towards the high sand dunes with a bit of green on either side. The two small ships with their white colour and red and green details are well included also.
Lars

lousat (139198) 2022-02-02 11:33

Ciao Malgo,the last city at the end of Nile cruise,most touristic and that i remember with pleasure,modern colorful boats but still felucas too,and a "private" trip in this Nile zone is a must, 3 very nice pics well done as usual! Have a nice evening and thanks,Luciano

foxy (3461) 2022-02-02 11:33

Hello MALgo,
This brought back my memory of Aswan. Good and Bad :-)
Bad ... I got harassed and pick-pocketed. Luckily, it was a small bamboo coin pouch I bought in Thailand. No money inside , just used entry-ticket and a note ( for toilet ).
Good ... I love Aswan more than Luxor. There are a lot of things to do and see. As you said, there was not enough time. I was on the boat ( seen here ) twice not felucca.
I enjoyed the tour to Nubian Village. I was glad that no camel riding in the tour.
For me, the best photo is the WS1. That's what we did on the boat ... singing and dancing but not on the roof :-) Oh, I see that there are taking pictures ... wrong impression :-(
Yeah, I've heard that the Earth is flat. I don't know what is wrong with our societies.
Thanks for sharing Aswan , a city I like.
Loong

Silvio1953 (221493) 2022-02-02 11:53

Ciao cara Malgo,fascinating landscape with great river, lovely composition with beautiful boats, wonderful natural colors, splendid light and excellent clarity, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

PaulVDV (62846) 2022-02-02 12:07

Hello Malgo,
I surely remember the view in your main photo. I was there in April 2004. But it looks more modern now. Of course in this photo there are only the new boats on the Nile that can make the view look more modern.
I remember the cruise ships that arrived in Aswan (all on the same day and they all left on another day making it quiet in Aswan on the other days). I also remember the feluccas and made a small trip in one in the evening. But on the way back my felucca entered a large whirlpool near the river bank and the skipper had great difficulties getting out of it. Frankly, I thought that were a few scary minutes.
Most of the feluccas I saw in 2004 were very old and relatively dirty. At the time I didn't see those new white boats.
Aswan was larger than a few streets but not a very big city.
I enjoyed my time in Aswan but there was a lot of pressure to take a felucca trip.
I remember I stayed in a very clean and modern hotel room. Including a good breakfast it cost me then 6 € per night :)
Best regards, Paul

ifege (47993) 2022-02-02 19:28

Hi Malgo
A good photo looking across to the intriguing looking old necropolis and 2 useful WSs as well.
cheers
Ian

COSTANTINO (116405) 2022-02-02 22:44

Hello my dear Malgorzata
have a nice new day
I hope that one day I will
travel to Egypt to visit
all the archaeological monuments...
Lets hope that my dream
will be real...
regards
Costantino

jemaflor (147046) 2022-02-02 23:27

Hi Malgo,
Nice view, pleasant trip I suppose, nice light and brightness for the blue water, interesting frame with the roof, good idea for your shot, tfs.

adramad (72940) 2022-02-03 11:23

Hi Malgo.
A wonderful composition with the majestic Nile and those tourist boats, which add charm to the composition, ideally the riverbank with that high dune of golden sand.
A beautiful composition, with great colors, splendid light and the sharpness is excellent with fine details.
Very well done, I like it
All the best for you.
Luis.

jmdias (115072) 2022-02-04 9:30

malgo

nice views of the boats in the nile, the main post have a special contrast of the water against the desert. nice note, I didn't know he had contracted a man to measure the distance between these two points. the brain is the better instrument.

take care

jorge

mcmtanyel (68421) 2022-02-06 16:59

Hello Malgo,
Three fine photos from your felucca escapade. Frankly, my favorite is the one with the people dancing on top of the felucca.
Regards,
MT