Grand Tour of Egypt: Nubian Village, Aswan

This rock, used as a mooring for feluccas in the Nile, has hieroglyphics engraved on it.

Our dinner was to be at a Nubian village, a short felucca trip away.

We had seen mud brick villages from the road but had no idea of the intricacy of the narrow lanes and alley ways winding between houses and animal enclosures, all made of mud brick, with some walls smoothed over, painted and decorated. Outside the houses have a long bench, like a step, built into them so that people could sit out and chat. We followed our Nubian host, Mohammad, to the house of a man who had decorated his upstairs room with a mummified crocodile, jars of scorpions and young crocodiles in an enclosure. He had various artefacts for sale for those interested and those who wanted to could hold a baby crocodile.

After this diversion we set off in earnest for Mohammad’s house along a maze of streets, continuously lined with two storey mud brick houses, constantly twisting and turning and we quickly lost our sense of direction.

People were coming and going about their business and must have been surprised suddenly to come upon a motley crew of tourists. At one point we met an old woman who had lost a leg to diabetes, sitting on the ground begging for a cigarette. Mamdoh spoke to her and asked her her age. She replied coquettishly that she was 35. Meanwhile Mohammad was telling us that she is 75 and has had a tragic life, losing a daughter and most of her mind. It was dark and it seemed strange that she just happened to be sitting where we would pass. Someone gave her cigarettes and Mamdoh gave her some money.

Nubians are the indigenous people of parts of central and southern Egypt. They were one of Egypt’s enemies during the times of the Pharaohs. Thousands had to be relocated when the Aswan High Dam was built, as their villages were flooded. They speak a different language and, although they used to be Christian, most converted to Islam over the past century.

At last we arrived at Mohammad’s house and went upstairs to the rooftop, where there were carpets surrounded by cushions. We sat down to tea and a delicious meal and then had a little sing-along in the balmy evening air. We were called upon to sing and so led ‘Waltzing Matilda’. It was amusing that, despite the fact that we all spoke English, the song had to have extensive translations done for it to be understood. Nearly everyone knew the tune and had a vague idea of the words of the chorus, as it is used in Canada as a drinking song, but they were amazed to learn that it was really a tragic ghost story. Luckily we were first because Pamela turned out to be a trained singer and we would have lost confidence if she had sung before us. Visiting the village and experiencing Mohammad’s warm hospitality helped us to take a peep into real life in rural Egypt and we felt very privileged.