January 16

Today we are in Aswan and visited the Philae Temple. Our first stop was the dam that controls the Nile. I finally bought a Coke Zero and it was delicious. I’m saving the can for Allie; her brother collects coke cans. We took a ferry boat to the temple because it is on an island. Because of the dam, however, the temple has been moved, block by block, from Philae Island to Anjelica Island, having been under water for about 80 years (the first dam was built in 1904, the second in 1982). This too is a Hellenistic Temple, built around 200 BCE to 200 CE. The temple here contains the last official use of hieroglyphics—they soon transition to Coptic writing, which uses the Greek alphabet with 5 additional letters for the unique Egyptian sounds.
This temple also has graffiti (though it is incised, which is strange in itself). The early Christians left incised crosses when the temple was converted to a Coptic church. The French left graffiti when Napoleon came to this area and fought a battle near the pyramids. My favorite piece of graffiti is someone’s name, B. Mure, to which another person added “stultus est” (“is stupid”).
My favorite part about the morning was the chance to sit down with the guide, Hisham, over a delicious cup of cappuccino at the temple’s outdoor café. Soon others from the group joined and we discussed the characteristics of Egyptian and American education, esp. college.
At 5:30 we are going to the Aswan Market, and hopefully I’ll be able to get on the internet after dinner and tell you all about it.