The region around Aswan is called Nubia. The name derives from the pharaonic word for gold: the gold Pharaos used in their luxurious jewellery came from here. The Nubians have their own culture and traditions and they seemed a bit less business-oriented than the rest of the Egyptians. The Nubian fish food is excellent but I was quite disappointed with my henna tattoo that I took in a Nubian village in the Elephantine island. It wasn't delicate enough and the quality was bad, the price I paid, 40 pounds (5 euros), was too much as well. I could have done better job myself and even the opportunity to speak with a local woman was lost as she spoke no English.
Tens of thousands of Nubians were relocated in the 1960's when the high dam was built to create the Lake Nasser a few kilometres south of Aswan. Some of them live in these villages but the majority in the awful block buildings in the hills behind Aswan.
A few steps away from Nile, the endless desert starts. In the hills on the West bank, the nobles of Aswan had their tombs built thousands of years ago. The colours are still bright and there are no tourists in sight. As everywhere in Egypt, you pay for the ticket and in addition a few pounds to the guardian who opens you the gates to the tombs and tries to make himself necessary by saying a few words about the history.
Funny detail on the wall: Pharaoh's sandal carrier. This was often a noble person, he was high in hierarchy since he needed to follow Pharaoh closely. In Cairo's great Egyptian Museum we actually saw some ancient sandals, exactly like the modern flip flops.
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