Meri jaan key totey Khotey 
kaash tum Khoti hotey to main tum ko osi waqt reply kar deta jese hi PM receive karta 
neways jokes apart yaar oska PM tumsey bhi poorana hey 
or main jitni bhi koshish karloon tumhara kuch bhi dhoney main kaamyaab nahi honga isi liye I was just giving a hug to you 
Grrrr!!! aab mujhey poora eik ghanta lagey ga apney aap ko dhoney main
awesome .. u saved me a trip to Egypt .. thanks buddy!
I read all the lill details and saw all the pics. 2 ghantey pata hi nahi chaley kaise kat gaye 
taaliyan for NaasPeeta for such a beautiful display of his trip. I am impressed.
BTW, your meeting with Yvona was very romantic :k:
Habeby you know what i tracked down where Granda Ramsy photo’s are, my uncle in Dubai has them.. dont be disheartned though i will get them for you Inshallah..
The photo’s you jsut posted now are like…Wow, Mashallah such beautiful pictures!
I feel sorry for that rajul Hakeem for putting up with you… Bless him!
and oh Dahood Baasha 
or what!!!
Aatif : Thanks a lot Aatif for going thru the whole thread and a very nice reply :~)
Keep peeping inn to have a look and feel of upcoming Southern Egypt’s Pictures :~)
Dai_Sista : habibti!! wallah hey .. howa rujjaal qoais .. I mean Hakeem was really a nice guy :~) but not nicer than Dahood Bhaasha
neways now I am waiting for your uncle to send you back the photos .. so I can have them too
Thanks for liking the pictures and a nice reply :~)
I’ll take you guys to Aswan .. In my next post :~)
Thanks for sharing....
zaleel insaan:2guns:
i loved the pics..library seems great..looks more like a resource center to me. The pics of bazars reminded me of karachi and i loved Yvone's pic..she looks great with the smile. Will you go for her wedding?
Pita bread unkil, is it possible for you two to show me how the dishes looks like..the 2 you mentioned in your posts.
Aur itnay smack martay hain aap..sir may to darad lagnay lagta hay..thoray reduce kar dain..shukria :)
Splendid! :k: Man i wish you would compile it in the form of a book and give it to me for reading in winter evenings. This is so very good indeed.
Your write well too :k: and your night photography is great-care to share some tips?
again a :k: 2 u Sir G
u know u don’t hv 2 worry ever 4 livin na
n another :k: 4 ur retention abilitiez na, hum tau yeh bhi yaad nahin rukh paatay kai shoppin pai kittey paisay khurch haugayai 
do u rem all of it i mean kai were u recordin or writin some where coz it’s v detailed na, tau how were u managin collectin all da info along wid ur daily visita wagaira. had u planned it all earlier ?
Dilsey : You are welcome :~)
Gadha : 
Qrius : bhatiji Dawood Basha is just meat balls ..ummm looks more like our kofta’s :~) and Kushri is a mixture of Rice and macaronis .. served with very hot sauce :~) or yaar pictures to nahi hain mere paas but I’ll try to find out their recipes for you :~)
Rahi baat Yvona ki to kuch pata nahi .. agar zinda raha to zaroor jaonga .. warna bhoot ban kar osko daraoonga 
or yea raha eik or just for you :~)
Khanzada : bhai sahab yeah thread hi complete nahi hoo raha book likhney betha to umar (age wali umar) hi guzar jaye gi
neways thanks for the reply .. and liking the pictures :~)
Simply Seema : hairat hey tum 4 rupey ki shopping kar key bhi bhool jati hoo key kiya khareeda tha ??? bhulakar kaheen ki!!!
and mohtarma Yes I was taking my notes every evening .. or whenever I get a chance to be alone for a while :~) warna itna faltoo dimagh to mere paas bhi nahi hey
neways thanks for your reply :~) stay tuned to have a look and feel of another ancient city of Egypt :~)
Phewww!!! Finally I got some time to continue with my story :~)
Ok guys now let me take you today to the Southernmost part of Egypt --> Aswan :~)
The Ancient Egyptians called it Swen .. and considered it to be not only the end of the world .. but also the sacred source of the Nile and granite from which they built most of their temples ... For centuries! Aswan was the gateway to Africa and the lands of Nubia .. The Copts called it Souan .. meaning 'trade' .. from which the present-day Aswan is derived .. In time of the Ptolemies and ancient Egyptians .. the town of Syene stood southwest of the present day city ..
Syene was situated on the island of Yeb .. or today's Elephantine Island .. it was a major trade center with Nubia and the rest of Africa .. caravans, camel trade, gold and ivory markets .. where traded there up until Islamic times .. The word Yeb! is Nubian for 'elephant' .. therefore the Greeks called the island Elephantine Island :~) Yeb was where most of the ivory and gold trading would take place .. Due to its strategic location .. Aswan was chosen as the first capital of Upper Egypt and the Ptolemies used it as a
base to enter Nubia .. Sudan and Central Africa .. and it was they who built the beautiful Temple of Philae .. Throughout history .. from Pharaonic to Islamic .. governments have been sending troops to Aswan in order to protect Egypt from any southern invasions :~)
Since Alexandria is the Northern border of Egypt I had to cross the whole country to reach Aswan :~) and as per my plan from Aswan I’ll goto Abu Simbel .. (the border of Sudan and Egypt) than gradually start traveling towards North until I reach Cairo .. to take a flight back to KSA :~)
There was no direct Trains available from Alex. to Aswan .. so I had to reach Cairo first .. and take an overnight train to Aswan from there :~)
I left Alex at 6:00pm and I was at Cairo at around 8:15 .. here Saed was waiting for me at Ramsees Train Station .. He welcomed me in the traditional way .. by kissing both my cheeks one by one *disgust and than started asking question about Alex .. and my stay there :~)
I left my luggage in his taxi and walked in a 3rd class restaurant beside railway station with him :~) I was feeling hungry .. and these small street restaurants are really good at making Kushri :~)
after having a nice bowl of Kushri with hot sauce .. we ordered some Turkish coffee and than Saed gave me my ticket to Aswan :~) The train schedule was like .. 10:00pm departure from Cairo and 9:00am arrival at Aswan .. and the ticket cost was just 15$ :~)
Neways It was 9:30pm when I asked Saed to go back home and relax with his family .. But he was treating me like a kid .. he insist to stay until the Train moves :~) or abhi tak to train aai bhi nahi thi .. *smack so main ney osko bari mushkil sey yaqeen dilaya ke bhai main aab bara hogaya hoon *crying I’ll take care of it .. your family wants you more than me .. so go and spent time with them :~)
Finally he left me alone .. but after kissing my cheeks once again *smack Now once again I was standing all alone in that ajnabi country .. waiting for my ride to take me to another completely strange city .. and thinking about the friends I made in just few days :~) Saed, Tariq, Yvona and Vidar .. all nice and loving ppl :~)
Abhi in sab ke barey main sooch hi raha tha ke .. Train Eid ke chand ki tarhaan achanak nazar aa gai :~) poorey 15 minutes lagey mujhey apni seat dhoondhney main *smack
And I think I was the first passenger in that compartment .. so time zaya kiye baghair I took this picture :~)
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After taking the above picture and placing my luggage at the overhead slots .. I went out again to buy some sandwiches and water bottles :~) and when I came back .. I was shocked!!.. My empty compartment was now completely packed with tourists .. Americans, Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, French, Dutch, English, Spanish, Australians ..well, ppl from all the different countries were traveling together in this tourist train ..and for a moment this compartment reminds me the famous Boat of Hazrat Noah (AS) :~)
btw, here again I was the only Pakistani on board .. the only dark skinned around .. so ppl were thinking like I am an Egyptian :~) neways main ney kisi ko moon hi nahi lagaya or apni jagha par chup chaap aa kar beth gaya .. well, The two seats next to me were still empty .. so I just started guessing ke dekho yahan kaun si nationality aa kar bethti hey :~) abhi yeah sooch hi raha tha ke 2 saamaan sey bhari gooriyan aa kar mere baraber main
beth gaiN *smack
Neways mera soney ka program tha .. so I changed the batteries of my CDman and started listening to some old ghazals of my fav. Singers .. Jagjit & Chitra .. or phir thori hi dair may main khowaboon ki duniya main khuley aam hooroon ke peecha bhaag raha tha ;~)
I woke up at around 3:00am when the train stopped at Assiut Train Station .. the urge to smoke a cigarette took me out of the compartment, cuz smoking wasn’t allowed in there .. While standing in front of the Lavatories I lit up a cigarette and started scanning thru the pages of Lonely Planet .. after a few moments .. one of the French girl who was sitting next to me .. came and joined me there .. well she was a smoker too :~) .. khair!! we started chatting .. and she told me all about their plans in Egypt .. btw, she was shocked when I told her that .. I don’t have any plans .. neither I am traveling with a group :~) for her it was quite a dangerous thing to do in Egypt :~)
Neways .. her name was Vallerie she was working for a pharmaceutical company in Paris .. and rite now she was on a 15 days tour to Egypt with her best friend Beatrice :~) Beatrice was an attractive tall an blonde French girl …she was living in Reunion Island and working for a window making company as an Accountant :~)
Heres a picture of both of them .. The one holding my Visiting card is Vallerie and next to her the sleeping blonde is Beatrice :~)
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Both of these girls were quit funny and friendly .. baqi sara time hamara apas main baatain kartey howey hi guzar gaya .. Beatrice was similar to all other blonds .. pretty face with NO brains *smack she can be called as a happy heart .. a person full of life with no discriminating germs .. whereas Vallerie was quite a touchy person .. and a bit discriminating too .. one thing that always annoys me about her .. was her habit of unnecessary arguments .. and a so called superior complex *mad .. neways main ney kaunsa onkey saath rishta joorna tha .. sirf train hi ki to baat thi .. so I kept the environment light and friendly :~)
Exactly at 9:30am The train stopped at Aswan Railway Station .. so I said bye to both of them and get off to find The Ramsees Hotel .. which was very near to the Railway Station .. Using the map of Lonely Plant .. it took me just 10 minutes to find the Ramsees Hotel .. and since I had no reservations .. I was bargaining with the receptionist for a room with Nile view .. when somebody called my name from the back .. I turned around .. and *smack both Vallerie and Beatrice were standing behind me *smack they were also staying in the same hotel .. neways I got a room at 5th floor and they were at 2nd floor :~)
I was a bit tired so I went directly to my room .. to take a quick shower and a nap before going out to see Aswan High Dam and the famous Phille Temple :~) actually while paying for the room .. I also paid for a half a day guided tour to these places .. and since the tour timings were from 1:00pm to 6:00pm .. I decided to take some rest :~)
Btw, I paid just 50 EP per day for the room and the tour cost me another 60 EP .. so it was quite cheap in total :~)
Neways around 12:30pm I came down to the restaurant and had a nice Nubian Lunch :~) Kabab Hala with thick Egyptian Bread *yummy .. it was really tasty :~) by 1:15pm we were all ready in a small Toyota van to see the famous High Dam of Aswan .. yes!! Beatrice and vallerie were also there among the other tourists :~)
On our way to High Dam I took this picture ..
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In that mini bus I met another very nice person .. laters who became a nice friend to me :~)
This is Ali … ummm his full name is Mohammed Abzan Ali :~) a newly converted Muslim practicing Islam from last 5 years .. originally he was a Christian and his old name was Robin Emmons ..Ali was a British collage professor .. living in London .. :~) and he was out for 4 months to cover Libya, Sudan and Egypt .. Ali was really laded with plenty of knowledge and at the same time he was down to earth and humorous too :~)
so we both build up a nice friendship within just few hours :~)
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Neways !! located near Aswan, the world famous High Dam was an engineering miracle when it was built in the 1960s .. It contains 18 times the material used in the Great Pyramid of Cheops .. The Dam is 11,811 feet long .. 3215 feet thick at the base and and 364 feet tall .. Today it provides irrigation and electricity for the whole of Egypt .. together with the old Aswan Dam built by the British between 1898 and 1902 .:~)
The High Dam created a 30% increase in the cultivatable land in Egypt .. and raised the water table for the Shara as far away as Algeria ... The electricity producing capability of the Dam doubled Egypt's available supply .. moreover the High Dam added an whole new aspect to Egypt .. and a new environment as well .. ummm come to think of it .. If there’s no High Dam there’s no Egypt :~) and that’s why the security at the Dam is really heavy and strict :~)
Khair This is how The Nile looks from the High Dam :~)
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Later I introduced Ali with my French Friends Beatrice and Vallerie .. or yeah barhi bi Ali sey kuch discuss kar rahi theen .. so wo bhi tasveer main aa gain ;~)
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After High Dam we headed towards the ancient Temple of Phille :~)
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Since The phille Temple is on an Island .. we had to get on a boat :~) and I got a chance to take some really nice shots :~)
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This was the first sight of Phille Temple :~)
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I took this picture rite after getting off the boat :~)
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The original Name of this Temple is “Temple of ISIS the Goddess” :~) but since the temple was on an Island called Philae .. its famous as the Philae Temple :~)
For over 50 years the Island of Philae and its monuments lay half-submerged in water built up by the Aswan Dam and barrages during annual inundations .. until the UNESCO rescue operations for the Nubian monuments in the 1960s .. The temples have now been completely dismantled and rebuilt to the original orientation on the nearby island of Agilika which rises higher from the water and has been reshaped and landscaped to resemble the original Philae.. Metal pylons on the old island of Philae can still be seen rising from the water to the south of Agilika :~)
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Philae Temple is a very photogenic site and wasn't overrun with other tourists when I was there .. so I really liked the place and surroundings :~) btw, Aswan is in the south of the country and so is hotter than other parts of Egypt *mad
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Our Guide Amer ( a nice & friendly person ) was busy telling us about the history of Philae Temple .. :~)
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Since I knew the history of temple .. I was busy taking pictures :~)
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Philae Temple is dedicated to the goddess Isis (the left most on this wall) .. She is known as the goddess of women .. purity and sexuality amongst other things .. The worship of Isis lasted well past the end of the ancient Egyptian empire :~)
Unfortunately the Sun light was not very helpful .. but still no complains :~)
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There are many legends connected to Philae .. but the most well known one tells the story of how Isis found the heart of Osiris here after his murder by his brother Seth .. Now each evening there is a Sound and Light Show which recounts the legends against the magnificent backdrop of the floodlit monuments :~)
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The earliest of the surviving monuments of Philae is the Kiosk of Nectanebo I .. of Dynasty XXX .. although there is evidence of building dating back to Dynasty XXV .. Most of the other structures are Ptolemaic and Roman and were re-used by the early Christians when the temple was finally closed by the Emperor Justinian in 550AD .. The main temple is dedicated to Isis and was the centre of the cult of Isis and Hathor during the Roman Period .. It was also the last pagan temple in use in Egypt :~)
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I was waiting for this stupid Japenese to go away so I can take a nice picture .. magar yeah to chipak hi gaya tha *smack
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The work done on these huge columns is amazingly beautiful :~)
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Amer was telling us about the history of the granite altar of Taharqo .. the oldest object on the island .. while Ali and these 2 Portuguese ladies were listening to him .. btw, I have just one word for these Portuguese ladies “Chipkoo” jahan main jata yeah waheen pohanch jaateen .. or phir daant nikaal kar cheekh cheekh kar kehteen ke “you are destined to us” *mad
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When I came out of the inner chamber of Phille Tempe .. the weather was really nice :~)
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Another view of Philae Temple :~) thori si light or hoti to .. it would be really an amazing picture :~(
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picture of another chamber :~)
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While going back towards the boat .. I captured this huge walkway :~)
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and these amazing sights :~)
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After getting back to the hotel .. I took some photos of Nile from the window of my room :~)
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It was almost dark .. and I had no plans for the night .. so I changed my dress and jumped in the bed to take some rest :~)
Phewwwww!!!!! I’ll continue the story in my next post .. :~)
So .. To be Continued :D
Okies lets start again :~)
After having such a busy day .. I was laying in my bed enjoying the tasty mint tea and writing some notes about the day .. when suddenly my phone started ringing .. it was Beatrice’s on the other side .. actually they were planning to visit the local markets of Aswan as well as a net café .. so she just invited me to join them .. I ask her to give me 15 minutes than meet me at the restaurant :~)
we left the Hotel at around 8:30pm .. our plan was like .. 1st, find a net club .. 2nd, spend some time in the old Bazaar .. and finally have dinner together at a Nubian Restaurant :~) we found a nice net club very near to the Ramsees hotel .. its was 10 EP per hour .. so we decided shared one PC .. I quickly checked my emails send a few to my family and friends ..Than opened this thread in Café :~) Hi From Aswan
Neways after getting out of that net Café .. we started our window shopping in the old bazaar of Aswan :~)
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It was more or less similar to our old Anarkali or Raja Bazaar of Pindi :~)
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I saw this gadha gari .. and stopped to take a picture .. later Vall. and Bea. were asking me .. why are you interested in donkey cart’s picture ??? ab main kese onko batata ke eik adad Gadha mera dost bhi hey *smack
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an old Egyptian lady selling dry fruits ..
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After spending a long time in Bazaar .. finally we decided to get out and take some rest & food in a Nubian restaurant :~)
When we entered in the “New Land Restaurant” we saw a familiar face .. A guy who was with us in the same mini bus this afternoon .. when we were going to the philae temple and High Dam .. but unfortunately we never had a chance to chat :~)
Since he was alone I invited him to join us on our table .. (obviously after taking permissions from Bea. and vallerie) .. The guy was really nice and polite .. his name was Andre and he was a Canadian business man :~)
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We chatted for a while .. than ordered for food .. as far as I remember me & Bea. ordered for Kabab Halal .. and believe me it was really yummy :~)
After food we saw a nice Nubian Dance show as well :~)
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At around 11:30pm we said goodbye to our new friend Andre than walk back to our hotel .. at the Hotel reception when I was inquiring about Abu Simbel tours .. I found a full day tour to Abu Simbel :~) but the only problem was the timings *smack actually Abu simbel is around 300km away towards south from Aswan and since its all in desert .. the Government security doesn’t allow individual vehicles to travel .. only buses and mini vans are allowed to proceed wo bhi .. in a convoy which starts very early in the morning .. around 3:00am :~( It’s a 3 hour ride .. with almost 3 hour stay at Abu Simbel than back to Aswan before the Sunset *smack
Neways I had to visit Abu Simbel at any cost!! .. so I paid 90 EP for my self and booked a seat for tomorrow :~) btw, Beatrice and Vallerie were asking me about the details of this temple .. and when I told them a little bit about its history .. they also booked their seats for tomorrow *smack
Neways it was already late in the night .. so I requested at reception for a wakeup call at 2:00am .. than said goodbye to the French ladies and went directly to my room to catch some sleep *sleepy
My phone started ringing rite at 2:00am *mad neways I took just 30 minutes to take a shower and get ready for Abu Simbel .. by the time I was going down .. I received another call from Beatrice .. telling me that they are waiting for me in the Restaurant :~) no doubts!! Bea. was really a nice person :~)
Neways after a long journey of three hours .. finally we reach Abu Simbel :~)
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Abu Simbel is one of the most impressive constructions by Egypt's greatest pharaoh .. Uncle Ramesses II .. Deep in the heart of what used to be Nubia (now near the border of Sudan) .. it is a site that not all tourists who visit Egypt take the time or the added expense to visit .. It was however a must-see for me :~)
And believe me the work done on the walls of this huge Temple is simply amazing :~)
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