"How's Egypt?"

Sunday, October 10, 2016
Basma Hotel, Aswan

I got a Facebook message this morning: “How is Egypt?”

As I write this, I am sitting on the terrace of the Basma Hotel in Aswan. A warm breeze is blowing, and I can hear birds chirping, and somewhere, a rooster trying to wake up any late sleepers. Although Aswan is large enough to be called a city, the wind still carries the smell of wood smoke, and it is amazingly calm and quiet. There is a primary school somewhere nearby. I can hear a class of children repeating times-tables (the cadence is universal) and reading aloud, in unison. Looking out to the west, I can see Elephantine Island with its mud-brick walls and the gateway at the southern tip of the island. Farther out, the high sandy hills of the west bank is home to the tomb of the Aga Khan, a modest square building with a dome on top. Looking right, to the north, is Qubbet El Hawa, home to the rock cut tombs of the local governors of the 6th and 12th dynasties.

The western hills are golden in the morning light, capped with darker stones, some of which has fallen downslope. The river here is a deep blue, and runs fresh and clear so you can see plants growing in the shallows if you look down. On the riverbank, massive bunches of green reeds, some 10-15 feet high, provide shade and shelter for egrets and blue herons. If you're lucky, you may see a flock of white storks fly overhead, sometimes in formation, but sometimes scattered across the sky.

And then there's me, in a chair, under a shady awning, taking it all in.

That's how Egypt is.