By Aswan in the River Nile is Elephantine Island. It houses temple ruins (including the ruins of a step pyramid), two nilometers (structures measuring the water level during flooding season) and a luxury Mövenpick hotel. Most interestingly, though, Elephantine has a considerable Nubian population, living in three villages on the island.
Nubia is a really great name, isn’t it, conjuring up romantic visions of wild, warring tribes, courageously fighting pharaonic imperialism. Once Nubia was an independent kingdom. Today, the name Nubia is no longer in use, at least not officially. The former region of Nubia is now divided between Egypt and the Sudan.
Two years ago when sailing up the Nile, we got a Nubian, Mohammad, to show us his village on Elephantine. In a very halting English interspersed with Arabic and Nubian, he told of Nubian life in present-day Egypt. The gist of it was that it’s a bit of a challenge preserving the Nubian way of life. Same goes for the language. Nubian is a very complex language and it does not exist in written form. As if that isn’t enough, dialects vary so much, they’re not mutually understood and Arabic is used instead. Sad, somehow.
After strolling through the village, we stopped by someone’s home and were given tea. My then 6-year-old immediately spotted a glass cage with four live baby crocs. She loved them instantly and wanted to take them home. They didn’t have a lot of space, poor creatures.
This post is part of DeliciousBaby’s PhotoFriday series. Have a look at other great photos here.
Thanks for sharing info and pics about a region I’m not familiar with AT ALL. Really cool peek into such a foreign culture.
Wonderful story and such cute pictures.
Nubia is a great name. Sounds like a memorable afternoon. Love the first picture.
Another great post. Nubian – even the word sounds intriguing.
The crocs look very squashed in there, but still the idea of taking one is not appealing. Great photos!
Nubian history is actually deeply studied in African American culture. It’s a term that you can still here being used in some major cities. (France-based musical sister duo Les Nubians is the most notable I can think of.) This is a wonderful glimpse of the contemporary culture, that little girl is adorable.
Thanks all
@ Fly Girl – how interesting. I didn’t know. Will check out Les Nubians.
That girl is SO beautiful!