14 November 2024

An interesting day. We are not far from the Aswan Dam now, and we'll go there tomorrow. Today, we visited a farming community of only 350 people who live an the island of Besaw in the middle of the Nile. The inhabitants have benefited from the land reforms of President Nasser in the 1950s when he took land from the very rich and redistributed it to the poor. Even before then, these farming families on Besaw were growing crops there as tenants. Now, each family owns a small amount of land and grows things like mangos, bananas, and dates. Some, like our host family, also raise livestock, mainly water buffalo and chickens. All the inhabitants are cousins, and they inter-marry in each generation. 

The head of our host family, Sayed, gave us a tour of his land, explained how they grow and harvest bananas, introduced us to his livestock, and gave us a big lunch of varied dishes. Actually, the women in his house made the lunch, but they were introduced beforehand, as were Sayed's children and brothers. Fifteen family members live in his house, which is divided into four good-sized apartments. They come together at meals and share farming duties. The children go to school on the island through middle school and then have to commute to the high school in a nearby town on the mainland. Classes on the island are very small, about 10, and the teachers are university-trained, so the children receive a very good education (including English from early on right through their school years).

We left after lunch, and this afternoon, after a restorative break, we visited the sandstone quarry from which the Pharaohs extracted the massive stones used in their tombs and memorials. As we walked along the quarry walls, Hend explained the process involved in cutting and transporting the stone. Fascinating stuff, at least to me.