| We spent our day touring Aswan, seeing sites such as the Unfinished Obelisk and Philae Temple. Egyptian sites are so ancient our guide keeps calling Roman buildings "modern." Despite many years of history, the Nile teems with life. The river is blanketed by sailboats and cruise ships. Little kids, entrepreneurs all, throw their goods from the the riverbank onto the ship, hoping to make a sale. One little kid, no older than 10, ran a small money exchange, throwing shipboard a camera film tube with small denominations of French Francs, Italian Lire, or American dollars. He drove a hard bargain. No one could match this pint sized money-changer, who knew at least four languages, conversing with Americans, Italians, and French to run his little business. |
