Southern Egypt: Egypt of the Nubians

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The Egypt of the Nubians
He who travels south along the Nile from Luxor cannot fail to notice it: the villages become more colourful and the people darker and more charming. Black Africa beckons: Nubia. Sadly the old Nubia has disappeared - devoured by the waters of Lake Nasser. In 2014 that happened exactly 50 years ago. Around Aswan, however, the Nubian culture succeeded to survive. A different take on Southern Egypt.

[Egypt 29639] ’Village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab and Nile.’
[Egypt 29639] ’Village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab and Nile.’ The Nubian village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab stretches along the green west bank of the Nile over a distance of six kilometers. The village is situated just north of Aswan. Nubians started living here when their ancestral villages south of Aswan were flooded as a result of the building of the Aswan Low Dam in 1912. Photo Mick Palarczyk
[Egypt 29641]’Village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab near Aswan.’
[Egypt 29641] ’Village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab near Aswan.’ The Nubian village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab stretches along the west bank of the Nile over a distance of six kilometers. The village is situated just north of Aswan. Nubians started living here when their ancestral villages south of Aswan were flooded as a result of the building of the Aswan Low Dam in 1912. The houses have a Nubian layout with several buildings grouped around a courtyard. As a result of the lack of wooden beams during the time of construction, flat roofs are uncommon in this village. Instead, there are many domes and barrel vaults made of mudbrick. Photo Mick Palarczyk.
[Egypt 29643]’Houses in Nubian village near Aswan.’
[Egypt 29643] ’Houses in Nubian village near Aswan.’ The brightly coloured houses in the village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab, north of Aswan, have a distinctly Nubian layout with several buildings grouped around a courtyard. As a result of the lack of wooden beams during the time of construction, flat roofs are uncommon in this village. Instead, there are many barrel vaults made of mudbrick. The barrel vaults are constructed following a building method that was already in use in ancient Egypt. Nubians started living here when their ancestral villages south of Aswan were flooded as a result of the building of the Aswan Low Dam in 1912. Photo Mick Palarczyk.
[Egypt 29645]’Village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab near Aswan.’
[Egypt 29645] ’Village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab near Aswan.’ The Nubian village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab stretches along the west bank of the Nile over a distance of six kilometers. The village is situated just north of Aswan. Nubians started living here when their ancestral villages south of Aswan were flooded as a result of the building of the Aswan Low Dam in 1912. The houses have a Nubian layout with several buildings grouped around a courtyard. As a result of the lack of wooden beams during the time of construction, flat roofs are uncommon in this village. Instead, there are many barrel vaults made of mudbrick. Photo Mick Palarczyk
[Egypt 29647] ’Street in the Nubian Village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab.’
[Egypt 29647] ’Street in the Nubian Village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab.’ Houses and gates in the Nubian village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab are often decorated with geometrical figures. North of Aswan, the village stretches along the west bank of the Nile over a distance of six kilometers. Nubians started living here when their ancestral villages south of Aswan were flooded as a result of the building of the Aswan Low Dam in 1912. Photo Paul Smit.
[Egypt 29649] ’Nubian girl in Nagaa Al Hamdelab.’
[Egypt 29649] ’Nubian girl in Nagaa Al Hamdelab.’ Nubian girl in Nagaa Al Hamdelab, a village that stretches along the west bank of the Nile over a distance of six kilometers, north of Aswan. Nubian houses often have mastabas (benches) of smoothly plastered mud built along their fronts. Nubians started living in Nagaa Al Hamdelab when their ancestral villages south of Aswan were flooded as a result of the building of the Aswan Low Dam in 1912. Photo Paul Smit.
[Egypt 29651] ’Courtyard in Nubian house at Nagaa Al Hamdelab.’
[Egypt 29651] ’Courtyard in Nubian house at Nagaa Al Hamdelab.’ With its brightly coloured and smoothly plastered steps and benches the courtyard of this Nubian house in Nagaa Al Hamdelab is an architectural gem. According to its owner the building hasn't been altered since its construction in 1912. The village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab stretches along the west bank of the Nile over a distance of six kilometers, north of Aswan. Nubians started living in Nagaa Al Hamdelab when their ancestral villages south of Aswan were flooded as a result of the building of the Aswan Low Dam in 1912. Photo Mick Palarczyk.
[Egypt 29653] ’Courtyard in Nubian house at Nagaa Al Hamdelab.’
[Egypt 29653] ’Courtyard in Nubian house at Nagaa Al Hamdelab.’ With its brightly coloured and smoothly plastered steps and benches the courtyard of this Nubian house in Nagaa Al Hamdelab is an architectural gem. According to its owner the building hasn't been altered since its construction in 1912. The village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab stretches along the west bank of the Nile over a distance of six kilometers, north of Aswan. Nubians started living in Nagaa Al Hamdelab when their ancestral villages south of Aswan were flooded as a result of the building of the Aswan Low Dam in 1912. Photo Mick Palarczyk.
[Egypt 29655]’Barrel vault at Ramesseum in Luxor.’
[Egypt 29655] ’Barrel vault at Ramesseum in Luxor.’ Some of the earliest existing barrel vaults can be found in the grain stores of the Ramesseum, the mortuary temple of Ramses II at Luxor. They were constructed with mudbricks that were positioned in inclined arches, a technique that makes it possible to build up the arch without the support of wooden centering. This ancient way of building survived in Nubia and can still be observed in recently built Nubian houses. The Ramesseum dates from the 13th century BC. The grain from its stores was used, amongst others, to pay the workers who lived in the nearby tombmaker's village of Deir el Medina. Photo Paul Smit
[Egypt 29657] ’Street in Nagaa Al Hamdelab.’
[Egypt 29657] ’Street in Nagaa Al Hamdelab.’ The streets in the Nubian village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab are enlivened by brightly contrasting colours. The village stretches along the west bank of the Nile over a distance of six kilometers, north of Aswan. Nubians started living in Nagaa Al Hamdelab when their ancestral villages south of Aswan were flooded as a result of the building of the Aswan Low Dam in 1912. Photo Mick Palarczyk.
[Egypt 29659] ’Door in Nagaa Al Hamdelab.’
[Egypt 29659] ’Door in Nagaa Al Hamdelab.’ The streets in the Nubian village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab are enlivened by brightly contrasting colours. The village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab stretches along the west bank of the Nile over a distance of six kilometers, north of Aswan. Nubians started living in Nagaa Al Hamdelab when their ancestral villages south of Aswan were flooded as a result of the building of the Aswan Low Dam in 1912. Photo Paul Smit.
[Egypt 29661] ’Tomb of Mekhu and Sabni at Aswan.’
[Egypt 29661] ’Tomb of Mekhu and Sabni at Aswan.’ Standing near a small offering table, a Nubian tomb guard inspects the rough-hewn pillars in the tomb of Mekhu and Sabni on the west bank of the Nile at Aswan. Mekhu was a governor during the reign of pharaoh Pepi II (23th century BC) who was killed during a campaign in Nubia. An inscription in the tomb relates that his son Mekhu mounted a punitive expedition that recovered Mekhu's body. The tomb is one of the socalled "Tombs of the Nobles" at Aswan. Photo Mick Palarczyk and Paul Smit.
[Egypt 29666] ’Dining room in Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan.’
[Egypt 29666] ’Dining room in Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan.’ The colonial interior of the Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan perfectly evokes the atmosphere of Agathe Christie's "Death on the Nile". The novel, in which Hercule Poirot solves a murder mystery during a Nile cruise into Nubia, was written by Christie in this very hotel. The hotel derives its name from the First Cataract in the Nile, the location that was traditionally seen as the border between Egypt and Nubia. Photo Paul Smit.

[Egypt 29640] ’Village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab and Nile.
[Egypt 29640] ’Village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab and Nile.’ The Nubian village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab stretches along the green west bank of the Nile over a distance of six kilometers. The village is situated just north of Aswan. Nubians started living here when their ancestral villages south of Aswan were flooded as a result of the building of the Aswan Low Dam in 1912. Photo Mick Palarczyk
[Egypt 29642]’Village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab near Aswan.’
[Egypt 29642] ’Village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab near Aswan.’ The Nubian village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab stretches along the west bank of the Nile over a distance of six kilometers. The village is situated just north of Aswan. Nubians started living here when their ancestral villages south of Aswan were flooded as a result of the building of the Aswan Low Dam in 1912. The houses have a Nubian layout with several buildings grouped around a courtyard. As a result of the lack of wooden beams during the time of construction, flat roofs are uncommon in this village. Instead, there are many domes and barrel vaults made of mudbrick. Photo Mick Palarczyk.
[Egypt 29644]’Houses in Nubian village near Aswan.’
[Egypt 29644] ’Houses in Nubian village near Aswan.’ The brightly coloured houses in the village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab, north of Aswan, have a distinctly Nubian layout with several buildings grouped around a courtyard. As a result of the lack of wooden beams during the time of construction, flat roofs are uncommon in this village. Instead, there are many domes and barrel vaults made of mudbrick. The barrel vaults are constructed following a building method that was already in use in ancient Egypt. Nubians started living here when their ancestral villages south of Aswan were flooded as a result of the building of the Aswan Low Dam in 1912. Photo Mick Palarczyk.
[Egypt 29646] ’Street in the Nubian Village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab.’
[Egypt 29646] ’Street in the Nubian Village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab.’ Houses and gates in the Nubian village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab are often decorated with geometrical figures. North of Aswan, the village stretches along the west bank of the Nile over a distance of six kilometers. Nubians started living here when their ancestral villages south of Aswan were flooded as a result of the building of the Aswan Low Dam in 1912. Photo Paul Smit.
[Egypt 29648] ’Gate in the Nubian Village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab.’
[Egypt 29648] ’Gate in the Nubian Village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab.’ Gates that give access to the courtyards of Nubian houses often have a monumental character, as here in the village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab north of Aswan. The pilasters flanking this gate are possibly an echo of the pillars in Egyptian temples; Nubian house designers may have been influenced by the presence of Pharaonic antiquities around them. Nubians started living in Nagaa Al Hamdelab when their ancestral villages south of Aswan were flooded as a result of the building of the Aswan Low Dam in 1912. Photo Paul Smit.
[Egypt 29650] ’Street in Nagaa Al Hamdelab.’
[Egypt 29650] ’Street in Nagaa Al Hamdelab.’ The streets in the Nubian village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab are enlivened by brightly contrasting colours. Nubian houses often have mastabas (benches) of smoothly plastered mud built along their fronts (seen on the right in this picture) The village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab stretches along the west bank of the Nile over a distance of six kilometers, north of Aswan. Nubians started living in Nagaa Al Hamdelab when their ancestral villages south of Aswan were flooded as a result of the building of the Aswan Low Dam in 1912. Photo Paul Smit.
[Egypt 29652] ’Courtyard in Nubian house at Nagaa Al Hamdelab.’
[Egypt 29652] ’Courtyard in Nubian house at Nagaa Al Hamdelab.’ With its brightly coloured and smoothly plastered steps and benches the courtyard of this Nubian house in Nagaa Al Hamdelab is an architectural gem. According to its owner the building hasn't been altered since its construction in 1912. The village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab stretches along the west bank of the Nile over a distance of six kilometers, north of Aswan. Nubians started living in Nagaa Al Hamdelab when their ancestral villages south of Aswan were flooded as a result of the building of the Aswan Low Dam in 1912. Photo Mick Palarczyk.
[Egypt 29654]’Courtyard in Nubian house at Nagaa Al Hamdelab.’
[Egypt 29654] ’Courtyard in Nubian house at Nagaa Al Hamdelab.’ The brightly coloured houses in the village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab, near Aswan, have a distinctly Nubian layout with several buildings grouped around a courtyard. The waterhut is usually placed against the southern wall of the yard so that the water jugs are shaded from the rays of the sun. This waterhut has a barrel vault of mudbrick. Nubian barrel vaults are made following a building method that was already in use in ancient Egypt. They can for instance be seen at the grain stores of Ramses’ II mortuary temple at Luxor. The vaults were constructed with mudbricks that were positioned in inclined arches, a technique that makes it possible to build up the arch without the support of wooden centering. The village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab stretches along the west bank of the Nile over a distance of six kilometers, north of Aswan. Nubians started living in Nagaa Al Hamdelab when their ancestral villages south of Aswan were flooded as a result of the building of the Aswan Low Dam in 1912. Photo Mick Palarczyk.
[Egypt 29656] ’Street in Nagaa Al Hamdelab.’[Egypt 29656] ’Street in Nagaa Al Hamdelab.’
[Egypt 29656] ’Street in Nagaa Al Hamdelab.’ The streets in the Nubian village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab are enlivened by brightly contrasting colours. The village stretches along the west bank of the Nile over a distance of six kilometers, north of Aswan. Nubians started living in Nagaa Al Hamdelab when their ancestral villages south of Aswan were flooded as a result of the building of the Aswan Low Dam in 1912. Photo Mick Palarczyk.
[Egypt 29658] ’Street in Nagaa Al Hamdelab.’
[Egypt 29658] ’Street in Nagaa Al Hamdelab.’ The streets in the Nubian village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab are enlivened by brightly contrasting colours. Nubian houses often have mastabas (benches) of smoothly plastered mud built along their fronts (seen behind the woman in this picture). The village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab stretches along the west bank of the Nile over a distance of six kilometers, north of Aswan. Nubians started living in Nagaa Al Hamdelab when their ancestral villages south of Aswan were flooded as a result of the building of the Aswan Low Dam in 1912. Photo Paul Smit.
[Egypt 29660] ’Water jar in Nagaa Al Hamdelab.’
[Egypt 29660] ’Water jar in Nagaa Al Hamdelab.’ The streets in the Nubian village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab are enlivened by brightly contrasting colours, including this stand for a water jug. The village of Nagaa Al Hamdelab stretches along the west bank of the Nile over a distance of six kilometers, north of Aswan. Nubians started living in Nagaa Al Hamdelab when their ancestral villages south of Aswan were flooded as a result of the building of the Aswan Low Dam in 1912. Photo Paul Smit.
[Egypt 29665] ’Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan.’
[Egypt 29665] ’Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan.’ The colonial interior of the Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan perfectly evokes the atmosphere of Agathe Christie's "Death on the Nile". The novel, in which Hercule Poirot solves a murder mystery during a Nile cruise into Nubia, was written by Christie in this very hotel. The hotel derives its name from the First Cataract in the Nile, the location that was traditionally seen as the border between Egypt and Nubia. Photo Paul Smit.