© irene waters 2019
We approached the Nubian village from the Nile. The houses were quite different to the Egyptian Houses we’d been used to seeing. These ones were colourful and used curves to great effect.
© irene waters 2019
Vaulted ceilings were common and the houses traditionally were adobe bricks (a brick made from straw or dung that was mixed with water and earth.)
© irene waters 2019
The Nubian people were a separate ethnic race that had its own country prior to the building of the Aswan Dam. They are more closely related to the Sudanese people. On the building of the dam their country was going to be flooded and the Egyptian government offered them Egyptian citizenship which most of the 50,000 residents took up.
© irene waters 2019
The Nubians have been very successful business people and the thing that Roger and I appreciated more than anything else was that they did not harrass you when you past them with their wares for sale on a mat. You could freely look without any pressure. Sadly by the time we had arrived here we were so used to averting our gaze – curving upwards and to the right or left- anywhere we could avoid eye contact that we missed out on interacting with a very gentle people.
© irene waters 2019
© irene waters 2019
We were invited in and found that the curves were as visible on the inside as they had been on the outside.
© irene waters 2019
© irene waters 2019
© irene waters 2019
Domed or vaulted ceilings were common and were adorned with the luxury of a fan.
© irene waters 2019
© irene waters 2019
© irene waters 2019
© irene waters 2019
Curves certainly added interest to our visit to what is known as Old Nubia for in times past Nubians ruled over Egypt. They have come full circle and that itself is just a curve.
For Lens-Artists Challenge Number 28 – Curves. Thank you for hosting this week Tina.
Reflections and Nightmares- Irene A Waters (writer and memoirist) 
Nicely done Irene. I like the way you tied it all together in the end. What interesting architecture—perfect for our challenge!!
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Thanks Tina.
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Lovely Photos. Such an interesting style of build.
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Yes and surprisingly it worked well for coolness although we weren’t there in the height of summer.
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It’s interesting how early civilisations worked out things like building in a certain way can protct you from the heat, or the cold. I imagine people tried things and they worked so they tried something else… the evolution of architecture.
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They did some amazing things that we could now only do with the help of computers and the like. Just amazing.
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I’d like to see them build the pyramids nowadays.
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I doubt they could do it brain only
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No, but it would make the tv show to beat all shows!
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Wow – I think you should put that to someone. I’d watch it.
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its good to know that The kept their culture of curves.
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Yes it is. Thanks for dropping by.
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This is such a fascinating story, Irene, and you included lots of photos. Just as I was wondering what the inside looks like, you posted pics. Love the way their culture and interests are painted on the surfaces inside and out, and the brilliant complex way of creating the domes of bricks. i bet some of their architectural solutions are environmentally friendly and could be adapted to modern use all over the world. Do you have any photos of the people themselves?
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Only a few but I will post them over time and let you know when. The Nubian museum was one of the best museums we went to with inside and out built in Nubian style but the exhibits were a fantastic portrayl of their history.
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Fascinating post, Irene. Their architecture is unique and very beautiful. You’ve really traveled to amazing places.
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Thanks Patti. I love travelling because it opens our eyes to both our uniqueness and sameness. I love blogging because it shows me places that I will probably never see and perspectives that might be different from mine – again our uniqueness and sameness rolled into one.
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Yes. I travel for the same reason!
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What an amazing experience! I can’t even imagine!
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Unexpected experience. A race I don’t know I’d paid much attention to although they ruled Egypt for a period and I knew those names.
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