Page 122 - WDT Magazine Egypt

On the way, Mohamed explained that Egypt de- including towns and villages we’d been visiting. Some
cided made soon after the 1952 revolution to con- began to thrive on tourism, but many communities
struct the High Dam with little regard for its impact on remained poor and without power, running water and
Nubian people and the priceless archaeology in its proper shelter.
way. In the 1960s the Nubians in Lower Nubia near The good news was that the government attitudes
Sudan were forced to move and given little or no help towards Nubians have been changing, and there are
resettling. Around 50,000 Egyptian Nubians from 45 programs to help Nubians resettle in what’s left of
villages relocated to Aswan, which now is called by their homeland. We were a few minutes away from
many New Nubia. one of the villages in the midst of significant change.
Their new life there in tiny concrete houses was a We docked at Seheil Island and were greeted by a
shocking change from the villages they left behind, village elder who led us up a dirt road to the village.
and many Nubians moved to other parts of Egypt, Even in the late afternoon, the sun was intense, as

122 WDT MAGAZINE SUMMER 2018