To be honest, we imagined the granite stone pits of Aswan as a good piece bigger. Probably this is up to the fact that on the one hand the course of the Nile has changed consistently a little (in Times of the Pharaoh-ship the stone pit was located directly at the water), and on the other hand it is up to the fact that parts of the antique stone pit were overbuilt long ago. As gaps between buildings of our cities are closed, the ones in Aswan firstly have to be carved out of the massif. So the noise barrier behind is “home – made”.

There we got to know, how they mellowed the stones before the stonecutter drilled holes into the rock, in which they put wooden wedges. Well rinsed, they swelled and disrupted the granite (they called it Syenit). If everything was well done, it was disrupted along designated line. After that, they brought the block on sliding carriages to the bank of the Nil. The next flood was used, to bring this stone downstream. So we discovered the negative pattern of several obelisks of Karnak and Luxor.

During the circuit through the stone pit it is advisable to wear solidly shoes, because of the lopsided pat ship which are covered with a thin layer of sand and dust. And it is also quite easy to pass under the safeguard where a (stepwise) fall of three to ten metres can happen. To crash your knee on a non-ready-made obelisk can be a great story from your holiday but it does not worth the pain.

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