Elephantine Island sits in the middle of the Nile, between the Egyptian city of Aswan and a range of towering sand dunes. The people who live there are Nubians, and they have called it home for hundreds of years.
When Hamada was just a boy, the island was known as “Gold Island” as people far and wide believed there to be hidden mines beneath the date palms and banana groves. Generations later, no one has discovered their fortune, but a million travellers and treasure hunters have passed through the narrow stone passageways of the island.
Hamada has watched them come and go for decades, and he has more than one intriguing story to tell…
A lifetime on “Gold Island”
A lifetime on “Gold Island”
The ice-cold waters of the Nile flow out of the Aswan Dam and down towards the southern-Egyptian city. Waveless, it carves its way between the islands and carries two small boys away from the bustling docks.
The children grow up in and on the river, it's currents and rocky outcrops as familiar as old friends. In the cool evening air, the boys grab their makeshift paddles, climb onto their surfboard and set themselves adrift on the gentle flow of the Nile .
Adrift
