Aswan is a Nubian city in the south of Egypt, on the first cataract of the Nile. Here Agatha Christie wrote her murder story while she stayed in the Old Cataract Hotel. The O.C. is a stunning anachronism of colonial architecture that appears on the seared Nubian landscape like a mirage. It was built when Queen Victoria's realm extended out into Africa. It is the last vestige of the Raj. I come to the Old Cataract for cocktails at sunset .World class Martini's and British civility are served up with peanuts. The Cataract's bar teeters above the giant boulders, boulders so massive that they change the course of this giant river. Its a great place for day's end. The O.C. also has an English rose garden. The restaurant's great formal dining room is drop-dead other-worldly-magnificent. The food is first class, the music and decor is beautiful beyond words. But I can not afford to stay here as a guest. read more