This is one of my favorite pictures I took in Egypt because not only does it show the country beautifully, it also gives you views of modern, medieval, and ancient Egypt. These feluccas (triangle sailed ships) take tourists for a sail on the Nile, for an hour or two, or bigger ones for several days. I got to sail in one at Aswan, where Lake Nasser meets the Nile. The picture shows a felucca, then the green shoreline, and the ever present mountains of sand on either side of the river. This particular hillside is pocked with ancient tombs of the noblemen of the area, such as the men in charge of the quarries that supplied stone blocks for all the many temples built along the Nile. The domed building on top of the hill, and the ruins just behind the felucca are from the Fatimid Dynasty (969-1171 AD). These are watch towers, placed every few miles to allow the Caliph to keep his lands under control and safe from invaders. However, the Dynasty soon fell to the uncle of Salah el-Din, better known in the west as Saladin, and Egypt came under his rule in 1171.