High Egypt in crisis, bets on mining sector

'Whoever drinks the water of the Nile returns", is a cherished saying many people in Egypt are seeking to believe, especially the hundreds and hundreds of hotel-owners, ship-owners, restauranters, small traders, artisans, boaters and cabbies of the South, often obliged to leave their jobs, after the downing of the Russian Airbus in Sinai made the presence of tourists increasingly scarce. From Luxor down to Aswan, on the banks of the Nile - which at this point becomes wider and is dotted by lush, green islands covered in palms and mango trees - the economic situation is dramatic. ''Out of 1 million and 400 thousand inhabitants in the whole province of Aswan - said governor, Mostafa Yousry - 60% is employed in the tourism industry and the remaining 40% in agricolture. Cultivations of sugar cane mainly". The consequences of the 2011 revolution have been devastating here. In the golden era, he said, there was not a room to be found in the whole of Aswan. ''Now we reach just 25% of our capacity''. Out of approximately 300 cruising boats which used to sail the Nile, only about ten are working. On board there are mainly British and German tourists as well as a significant number of Chinese. The numbers are depressing also at major sites from Luxor to Karnak, from Edfu to Kom Ombo and up to the Great Dam.