Aswan
Sunniest Southern City
General Information
Other Name: -, District: Aswan, State: Upper Region, Egypt
Area: 0 -
Languages Spoken: Arabic
Long Distance Code: -
Importance: -
Best Time to Visit: - to - and All year round
International Access: -
Description
Aswan is a city in the south of Egypt, the capital of the Aswan Governorate.In Aswan the Nile is at its most beautiful, flowing through amber desert and granite rocks, round emerald islands covered in palm groves and tropical plants. Explore the souk, full of the scent and color of spices, perfumes, scarves and baskets.Every night Nubian dancers and musicians perform in the Cultural Center, just off the Corniche. Folklore troupes recreate scenes from village life and perform the famous Nubian mock stick-fight dances.Location
about 81 miles south of Luxor.Climate
Arid climate
The High Dam, or el-Sadd el-Ali, some 4mi/7km above the old Aswan Dam, is a massive accumulation of 55.9 billion cu. yd/42.7 billion cu. m (17 times the volume of the Pyramid of Cheops) of stones and sand with a clay core and a concrete facing.A four lane road runs across the top of the dam. A memorial, a triumphal arch and an inscription commemorate the completion of this huge enterprise and the cooperation between Egypt and the Soviet Union in its realization.One undoubted benefit has been an increase of 20-30% (1,250,000-2,000,000 acres) in cultivated land, together with increased agricultural yields as a result of even and regular irrigation.
The verdant island of Elephantine (1,650yd/1,500m long, 550yd/500m wide), with its luxuriant growth of palms, known in Arabic as Geziret Aswan or El-Gesira ("the Island") for short, can be reached by boat in a few minutes. It is one of Aswan''s principal tourist attractions.Between Elephantine and the left bank is the island of El-Atrun or Kitchener''s Island, more recently known as Botanical Island. Once the property of Lord Kitchener, it now belongs to the State, and with its luxuriant abundance of plants and flowers is one of the great attractions of Aswan.
Commandingly situated on a hill above the villa, with magnificent views, is the Mausoleum of the Aga Khan, built here, in accordance with his wishes, by the Begum, his French born wife and former beauty queen Yvette Labrousse.The mausoleum is built of ochre colored calcareous sandstone in a severely restrained style; the interior is finished in light colors, floored with red carpets and immaculately maintained. On the Begum''s instructions a fresh red rose is laid on the sarcophagus (of white marble, with Koranic texts carved in relief) every day.
This outstanding archaeological area contains such magnificent monuments as the Temples of Ramses II at Abu Simbel and the Sanctuary of Isis at Philae, which were saved from the rising waters of the Nile thanks to the International Campaign launched by UNESCO, in 1960 to 1980.
The museum collection includes antiquities and artefacts from Aswan and Nubia. Items include weapons, pottery, mummies and sarcophagi. The museum site overlooks the remains of the original town.