Aswan
Aswan, Egypt's sunniest southern city and ancient
frontier town located about 81 miles south of Luxor, has a distinctively
African atmosphere. Its ancient Egyptian name was Syene. Small
enough to walk around and graced with the most beautiful setting
on the Nile, the pace of life is slow and relaxing. Days can
be spent strolling up and down the broad Corniche watching the
sailboats etch the sky with their tall masts or sitting in floating
restaurants listening to Nubian music and eating freshly caught
fish.
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.
View the spectacular sunsets while having tea on the terrace
of the Old Cataract Hotel (Named due to the location of the
Nile's first cataract located here). Aswan has been a favorite
winter resort since the beginning of the nineteenth century,
and it's still a perfect place to get away from it all.
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
Dancers at the Cultural Center
Aswan is a strategic location which currently
houses a garrison of the Egyptian army, but which has also seen
ancient Egyptian garrisons, as well as that of General Kitchener,
Turkish troops of the Ottoman empire and the Romans.
The city proper lies on the east bank of the Nile. Relax here,
visit a few mosques, but then prepare for an adventure. The
bazaar runs along the Corniche, which continues past the Ferial
Gardens and the Nubian Museum, and continues on to the Cemetery,
with its forest of cupolas surmounted tombs from the Fatimid
period. Just east of the cemetery in the famous area quarries
is the gigantic Unfinished Obelisk. Just to the south of this,
two Graeco-Roman sarcophagi and an unfinished colossus remain
half buried in the sand.
The most obvious is Elephantine Island, which is timeless with
artifacts dating from pre-Dynastic times onward. It is the largest
island in the area. Just beyond Elephantine is Kitchener's Island
(Geziret el-Nabatat). It was named for the British general Haratio
Kitchener (185--1916) and was sent to Egypt in 1883 to reorganize
the Egyptian army, which he then led against the Sudanese Mahdi.
But the island is known for its garden and the exotic plants
the Kitchener planted there, and which continue to flourish
today.
On the opposite shore (west bank), the cliffs are surmounted
by the tomb of a marabut, Qubbet el-Hawwa, who was a local saint.
Below are tombs of the local (pharaonic) nobles and dignitaries.
Upriver a bit is the tomb of Mohammed Shah Aga Khan who died
in 1957. Known as the Tomb of the Aga Khan, it is beautiful
in its simplicity. A road from there leads back to the Coptic
Monastery of St Simeon, which was built in the sixth century
in honor of Amba Hadra, a local saint.
Just up river a bit, there is also the old Aswan dam, built
by the British, which was enlarged, expanded, but unable to
control the Nile for irrigation
Elephantine Island
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