Aswan, Egypt's sunniest southern city and ancient frontier town, has a distinctively African atmosphere. Here the Nile is at its most beautiful, flowing through amber desert and granite rocks, round emerald islands covered in palm groves and tropical plants. Aswan has been a favourite winter resort since the beginning of the nineteenth century and it's still a perfect place to get away from it all.

• Geographical information

Administrative Structure

5 centres
10 cities
94 villages
487 subvillages (kafr)

• Area

Total population 1,042,000
Male 50.20%
Female 49.80%
Percentage to national 1.77%
Rank among governorates 17

• Agricultural activities

Cultivated area 147,820 feddan
Percentage to national 1.97%
Rank among governorates 19
Area ready for reclamation 106,008 feddan
Percentage to national 1.87%

• Industrial Activities

26 hotels
3,019 rooms
Percentage to national 5.40%
Rank among governorates 8
436,263 touristic nights.

• Worship Places

991 mosques
26 churches

• Culture

13 culture centres
80,000 inhabitants / culture centre.

• Transportation

Telephone lines
40,564 telephone lines

• Post Office

124 post offices.

• Tourist Attractions

Every night Nubian dancers and musicians give performance in the Cultural centre, just off the corniche. Folklore troupes re-create from village life and perform the famous Nubian mock stick-fight dances

The Monastery of St. Simeon

Ride a camel or climb to the ruins of the Coptic Monastery of St. Simeon, originally founded in the 7th century AD. Rebuilt in the 10th century and eventually destroyed by Salah al-Din in 1173, the monastery was a base for missionary monks who converted the Nubians to Christianity. Frescoes of the Apostles still remain in the roofless Basilica.

The Unfinished Obelisk

The Tombs of The Nobles

The northern hills of the west bank are filled with rock-hewn tombs of princes from the old Kingdom to the Roman period; at night they are illuminated with hidden spotlights and can be clearly seen from Aswan. Inside, the tombs are decorated with vivid wall paintings showing scenes of everyday life, hieroglyphic biographies and inscriptions telling of the noblemen's journeys into Africa.

Elephantine Island

The ancient stronghold of Elephantine lsland separates the Nile into two channels opposite Aswan. Walk through Nubian villages to the small museum,set in shady gardens, Nearby is Nilometer and the ruins of Abu, settled by ancient Egyptians who believed it to be near the source of the Nile. The remains of the many temples that were built here can still be seen, including the Temple of Khnum, originally erected during the Old Kingdom, a Graeco-Roman Necropolis and the Temple of Satet, built by Queen Hatshepsut.

The world-famous High Dam was an engineering miracle when it was built in the1960s. Today it provides irrigation and electricity for the whole of Egypt and, together with the old Aswan Dam, 6 km downriver, wonderful views for visitors.

Kalabsha Temple was moved to its present location in 1970, together with other monuments from Nubia. Reachable by taxi or by boat, depending on the water level,the sandstone edifice was built by the Roman Emperor Octavius Augustus and dedicated to the fertilitiy god Mandulis. The Kiosk of Qertassi, with its two Hathor-headed columns, was moved at the same time and now stands near the water commanding fine views over Lake Nasser. Nearby, dug into the hillside, is another of Ramses II's Nubian monuments to military might; Beit al-Wali celebrates his victories over the Nubian, Ethiopians, Asiatics and Libyans and brightly-coloured scenes inside the temple show Ramses making offerings to the gods.

Philae Temple

Philae Temple was also dismantled and reassembled ( on Agilika lsland about 500m. from its original home on Philae Island) in the wake of the High Dam. The temple, dedicated to the goddess lsis, is in a beautiful setting which has been landscaped to match its original site. Its various shrines and sanctuaries, which include a temple of Hathor, a Birth House and two pylons, celebrate all the deities involved in the lsis and Osiris myth. At night visit the Sound and Light Show, a magical experience as floodlit buildings are silhouetted against the volcanic rocks and water surrounding them.

Abu Simbel

"... A witness turned to stone as evidence to posterity of the power of the divine pharaoh." Not only are the two temples at Abu Simbel among the most magnificent monuments in the world but their removal and reconstruction was an historic event in itself . When the temples ( 280 km from Aswan ) were threatened by submersion in Lake Nasser, due to the construction of the High Dam, the Egyptian Government secured the support of UNESCO and launched a world- wide appeal . During the salvage operation, which began in 1964 and continued until 1968, the two temples were dismantled and raised over 60 m up the sandstone cliff where they had been built more than 3,000 years before. Here they were reassembled, in the same relationship to each other, and covered with an artificial mountain.

Once the ancient kingdom of Kush, Nubia is the stretch of land next to the Nile from Aswan down to Khartoum in the south. Nubians are depicted in many tomb paintings and reliefs- usually as mercenaries or traders. Nubians still have distinct traditions, architecture and languages, even though many migrated either to Aswan and Kom Ombo or south to Sudan after Lake Nasser swamped much of their traditional homeland. Nubia contains dozens of sites of archaeological interest. 24 temples, as well as fortresses and tombs, were menaced by the waters of the High Dam, including Dendour, Ellessiya, Amada and Wadi al- Sebowa. Some have been moved, most notably Philae, Kalabsha and Abu Simbel, and other salvage and restoration operations are in train ; The Nubian Museum is being built near Aswan to house rescued artefacts.

Day Trips from Aswan

Arriving by boat at the Temple of Haroeris and Sobek, near Kom Ombo, is recommended: the magnificent Ptolemaic temple is in a dramatic setting on high ground beside the Nile, surrounded by sugarcane fields. Dedicated jointly to Haroeris, The Good Doctor, and Sobek, the crocodile god, the temple is famous for its twin entrances, halls and sanctuaries. Sculpted wall reliefs include one showing ancient surgical instruments, bone-saws and dental tools. Three mummified crocodiles found nearby are now in the Chapel of Hathor. A tour of the temple could be combined with a visit to Darow Camel Market where camels that have made the trek from northern Sudan are sold every Tuesday.           

Edfu