(Known as Syene in early Egypt.)
The ancient frontier town of Aswan has amazing scenery, glorious sunsets and an air of calm and tranquility. The broad Corniche or a promenade is perfect for a leisurely stroll, to watch the sailboats, (felucca) with their tall masts dramatically etched against the bright Egyptian sky. The morning is the best time to explore the souk, or the marketplace where the air is heady with the scent of spices and perfumes. At 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.
In this area the Nile River is dotted with islands, the two main ones are Elephantine Island and Kitchener Island.
Places of Interest
Kitchener's Island. The island is the site of a beautiful botanic garden, offering a haven of peace and quiet beneath the shady trees tropical flowers and exotic birds. This is the perfect place to spend a relaxing afternoon. You can reach Kitchener's Island by boat from the Corniche at Aswan.
Elephantine Island. Excavations have uncovered the Temple of the ram-headed creator-god Khnum, with a granite gateway built by Alexander. At the front of the temple, is a restored pavement with fragments of columns built by Rameses II, leading down to a Roman quay. Behind the museum is the site the small Temple of Satis, the consort of Khnum, built at the time of Hatshepsut and Tuthmose III. The island also has one of the earliest Nilometer's, used by the ancient Egyptians to measure the height of the Nile floods. This way they could asses the amount of taxes for the coming harvest. The island can be reached by felucca from anywhere along the Corniche.
The Aswan High Dam. Built to control the flow of the River Nile it also created Lake Nasser, often referred to as the Nubian Sea, the largest man made lake in the world. Its at Aswan that you can see the Philaetemple, the Unfinished Obelisk and Kitchener Island, the ancient sites of Nubia are also in this region as is the Abu Simbel Temple, for many visitors this is probably the most awesome of Egypt's great temples.
Abu Simbel. The temple was built by Ramesses II (c.1279-1213 BCE) in ancient Nubia, to demonstrate his power and divinity. There are four huge (65 feet or 20 meters high) statues of Ramesses sitting in pairs on either side of the entrance. The head and torso of one of the statues fell probably as a result of an earthquake. The alignment of the temple is such that twice a year the sun's rays reach into the innermost sanctuary to illuminate the seated statues of Ptah, Amun-Re, Ramesses II, and Re- Horakhty, one manifestation of the sun god. The temple was cut out of the sandstone cliffs above the River Nile, when the High Dam was being constructed in the early 1960s, international funds and technical expertise were brought together to move the temple to higher ground so that it would not be lost for ever under the waters of Lake Nasser.
Sunk Relief of the God Hapy. At Abu Simbel, below the seat of one of the colossal statues of Ramesses II, is a relief of the god Hapy, who personified the Nile floods. Hapy is androgynous (having both male and female characteristics), suggesting the fertility of the land that results from the Nile flood. Hapy illustrate the Egyptian concern for balance and order.
The Temple of Hathor. The Temple of Hathor at Abu Simbel was built by Ramesses II to honour both Hathor as the goddess of love and music and his wife Nefertari. The facade has six colossal standing statues (over 33 feet/10 meters high). On each side of the entrance, two statues of Ramesses flank one of Nefertari dressed as Hathor. The colossal statues are, in turn, flanked by smaller statues of their children. In the evening there is an excellent sound and light show at Abu Simbel, with projections onto the two temples showing how they once looked. The program is presented in a number of languages with the provision of ear pieces
