General Information About Aswan

Aswan, the third largest city in Egypt is home to some of Egypt’s most historic sites, with some of the most beautiful surroundings. Come visit Aswan and please your eyes with one of the most enchanting natural sceneries in the world.

Tranquility and superb natural landscapes aren’t only what Aswan has to offer. This city invites you to trace back Egypt’s ancient mysteries through its legendary temples. Aswan is also home to plenty of attractions that need to be seen when visiting this historic city.

Today, Aswan is characterized by its abundance of palm trees and tropical gardens standing beside one of the wildest parts of the Nile River. As such, it has many islands dotted off its shores.

Aswan enjoys a distinctive African atmosphere. Nubian Dancers perform live in several hotels, and are surely a sight not to be missed as you will get a real taste of this ancient culture. Nubian villages must be visited, as they have an enchanting taste of Egypt in addition to the warm hospitality and fascinating culture, and The Nubian Cultural center is also a good option.

Hugely attractive, Aswan is the busy market center of the region. In fact, its ancient name of Sewent means “trade”. Aswan is still keeping its bustling spirit, as it’s lively with its colorful shops and bazaars.

Cruising the Nile in Aswan is definitely a memorable experience as you will be enjoying an enthralling blend of nature’s exquisiteness and the grace of the Pharaohs. Being a serene destination with magnificent scenery, Aswan also makes for an ideal gateway for honeymooners.

Located roughly where the Western Desert and the Eastern Desert meet, and just north of the great expanse of water created by the Aswan High Dam  known as Lake Nasser , Aswan has a gorgeous winter climate and is a popular sun resort from November through to March with Egyptians as well as International vacationers.

• Islands

  Kitchener’s Island

  Kitchener’s Island is a botanical garden filled with exotic plants and trees imported from all over the world. It is a perfect place to spend a lazy afternoon in the shade. The island must be reached by boat, and is located on the other side of Elephantine Island from Aswan. The Island was given to Lord Kitchener for his campaigns in Sudan, and he moved there and created his garden, importing plants and trees from all over the world.

  Elephantine Island

  The island of Elephantine is the largest island in Aswan and one of the oldest sites in Egypt, dating back to the pre-dynastic period. The name Elephantine means elephant in Greek, and the island was known as Abu, or Yabu, which also means elephant, probably because it was a key trading center for ivory, among other commodities. It features lavish gardens, numerous artifacts that are mostly in ruins, a Nubian Village, and a Nilometer used to measure the level of water in the Nile.

• Aswan Cultural Centre

  One of Aswan’s attractions is its Cultural Centre. Every night Nubian dancers and musicians give performances just off the cornice, and folklore troupes recreate from village life and perform the famous Nubian mock stick-fight dances.

• The High Dam

  The world-famous High Dam was an engineering miracle when it was built in the 1960s. Today it provides irrigation and electricity for the whole of Egypt and, together with the old Aswan Dam, 6 km downriver; it is a wonderful view for visitors.

• Lake Nasser

  Cruising Lake Nasser is one of the best ways to blend splendor with beauty, and a great way to relax and discover the sights of the ancient Pharaohs. From the decks of a felucca, a traditional wooden sailing boat, or a luxury boat you can see many temples along the way. On the shores of Lake Nasser, there is the wonderful site of the Great Temples of Abu Simbel for Ramses II, and the small temple of Abu Simbel for Nefertari.

• Legendary Temples

  The Temples of Abu Simbel

  Situated near Egypt’s southern borders with Sudan, 280 km south of Aswan, the Temples of Abu Simbel are amongst the most interesting of all Pharaonic temples. There are two temples cut into the rock dating back to king Ramses II – one is for Ramses and the other for Nefertari.
  The Great Temple
  Ramses II built this for himself to be adored beside the gods Amun-Re, Re-Horakhty, and Ptah. It is 33m high and 38m wide and 56m deep. King Ramses II built this temple for himself not only as a king but also as a god as the facade of the temple shows how king Ramses was worshiping himself as a god. It also showed him as a warrior and after that as a peace maker when he signed the first peace treaty in history and married the daughter of the Hittites.
  Temple of Nefertari
  The Temple of Queen Nefertari is located 120m from the Temple of Ramses II and was also built by Ramses II, dedicated to the Goddess Hathor and to his wife Queen Nefertari. Queen Nefertari was the principal, and the most beloved, wife of King Ramses II. It is also a rock-cut Temple with a façade of about 28m long and 12m high, which contains 6 standing colossi, each one being about 11m in height. Four of them represent Ramses II and the other two represent Queen Nefertari, each accompanied by two smaller figures of their children.
  The entrance leads to a square hall, which is supported by 6 Hathor-headed pillars decorated with scenes depicting the King and the Queen making offerings to different deities. At the end of the hall there is a doorway leading to a transverse vestibule decorated with scenes of King Ramses II making offerings to Re-Horakhty, while the Queen is presenting flowers to Khenum, Sat-tet and Anket.The Transverse Hall leads to the Sanctuary, which contains a niche in the rear wall with a statue of Goddess Hathor, as a cow, protecting

  Ramses II.

  The view from this place is incredible. Imagine yourself in the middle of the desert, and at the shores of Lake Nasser. The temples got world fame when an international UNESCO operation was needed to save them from the rising water of Lake Nasser. The bright colors in the carvings are essentially intact.

  The Temple Of Edfu

  This city played a major role in the history of Aswan, and is located 60 km south of it. Edfu was a flourishing city in ancient times and the center of the cult of triad of Gods, including the infamous Horus and Hathor. The temple of Edfu dates back to the Ptolemaic period, and the temple and its inscriptions were completed over a period of 180 years. This glorious temple includes a Nilometer and a chapel dedicated to the Goddess Nut. Various walls depict scenes of wars, the ritual foundation of the temple, and the divine marriage of Hathor and Horus of Behdet.

  The Temple of Philae

  This magnificent temple is located on a small rocky island in the middle of the Nile, south of Aswan, and was built by the Ancient Egyptians for the Goddess Isis. It was submerged by Nile floods when the first dam was built in Aswan in 1906. In the 1970s, with the completion of the High Dam of Aswan, attempts began to save the temple. A new island, Egilika, was chosen and reshaped to resemble the island on which the temple resides. Over a period of nine years, the temple was dismantled, transferred, and assembled again on Egilika.