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Aswan
Egypt
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.
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