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Lying at the southernmost border of Egypt's ancient empire, Aswan is truly the “Jewel of the Nile”. The Nile runs clear and cold, splashing and swirling around the jutting granite that mark the First Cataract. At Aswan, the Nile has lost its buffer of cultivated land, and endless waves of golden sand swirl against its banks.
Aswan is also home to the Aswan High Dam, where the Nile’s flow is regulated for the whole of Egypt. The area was formerly known in ancient times as Nubia. The Nubian language is still spoken today by many Aswan residents, and traditional Nubian folkloric performances are a must-see for any visitor. Few Nubian monuments are left for visitors to see, most having been flooded by the waters of Lake Nasser; but several sites of outstanding world heritage were actually moved piece by piece to higher ground before the dam was made operational – including the elegant Temple of Philae in Aswan itself, and the incredible temples of Abu Simbel to the south.
KEY ATTRACTIONS IN ASWAN
KEY ATTRACTIONS IN LAKE NASSER FROM ASWAN TO ABU SIMBEL
KEY ATTRACTIONS ALONG THE NILE BETWEEN LUXOR AND ASWAN
Temple of Philae: A Ptolemaic temple complex dedicated to Isis, was built on the island of Philae, but when the Old Dam was built, many of the buildings were partially flooded. When the High Dam was proposed, the temple was at risk and was therefore moved to the higher neighbouring island of Agilika. Agilika, blasted and re-landscaped to duplicate the temple island’s original topography, became modern Philae. The island floats like a jewel in a pool of royal blue, and is reached by a short motorboat ride.
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Aswan High Dam: Built between 1960 and 1971 with the help of the Russians, it rises 111 metres, is 980 metres thick at the bottom and 40 metres at the top, and stretches 3.6 km across the river. Lake Nasser backs up behind it for nearly 500 km and averages over 10 km wide and 180 meters deep – it is the world’s largest man-made lake. The High Dam was built to generate enough electricity for new industry, as well as for wide rural electrification, and to provide enough water to bring millions of additional acres under cultivation. From the top of the dam are incredible views over Lake Nasser.
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Unfinished Obelisk
The Granite Quarries that supplied the ancient Egyptians with most of the hard stone used in pyramids and temples were based in Aswan. Today, a visit to the quarries enables visitors to walk along the entire length of a giant obelisk that the ancient workers were trying to chisel out from the rock. Had they finished, it would have been the largest single stone obelisk ever made in Ancient Egypt; but as they worked along the sides of the block they discovered a flaw, and left it unfinished.
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Nubia Museum This is the only museum in the world dedicated to the artefacts and culture of the “Land of Gold”, as ancient Nubia was known by the Pharaohs. The museum contains many rare artifacts, unique statues, and mummies.
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Felucca sailing
As the traditional sailing vessel of the Nile, virtually unchanged since Pharaonic times, feluccas can be found all over Egypt – but Aswan is the perfect place to enjoy a supremely relaxed sailing trip on one.
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LAKE NASSER FROM ASWAN TO ABU SIMBEL
Temple of Kalabsha
Kalabsha Temple, close to Aswan, was the largest freestanding temple built in Nubia, with its Pharaonic aspect remodelled into the Graeco-Roman style and dedicated to the God Mandoulis. Kalabsha Temple was moved to its present location in 1970, along with other monuments from ancient Nubia.
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Abu Simbel: It is here that Ramses II, the most powerful and longest-ruling Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, ordered two sun temples carved from the limestone mountains at Abu Simbel. In modern times the two temples of Abu Simbel were threatened by the waters that would rise with the completion of the High Dam. A campaign to save them was organized by UNESCO. The plan was to cut the temples into blocks, raise them piece-by-piece, and reassemble them in their new position on the banks of Lake Nasser. The job was massive and took two years to complete.
The Great Temple of Ra-Harakhte is fronted by four colossal statues of Ramses II, over 20 metres high. The Temple of Hathor, built in honour of Ramses’ favourite wife, Queen Nefertari, is fronted by six other massive standing statues, each 10 metres high. Abu Simbel is normally visited by air (just 30 minutes on the shuttle from Aswan), but can also be reached by road or by high-speed ferry, or visited as part of a Lake Nasser cruise.
Visitors who cruise on Lake Nasser, or stay overnight in Abu Simbel, also have the opportunity to see a stunning Sound & Light Show – Egypt’s most technologically advanced, including fabulous laser displays that outline the story of the ancient building and modern moving of the Abu Simbel temples.
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KEY ATTRACTIONS ALONG THE NILE BETWEEN LUXOR AND ASWAN
Esna: Temple of Khnum
The small town of Esna is home to the Graeco-Roman Temple dedicated to Khnum, the ram-headed god who was worshipped throughout this area and who fashioned mankind from mud of the Nile on his potter's wheel. The beautifully preserved Great Hypostyle Hall of the temple was built during the reign of the Roman Emperor Claudius; it was excavated from the silt that had accumulated through centuries of annual Nile floods and is about nine meters below present-day street level.
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Edfu: Temple of Horus
Edfu was the Greek city of Apollinopolis, and during Pharaonic times was the region’s capital. The main attraction is the extraordinary Temple of Horus – the best-preserved Pharaonic temple in Egypt.
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Kom Ombo: Temple of Sobek—Dedicated to two gods – the crocodile-god Sobek, and the falcon-headed sky god, Haroeris. Everything is duplicated along the main axis: there are two entrances, two courts, two colonnades, two hypostyle halls and two sanctuaries.
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