Overview
Set where the Nile runs clear between desert and granite islands, Aswan has a gentler pace than the cities to the north. It was Egypt’s door to Nubia and Africa, a frontier and trading post, and Nubian culture still colours its villages, food and music. The town is a place to slow down, drifting under sail and watching the river, as much as a base for the monuments around it.
Highlights
The temple of Philae, moved to an island to escape the rising lake, is reached by boat, and the High Dam that made that lake lies just upstream. Feluccas sail to Elephantine Island and the Nubian villages, and the botanical Kitchener’s Island lies midstream. Aswan is also the starting point for the long trip south to the colossal rock temples of Abu Simbel.