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Aswan, Egypt, is regarded for the incredible renovation of its historical archaeological sites. But previous the otherworldly temples and rich history, Aswan is a city of open-air marketplaces, felucca cruises, and tranquil views. So let’s dive into this gem on the Nile, and see what is in Aswan and why you favor to add one of our Egypt excursions to your bucket list. (No seriously, add it to your listing today!)
Where is Aswan?
Aswan is in southern Egypt on the banks of the Nile River. Its positioning on the water has made it a strategic buying and promoting port due to the truth early Antiquity (4,500 BCE to 450 CE). Aswan is recognised for its buying and promoting corporation and marketplaces. So it makes ideal feel that the city’s title comes from the historic Egyptian phrase for market, soun.
Aswan is identified as the Land of Gold, no longer due to the reality you’ll discover a literal gold mine right here however due to the truth this is the resting location for Nubian pharaohs. Ancient Egyptians believed gold used to be the flesh of the gods, so they buried their pharaohs in golden sarcophagi.
Which all gives up to why we choose to talk about the unforgettable matters to do in Aswan!
Sail the Nile Like A Pharaoh in A Felucca
Feluccas are everyday wooden sailboats with lateen sails. (Lateen refers to the 45-degree standpoint of the sails, a signature in feluccas worldwide.) They’re widespread in Sudan, Greece, and of course, Aswan, Egypt.
But it’s now not truely the boat’s iconic appear that makes riding on a felucca one of the superb matters to do in Aswan. On board, you’ll hit upon colourful pillows for alleviation and style, and even foods service. So picture your self cruising down the river on a mountain of pillows, consuming genuine Egyptian cuisine, and taking in the fascinating views of the banks of the Nile River. Add a Sunset Felucca Ride & Dinner tour to your day trip when you’re on our Week in Egypt: Giza, Nile River Cruise & Cairo tour to absolutely sense like a pharaoh.
Travel tip: The extremely good time of 12 months to take your felucca time out down the Nile is between the months of October and April, when the climate won’t be too hot. But if you are searching to take benefit of even cooler local weather and seasonal events, you’ll pick to go to Egypt in the winter.
Learn the Art Work of Haggling and Earn Your Souvenirs At the Markets
True to its namesake, Aswan, Egypt boasts vibrant marketplaces. These markets, moreover diagnosed as souks, are full of souvenirs, food, and art. “In the city itself, there is a superb open-air market full of real Egyptian trinkets,” mentioned staffer Gabriella. “You choose to be suitable at bargaining, on the other hand the ride is definitely nicely really worth it,” she said.
The retail shops in these markets feature the total component from regionally sourced, herbal oils to beadwork, clay products, rugs, and more. They’re full of vivid colors, intoxicating smells, and human beings haggling for the high-quality bargain. But it’s now now not all about spending cash. Having the threat to stroll via a city that has thrived for centuries on the art work of buying and promoting is a memorable souvenir. “We walked through their nearby market which used to be such a fun way to be in a position to journey the day by day life,” mentioned staffer Josie.
Travel tip: Look to your Tour Director for pointers until now than you begin to bargain. Once you’re ready, don’t commence the manner until you intend to purchase the product. You have to moreover be aware of what charge you would pay before of time, and grant half of that in your first exchange. Don’t start with your range though—let them throw out the first digits previously than you counter. And be aware that while this may be new to you, this is a no longer entirely now not unusual is Aswan, it’s considered rude to no longer excellent purchase for your goods. Happy haggling!
Take in the Iconic Views
Aswan is a lush, inexperienced oasis on the economic institution of the Nile River, bordered via desolate tract sand and full of ancient ruins and temples. Check out a traveler’s photograph diary from Egypt to see what we mean. “Aswan is unbelievably beautiful,” referred to staffer Gabriella. The Nile is a vibrant, shimmering, life-giving element, quintessential to the metropolis now as a lot as it used to be once in the past. Full of feluccas and peppered with islands, the river is a wonder to behold. And these islands aren’t empty—many are domestic to vibrant and vivid Nubian villages (see the subsequent motive to go to Aswan below for more on them).
You’ll find out the splendid lookout over Aswan at the pinnacle of Qubbet el-Hawa or Dome of the Winds. This historical cemetery rises up on the western financial group of the Nile, at some point of from the city. Qubbet el-Hawa is surely really worth a day of exploring when you have free time on tour, and while you’re at it, take time to give up and gaze out over Aswan. The high-elevation issue of the necropolis gives an awe-inspiring view of the city, accurate definitely worth the hike.
Travel tip: To assist aid the environment whilst you ride even higher unbelievable views, stay at the Mövenpick lodge in the core of the Nile. Staffer Gabrielle raved about its distinctive location, “It offers fantastic views of the river and the city itself. In order to get to the inn you want to take a ferry,” she said. It moreover has a sturdy dedication to the planet. “Their predominant sustainability efforts encompass an upcoming picture voltaic energy farm, financing the constructing of a water therapy facility, and recycling foods waste from its restaurants,” noted staffer Tom.
Visit Nubian Villages
These brightly colored villages are on the West Bank of the Nile and a wide variety of islands down the river. The awesome colorings of their structures are bright and light, supposed to replicate the warm photo voltaic as an alternative of entice it. And this end in Aswan is greater than a alternatively view—this is a amazing opportunity to meet Nubian human beings (whose populace is solely about 100,000) and to be clearly immersed in their culture. So if you go to Aswan, you simply have to moreover go to these small villages too.
Stopping off in a Nubian village will be absolutely special from being in Aswan. You will see how the Nubian human beings historically dress, have the hazard to purchase their handmade jewelry, and get to strive their food. Which, incidentally, like tons of the Egyptian food, is vegetarian and vegan friendly!
Travel tip: When on our Egypt & the Nile River Cruise tour, don’t miss the tour to a Nubian village shut to the Aswan Dam. You will be greeted via the use of a local, who will provide you a tour of his home-turned-museum. Afterwards, sip tea with him on the roof and take in the views. This trip is a outstanding way to spend your free time, as a go to to the Nubian villages is one of the super things to do in Aswan. Read about what it’s like to journey Egypt on tour.
Ancient Egypt Information First-Hand
If you’re any kind of data buff, you desire to go to Aswan. One of the pleasant matters to do in Aswan is to time out the superb archaeological sites. There’s no shortage of respectfully cared-for and well-preserved ancient monuments—including the ultimate temple designed in the classic, historical Egyptian style: the Temple Philae. There is moreover the Temple of Kom Ombo, specific in that it houses a location of worship for two unique gods. Another archaeological treasure in Aswan is Abu Simbel, constructed by means of Ramses II. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site—and rightly so. After all, it’s an architectural triumph, whole with a room that is entirely illuminated with the aid of way of the solar on Ramses’ birthday and the day of his coronation. (Let that shock sink in a moment.) “We took a small boat ride via the Nile to see temples which used to be unbelievable, to be surrounded by the usage of these historic buildings,” stated staffer Josie.
Travel tip: Unlike many distinctive archaeological web sites in Egypt, it is free to take snap shots in Aswan. Make positive you carry some range of protecting cowl for your camera, to preserve sand from getting inner and inflicting damage. Photography pros moreover recommend arriving at websites early for crowd-free photo-ops. See our record of all the historic ruins you have to see in Egypt.
Enjoy Lake Nasser: A Manmade Marvel in Egypt
Lake Nasser is one of the biggest manmade lakes on the planet, and it used to be once created in the Sixties to make bigger the availability of irrigation and eating water. This giant challenge first required tediously deconstructing, moving, and reassembling archaeological monuments like Abu Simbel—brick by means of means of brick—so the lake wouldn’t swallow this relic. For this reason, Abu Simbel, alongside with a few specific ancient monuments, is no longer in its unique location.
Unfortunately, improvement organizations couldn’t pass each ancient Egyptian structure, such as the fortress of Buhen. It now lies below Lake Nassar, which is 591-feet deep.
Travel tip: Whether on a boat or on shore, Lake Nasser is a superb location to fish for Nile perch, which can increase up to six-and-a-half-feet long! You can additionally take in extra of these tranquil Aswan views from a boat on the lake, and appear at Abu Simbel from a new perspective.
Philae Temple
This lovely temple complex is one of the most picturesque in all of Egypt. It sits on Aglika Island simply south of the historic Aswan Dam and you ought to trip a water taxi to the island to get to theruins. The temple was once moved to its modern-day vicinity following the development of the High Dam, which threatened to submerge it permanently.
The cautious reconstruction at the cutting-edge website online cautiously completed, painstakingly keeping the unique look and design of the complicated and even landscaping the island to in shape its former location.
Philae rose to prominence throughout the Ptolomaic Dynasty as the middle of the cult of the goddess Isis. This complicated used to be in reality one of the final ultimate locations the place the historic faith survived after the arrival of Christianity in Egypt, formally closing solely in 550 AD. Early Christians then used the principal temple on the island as a church.
This is the purpose for the defacement of some of the figures of the historical gods as these Christians regularly tried to put off the pagan imagery from their newly claimed sanctuaries. The Temple of Isis is the essential characteristic here, however there are a number of different smaller temples on the island that are really worth spending time admiring.
There is a sound and mild exhibit at Philae Temple, like at all of the different most important historical sights in Egypt, however Philae’s is typically idea to be the most dazzling of these frequently overblown affairs. The atmosphere of the island’s ruins bathed in floodlighting is tough to describe adequately, however this is sincerely a encouraged way to spend an evening.
The Unfinished Obelisk
One of the unforgettable monoliths of Aswan is the majestic Unfinished Obelisk. It is without a doubt the largest obelisk ever constructed but unfortunately was uncompleted. It offers the chance to shed some light on how such massive structures were created in ancient Egypt during Egypt new kingdom by the hands of Hatshepsut.
The History of the Unfinished Obelisk
It was built in a very unique manner as it depended on a Greek style of architecture as it had four sides converging to a mini pyramidal shape at the top of the obelisk, it was built in the new kingdom during the 18th dynasty by Queen Hatshepsut, the Wife of King Thutmose II (1478-1458 B.C) to be placed in the Karnak Temple and to complement the Lateran Obelisk, originally in Karnak but later moved to Rome. It is located in its original location a granite quarry in Aswan and would have measured 42 m making it the tallest obelisk in history but the project was unfortunately abandoned due to the discovery of numerous cracks in the obelisk. Alsoit would also have been the heaviest obelisk weighing 1200 tons. The obelisk was carved into the bedrock red granite and designed to resemble the primeval hill from the myth of creation where the world appeared for the first time.
The Construction of the Obelisk
The location that holds the obelisk is considered to be an open-air museum. The obelisk is able to tell us about the instruments used to construct this massive monument such as dolerite, a small ball made of a mineral harder than granite to carve the obelisk out. They also used many creative building techniques to spread the obelisk from the bedrock as they made some small cavities in the rock and those cavities were filled with wood chips. The chips were soaked with water. The soaking made expand causing the obelisk to detach from the base.
Old Cataract Hotel
When the first iteration of the Sofitel Legend Old Cataract Aswan emerged toward the end of the 19th century, it was meant to be a luxurious vacation retreat for wealthy travelers interested in exploring the Nile Delta. Tour guide Thomas Cook specifically decided to erect a magnificent hotel in the vicinity of Aswan as a means of accommodating the European travelers who frequented the local cruise ships. Selecting a bluff that overlooked the historic Elephantine Island, Cook oversaw the construction of a brilliant Victorian-style complex that resembled a grand palace.
After months of continuous construction work, Cook finally debuted his spectacular retreat as the “Old Cataract Hotel.” Its state-of-the-art amenities and luxurious accommodations made the building an immediate sensation, prompting Cook to enlarge it exponentially. In fact, Cook had to create a tent city around the Old Cataract Hotel just to handle the overflow.
Word of the Old Cataract Hotel’s magnificent accommodations soon spread throughout Europe, attracting all kinds of illustrious guests. Among the first to visit was future British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who reserved a guestroom while attending the inauguration of the nearby Aswan Low Dam. Churchill enjoyed his time at the hotel so much that he continuously returned on vacation throughout the rest of his life.
There is an entrance fee of $30usd at the time we visited, and that fee gives you a restaurant credit toward your purchases.
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