Aswan Travel Guide

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Aswan is an uber-dry market town on the southern periphery of the ancient Egyptian empire. This modestly sized city of 200,000 people claims the distinction of being one of the world's driest inhabited locales. The city's quarries are famous for producing Syneite, an igneous rock that lent itself to the construction of the many obelisks scattered around Egypt, as well as several European cities. The city has its fill of the Egyptian bazaars, presenting plenty of shopping opportunities, but the real attraction is the Abu Simbel temple on the banks of the newly-formed resevoir created by the Aswan Dam. The temple nearly drowned during construction but, thanks to a UNESCO rescue operation, the 3,000-year-old temple monument was deconstructed and raised 60 meters up the sandstone cliffs and, like a modern miracle, was rebuilt brick-by-brick, in a safer, drier location. Catch a caravan to Abu Simbel, and bask in the shadows of Ramses II. Take a cruise on the Nile and enjoy the flowery tropics of Elephantine Island; witness the harsh contrast between the island's beautiful greenery, the similarly verdent river banks and the juxtaposition of the harsh Saharan sands lapping up to the river's edge. Head towards Luxor via a felucca, a traditional bi-lateen sailed wooden vessel, used in protected waters like the Nile, and Red Sea.

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