Bright Star Tours

Aswan:

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 your Hotel . 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.

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 Nubia Museum:

The International Museum of Nubia is located in Aswan on an area of 50,000 squaremeters, 7000 of which are excluded to building, while the rest designed to be the yard of the museum. The building has three floors for displaying and housing, in addition to a library and information center. The largest part of the museum is occupied by the monumental pieces, reflecting phases of the development of the Nubian culture and civilization.

Three thousands pieces of antiq., representing various ages; Geological, Pharaonic, Roman, Coptic and Islamic, were registered. The open-door exhibition includes 90 rare monumental pieces, while the internal halls contain 50 invaluable pieces dating back to the pre-history times, 503 pieces belong to Pharaonic time, 52 of Coptic era, 103 of Islamic age, 140 of Nubian time, in addition to 360 pieces having the tang of Aswan.

The Tomb of Agha Khan:

This is the Mausoleum of the spiritual leader of the Ismailis, a Shi'ite sect (as were the Fatimid) based principally in India but with followers around the world. It is a very elegant pink granite structure of late 1950 origin, which also resembles the Fatimid tombs in Cairo. Members of this sect consider themselves to be the direct spiritual descendants of the Fatimid. The Mausoleum has an excellent view, including Aga Khan's white villa below, and is near the Monastery of St. Simeons on the west bank at Aswan. His Begun, or wife, still lives in the villa three months of the year.

The Unfinished Obelisk:

Much of the red granite used for ancient temples and colossi came from quarries in the Aswan area. Around these quarries are many inscriptions, many of which describe successful quarrying projects. The Unfinished Obelisk located in the Northern Quarry still lies where a crack was discovered as it was being hewn from the rock. Possibly intended as a companion to the Lateran Obelisk, originally at Karnak but now in Rome, it would have weighed over 2.3 million pounds and would have been the worlds largest piece of stone ever handled. However, a crack in the stone occurred, which caused it to be abandoned. Tools left by it's builders have given us much insight into how such work was performed. The site has recently been renovated and equipped with tourist facilities. Nearby is the Fatimid Cemetery.

Elephantine Island:

Elephantine Island is the largest of the Aswan area islands, and is one of the most ancient sites in Egypt, with artifacts dating to predynastic periods. This is probably due to its location at the the Nile, which provided a natural boundary between Egypt and Nubia. As an island, it was also easily defensible. In fact, the ancient town located in the southern part of the island was also a fortress through much of it's history. At one time, there was a bridge from the mainland to the island.

The Tombs of the Nobles:

The northern hills of the west bank (Qubbet el-Hawwa or Qubbet el-Hawa meaning windy dome) are filled with the rock-hewn tombs of princes from the Old Kingdom to the Roman period. The 6th Dynasty tombs, some of which form linked family complexes, contain important biographical texts. Inside, the tombs are decorated with vivid wall paintings showing scenes of everyday life, hieroglyphic biographies and inscriptions telling of the noblemen's journeys into Africa.

The Temple Edfu:

Dedicated to Horus, the falcon headed god, it was built during the reigns of six Ptolemies. We have a great deal of information about its construction from reliefs on outer areas. It was begun in 237 BC by Ptolemy III Euergetes I and was finished in 57 BC. Most of the work continued throughout this period with a brief interlude of 20 years while there was unrest during the period of Ptolemy IV and Ptolemy V Epiphanes.

The High Dam:

Located near Aswan, the world famous High Dam was an engineering miracle when it was built in the 1960s. It contains 18 times the material used in the Great Pyramid of Cheops. The Dam is 11,811 feet long, 3215 feet thick at the base and and 364 feet tall. Today it provides irrigation and electricity for the whole of Egypt and, together with the old Aswan Dam built by the British between 1898 and 1902`, 6km down river, wonderful views for visitors. From the top of the two Mile long High Dam you can gaze across Lake Nassar, the huge reservoir created when it was built, to Kalabsha temple in the south and the huge power station to the north. The High Dam created a 30% increase in the cultivatable land in Egypt, and raised the water table for the Shara as far away as Algeria. The electricity producing capability of the Dam doubled Egypt's available supply. The High Dam added an whole new aspect to Egypt, and a new environment as well. The lake is some 500 miles long and at the time it was built, if not now, was the world's largest artificial lake.

Philae Temple:

The name Philae comes from the ancient Egyptian word Pilak, which means “the remote place.” Philae was the southernmost place in Egypt, and the last outpost of the 4000 year-old ancient Egyptian religion. During the Greco-Roman period, Philae was a sacred island and an important cult center dedicated to Isis. Isis, her husband Osiris, and their son Horus, are the three most important figures in ancient Egyptian mythology.

Their story is like one of Shakespeare’s tragedies. A small argument between Osiris and his brother Set grew into a large battle between the two brothers. Set killed Osiris, then cut the body of Osiris into many pieces and scattered them around Egypt. Isis, ever the dedicated wife, searched everywhere in Egypt until she found all the pieces of her husband’s body. With her magical powers she brings Osiris back to life, and Isis gives birth to Horus. When Horus grew up and became a man, he avenged his father and killed Set. According to the legend, Philae is the place where Isis found the heart of Osiris, and she buried it on a nearby island.

Abu Simbel:

	Abu Simbel is located 280 km from Aswan on the West bank of the Nile in what was once called Nubia. The site was commissioned by Ramses the Second, also known as Ramses the Great, during the 5th year of his long reign, and it was not completed until his 35th year as pharaoh. It is the largest and most beautiful of the many monuments Ramses the Great erected throughout Egypt to proclaim his power. The massive façade, cut into the mountainside, features four statues of Ramses himself, each 20 meters high.

Smaller statues of the royal family stand between the four largest statues. These include Ramses' mother, his wife Nefertari, and their sons and daughters.