Travel Guide Aswan

Although the Greeks called this trading city Syene, the name Elephantine comes to mind from more ancient times. Aswan is located at the first cataract (waterfall), at the entrance to the land of Kush, Nubia. It's another Egypt, a hinge with Sudan and the Black Pharaohs. In those days, people lived on Elephantine and on the island of Sehel. The pink granite quarries were used throughout the country to adorn temples or as raw material for sculptors of monumental statues.Since Kôm-Ombo, the valley has narrowed, the sand has become more yellow, almost gold-laden, and the palm groves that line the road and railroad contrast in their greenness with the mineral matter that burns in the sun. So, naturally, we turn our eyes more towards the bluer, darker, colder Nile. It is in the hollows of the granite blocks rounded by the waves that the god Hâpy hides and gives strength to the river at flood time.The elephantine triad made up of Khnoum, Satet and Anouket, with their foreman Hâpy, have been a little out of work since the construction of the high dam, upstream from the river, in 1970. There are no more floods and the river continues its course. However, the Nile is not as calm as it looks, as strong currents 50 meters down create deadly whirlpools between the islands. So it's along the sandy banks of the west bank that bathers soak in the river: it's the latest fashionable activity!Aswan is the gateway to Nubia, whose people have regained their place in society. After the expulsion and destruction of the houses of the tribes who lived along the Nile, now submerged by Lake Nasser, the Nubians were marginalized. Now they have regained power over the city, and a visit to the Nubian villages has become a must. Some of them are fighting for their language and culture to be truly recognized by the Egyptian state.