Travel Guide Island Elephantine

It's hard when you arrive to get used to the idea that this is where it all - or almost all - happened! There are only vague remains of Syene which was the capital of the first name of Upper Egypt. Situated as it was at the gates of Nubia and the whole of Africa, it played a leading role in the trade of gold, ivory, ebony and spices. It had been fortified against Nubian incursions and maintained a large garrison of soldiers and mercenaries. The nomarchs and governors were as powerful as in fairy tales, thanks to the heavy tribute they took from the caravans and boats that were about to cross the first cataract. Granite of excellent quality was quarried here in industrial quantities. The island of Abou (elephant) was home to the venerated temple of Khnoum, while a short distance away, in Philae, the cult of Isis was perpetuated.Today, amputated from its northern end by the awful Oberoi dungeon (Mövenpick Hotel), it is nonetheless a world apart, with a village of narrow streets and mud houses, with facades of ochre and blue pastels. The place is pleasant and it is good to walk in these gardens of light where tomatoes and beans grow. The island is divided into three: to the south, the museum and the archaeological site bordered by the Nubian village of Coti (which means "Jews" in Nubian); in the centre are the farms as well as the school and the Animalia museum; to the north the village of Siou and the Mövenpick Hotel