Added: 05/22/2006 |
Aswan Travel - the 'African feel' of the City on the East Bank of the NileEgypt travelogues provide the real stories and adventures posted by the community of travel writers and the insider's guide to Aswan - one of Egypt's favorite travel destinations. Aswan, Egypt's southernmost city with population of 150,000 is an ancient frontier town that has the loveliest setting on the Nile. The city's warmth is typically African.
Aswan travel is the base for trips to the temples of Philae and Kabasha; there's also the Sun Temple of Ramases II at Abu Simbul to the south. Aswan is very laid-back that you can easily spend a week here just hanging out. Aswan travel guides will help you relax here, visit a few mosques, and prepare you for an adventure. At Aswan the deserts close in on the river, confining its sparkling blue between smooth amber sand and rugged extrusions of granite bedrock.
Lateen-sailed feluccas glide past the ancient ruins and the rocks of Elephantine Island, palms and tropical shrubs softening the islands. The city's ambience is palpably African; its Nubian inhabitants are lither and darker than the Saiyidis, with different tastes and customs. Although you might want to give the 'Nubian dancers' performing in the expensive hotels a miss, getting a real taste of this ancient culture would be an excellent opportunity and an experience you will not forget - the Nubian Cultural center is a good option here.
Aswan's own monuments are insignificant compared to Luxor's, but still it is the base for excursions to the temples of Philae and Kabasha , near the great dams beyond the First Cataract, and the Sun Temple of Ramses II at Abu Simbel, far to the south. It can also serve for day-trips to Darow Camel Market, Kom Ombo, Edfu and Esna - the main temples between here and Luxor. But the classic approach to Aswan travel is the upriver by felucca, experiencing the Nile's moods and scenery as travelers have for millennia. The tourism scene here is much the same as in Luxor.
Aswan Bazaar - the best in Egypt outside Cairo, runs along the Corniche, which continues past the Ferial Gardens and the Nubian Museum, and continues on to the Cemetery, with its forest of cupolas surmounted tombs from the Fatimid period. Just east of the cemetery in the famous area quarries is the gigantic Unfinished Obelisk. Just to the south of this, two Graeco-Roman sarcophagi and an unfinished colossus remain half buried in the sand.
Although Aswan's sinuous Corniche follows the river bank for over 4 kilometers, most things worth noting during the Aswan travel lie along the 1500-meter stretch between the Palace of Culture and Ferial Gardens, culminating in the Old Cataract Hotel facing the southern end of Elephantine Island.
Otherwise, the main focus of interest is Sharia al-Souk, which runs two to three blocks inland as it snakes down from the train station to Sharia Abbas Farid. For about half this distance it is paralleled by another busy thoroughfare, Sharia Abtal el-Tahrir, which runs ever closer to the Corniche but never quite touches it, and finishes up as a narrow backstreet.
Aswan is a perfect place to enjoy the real 'African feel' while in Egypt.
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