Aswan Egypt

Aswan – Arabic Cities

Aswan Egypt

Aswan is the capital of the Aswan Governorate of Egypt, which is the southern gateway to Egypt and is located on the eastern bank of the Nile at the first waterfall of the Nile. Its coordinates are 24.05 st. 32.56 BC. It has a population of 200,000 people. Aswan is one of the driest inhabited places on earth. For example, there was no rain in the six years between 1995 and 2001, so it is not unusual for some rooms of Nubian village houses not to be roofed. Aswan was known as Sien in the Pharaonic and Greek periods. In it, Eratosthenes refuted the flat Earth theory and made the first calculation of the circumference of the Earth, taking Sine as a center and Alexandria as a terminal point to calculate the length of the arc between the two points and the angle of sunlight falling on each of the two cities among the Arabic cities, including according to the circumference of the Earth. Eratosthenes relied on the perpendicularity of the sun tropic of Cancer (almost passing through Aswan) on June 21.

Aswan is considered one of the most beautiful picnics in Egypt, and indeed in the world at all, where the moderate dry climate, the warm sun, and the calm that prevails everywhere in it, even the boats that flow on the page of the eternal Nile in a wonderful and beautiful calm. The city of Aswan was known in the ancient Egyptian language as “Sono”, meaning the market; Where it was a trade area, and a station for commercial caravans, the Greeks changed that name to β€œ Sin ”, then the Copts called it β€œ Swan ”, and when the Arabs came to it in the sixth century AD, they pronounced it β€œAswan”.

History of Aswan among Arabic cities

Pharaonic Egypt

The importance of this region appeared in the era of the Old Kingdom; To secure the southern border, it was a center for gathering armies when the kings of the Middle Kingdom tried to extend their power to the south. It played a special role during the Egyptian struggle to expel the Hyksos.

Ptolemaic Egypt

In the era of the Ptolemies, the island of Philae – the home of the cult of the god Isis – received a lot of attention and they completed its large temple.

Roman Egypt

In the era of the Romans, temples were established in the ancient Egyptian style to get closer to the Egyptians, so Emperor Trajan established a small temple on the island of Philae.

The spread of Christianity became an official religion in the fifth century AD, Egyptian temples were turned into churches, the island of Philae was the center of one of the bishops, and Christianity spread from it south to the country of Nubia.

Islamic era

Then Islam spread since its inception; Where evidence was found written in Kufic script dating back to the beginning of the first century AH.

Aswan flourished in the Islamic era, and in the tenth century AD, it was a road to Azab on the Red Sea coast; Where ships sail to the Hijaz, Yemen, and India.

Was an important cultural center in the sixth and seventh century AH, was the oldest of the three schools of Aswan school, school Asifih, and school astrocytes in Aswan.

The modern era

Muhammad Ali established the first military school in Egypt in 1837.

Geography

It is located on the eastern shore of the Nile, where part of it is located on the plain that surrounds the Nile, and the other is on the hills that represent the edge of the eastern desert plateau. The city of Aswan rises about 85 meters above sea level, which is 879 km away from Cairo.

The climate

Demography

Tribal problems
On 17 December 2012 clashes with weapons and white bricks and sticks broke out and shooting random, in an area to break the stone in Aswan between the Nubian tribe and Bani Hilal to the differences between them, and the number of injured parties was kidnapped one of the sons of the Nuba area of Mount Tqouk. [4]

The shops were closed and the main street closed in front of the Aswan Court and the Aswan Prosecutions, and meters away from the Security Directorate, amid criticism from the Aswani street for the security inaction that has not yet reached, while the two sides are now preparing to defend themselves and recover the kidnapped Nubian.

Transport

Airports
In view of the importance of Aswan tourism, many airports were established, namely:

A – New Aswan International Airport:

The second-largest airport (after Cairo Airport ) is characterized by the architectural character appropriate to the nature of the region.

B- Abu Simbel Airport The Abu Simbel Tourist Airport has been developed to accommodate the movement of aircraft arriving in the city from all over the world.

C- Airports serving Aswan Governorate investors:

Airport Luxor International
East Owainat Airport
Prince Airport
Marsa Alam Airport (under construction)

Tourism

Nubia Museum

The Nubia Museum contains the history of the Land of Gold (as it was called in hieroglyphics ).

It is considered one of the most important Egyptian museums. This is due to several factors: it is the unique and only open-air museum of its kind. The museum was prepared and built for ten years. It is also a wonderful model for the representatives of the International Cultural Cooperation in the United Nations through the ( United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization – Alinescu )

Philae Island

Philae Island has been turned into an Oberoi hotel, with its huge tower that exposes the entirety of Aswan. In the past, this island was called Yeb (elephant in the Nubian language), and the reason for the name is due to the fact that the island was formed from giant gray stone formations, which resemble a herd of elephants bathing in the water.

Another explanation for this is that the island was home to a huge ivory trade market, and the island also contains the temple of Khnum, which was destroyed in the fourth century BC and was built by Nectanebo in honor of the ram god Khnum. The temple is now under restoration. Right next to it lie the remains of the Temple of Satis, which was discovered by an excavation project carried out by a group of German archaeologists, and a small Ptolemaic temple was discovered recently.

Abu Simbel

Abu simbel temple Aswan hotels, resorts, and temples

Although the Abu Simbel temple is one of the most wonderful and historical temples in the world, the process of transferring, reconstructing, and throwing them is a historical event in itself. The two temples are located (380 kilometers from Aswan) and the two temples threatened to sink in Lake Nasser, due to the construction of the High Dam. The Egyptian government guaranteed the support of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and issued an international appeal to support it. The rescue operation began in 1964 and continued until 1968, in which the temple was dismantled and re-erected more than 60 meters above a solid rocky slope. It is known that the pharaohs had built the temple more than 3000 years ago.

Philae Temple.

The Temple of Philae was dismantled and reassembled (on the island of Agilika, about 550 meters from its original site on the island of Philae) following the construction of the High Dam. The Temple The temple was established for the god Isis and was placed in a beautiful site designed to resemble its original site. It consists of various shrines and shelters and includes the vestibule of Nectanibos, which was used as the entrance to the island, the Temple of Emperor Adrian, the Temple of Hathor, and other collectibles and rooms. At night, sound and light shows are held.

Obelisks

One of the most important landmarks of Aswan is the two missing obelisks. One of them is located next to the Nuba Museum, 1.4 km from the town, its height is 40 meters and it was built of flint stone.

The other is located in the desert, somewhere near the monastery of Saint Simon. This obelisk is more complete and more solid than the first obelisk.

Tomb of the Aga Khan

The tomb of Shah Muhammad Aga Khan (who was a huge fan of Aswan) is one of the landmarks that many are keen to visit. It was his will to be buried in Aswan. When he died in 1957, his family built his sandstone tomb on the western bank of the Nile. The tomb was built in the Islamic style of Old Cairo, where it was decorated from the inside with inscriptions from the Holy Quran made of marble. He was buried there in February 1959, and his burial ceremony was a world event.

Saint Simeon Monastery

Also known as the Monastery of Simeon, this monastery was founded in the seventh century, but it was destroyed; It was rebuilt in its present form in the tenth century. The monastery consists of two levels and a wall of six meters high, giving it the shape of a military fortress. It is one of the best-preserved monasteries in Egypt and is well worth a visit.

Kalabsha Temple

Like the Temple of Philae, the Temple of Kalabsha, which was about to be immersed forever under the rising waters of the Nile, was moved 40 kilometers north of its original location. The transition project was implemented and completed in 1975. Today the temple stands on the west bank of Lake Nasser, south of the High Dam. It was built around 20 BC during the reign of Emperor Augustus, for the Nubian god Mandulis, the equivalent of the Egyptian god Horus. Next to the Kalabsha Temple are the temples of Kertasi (to the north) and the Guardian’s House.

Read more about famous Arab CitiesThe list of Arab CountriesList of Arab capitals