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Aswan


	Philae Temple The High Dam Day Trip From Aswan Temple of Kom Ombo		Temple of Edfu Nubia Abu Simbel The Smaller Temple of Nefetari

Aswan, Egypt's sunniest southern city and ancient frontier town, has a distinctively African atmosphere. 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 fresh Nile fishes.
Here, 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 sour, full of the scent and colour 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 is still a perfect place to leave everything else behind.

PHILAE TEMPLE
	After the construction of the High Dam, Philae Temple was dismantled and rebuilt on Agilika Island (about 500m. from its original place on Philae Island). The temple, dedicated to the goddess Isis, is in a beautiful setting which has been landscaped to match its original site. Its various shrines and sanctuaries, which include a temple of Hathor, a Birth House and two pylons, celebrate all the deities involved in the Isis and Osiris myth. At night, enjoy the Sound and Light Show, an interesting experience as floodlit buildings are silhouetted against the volcanic rocks and the surrounding water.

The High Dam
	The world-famous High Dam was an engineering miracle when it was built in 1960. Today it provides irrigation and electricity for the whole Egypt, and together with the old Aswan Dam, 6km downriver, offers wonderful views for visitors. From the top of the two-mile long High Dam, you can gaze across Lake Nasser, the huge reservoir created when the High Dam was built, at Kalabsha temple in the South and the huge power station to the North. To sail a felucca on the River Nile is an unforgettable experience.

Day Trip From Aswan
	Kom Ombo and Edfu are both easily accessible from Aswan by day cruise, "felucca", bus or taxi. Edfu, the best preserved temple in all of Egypt still stands in the ancient capital of the region, called by the Greeks Apollinopolis Magna. And Abu Simbel In the heart of the Nubian territory, almost on the borders of Sudan and about 300 kilometers from Aswan is the most beautiful and imposing construction of the greatest pharaoh in Egyptian history: Abu Simbel, the temple that in theory was dedicated to the triad Amon-Ra, Harmakes, and path, but which was to all extents erected solely to glorify in the centuries its constructor, Ramses II the Great.

Temple of Kom Ombo
	Arriving by boat at the Temple of Haroeris and Sobek, near Kom Ombo, is recommended: the magnificent Ptolemaic temple is in an awe-inspiring setting on high ground by the Nile, surrounded by sugarcane fields. Dedicated jointly to Haroeris, the Good Doctor, and Sobek, the crocodile god, the temple is famous for its twin entrances, halls and sanctuaries. Sculpted wall relief's include one showing ancient surgical tools, bone-saws and dental tools. Three mummified crocodiles found nearby are now in the Chapel of Hathor. A tour of the temple could be combined with a visit to Daraw Camel Market where camels that have made the trek from northern Sudan are sold every Tuesday.

Temple of Edfu
	Edfu is a longer trip (105km from Aswan) but it houses the best-preserved cult temple in Egypt which is an essential landmark for archaeological enthusiasts. Dedicated to Hours, the falcon-headed god, it was built, during the reigns of six Ptolemies. The main building, which includes a great hypostyle hall, was uncovered by Marietta. There are numerous relief's, including a depiction of the Feast of the Beautiful Meeting, the annual reunion between Hours and his wife Hathor and a particularly fine ceiling relief of the goddess Nut in the New Year Chapel. The temple, which rivals those at Luxor in grandeur, also comprises a Nilometer, a Court of Offerings and a huge pylon at its entrance.

Nubia
	Once the ancient Kingdom of Kush, Nubia is the stretch of land next to the Nile from Aswan down to Khartoum in the South. Nubians are depicted in many tomb paintings and relief's, usually as mercenaries or traders. Nubians still have distinct traditions, architecture and language, even though many migrated either to Aswan and Kom Ombo or South to Sudan after Lake Nasser swamped much of their traditional homeland. Nubia houses dozens of sites of archaeological interest, twenty four temples, as well as fortresses and tombs which were menaced by the water of the High Dam, including Den dour, Ellessiya, Amada and Wade Al-Sebowa. Some have been moved, most notably: Philae Kalabsha and Abu Simbel Temples; other salvage and restoration operations are in train. Today you can take a luxury Cruise around Lake Nasser and discover the "New Nubia" viewing temples that, because of their former inaccessibility, have rarely been seen since the beginning of the nineteenth century.

Abu Simbel
	"… A witness turned to stone as evidence to posterity of the power of the divine Pharaoh". The Great Temple of Ramses II Not only are the two temples at Abu Simbel among the most magnificent monuments in the world but their removal and reconstruction were historic events also. When the temples (280km from Aswan) were threatened by submersion in Lake Nasser, due to the construction of the High Dam, the Egyptian Government secured the support of UNESCO and launched a world-wide appeal. During the salvage operation, which began in 1964 and continued until 1968, the two temples were dismantled and raised over 60m. Up the sandstone cliff where they had been built more than 3000 years ago. Here they were reassembled, in the same proportions, and covered with an artificial mountain. Most of the joins in the stone have now been filled by antiquity experts, but inside the temples, it is still possible to see where the blocks were cut. You can also go inside the man-made dome and see an exhibition of photographs showing the different stages of the massive removal project.

The Smaller Temple of Nefetari
	The smaller Temple of Nefetari The design of Abu Simbel Temples is unique. Rock-hewn "grotto" temples, although unusual in Egypt, are frequently found in Nubia, but there is no other example of twin sanctuaries, in this case dedicated to Ramses himself and to his wife, Nefertari, which combine to form a single ensemble. Unlike all the other Nubian temples, Abu Simbel was never transformed into a church but was left alone, untouched by later religions, until it was recovered from the sand in 1817. The image of the main temple façade, with its four colossi and row of grinning baboons, is well known all over the world, but its immense power and majesty are impossible to depict visually. The smaller temple is located north to the greater one, hewn in the rock built by Ramses II and dedicated to Hathor, goddess of love and happiness, and to his wife Nefertari. Six colossal rock-cut statues sit enthroned at the temple's façade; four of Ramses II, and two of his wife Nefertari. Even today you can still feel the full might of the pharaoh god in this edifice dedicated to masculine prowess and military power.