Question 1

Aswan on Your Own

Accepted Answer

Because ships moor along the corniche, Aswan's riverfront is easy to explore straight from the ship. A felucca ride or a visit to the Nubian Museum fills a free afternoon. The corniche: The riverside promenade has been rebuilt as the Ahl Misr Walkway, with cafes, shops and bazaars and a glass walkway on three levels that looks across to Elephantine Island. A felucca on the Nile: Feluccas, the Nile's traditional sailing boats, take visitors out on the river. The Nubian Museum: Opened in 1997, it holds finds rescued from Nubian sites before the High Dam flooded them, on a 50,000 square meter site, of which the building takes 7,000. The Unfinished Obelisk: It lies in an ancient granite quarry about 1 kilometer east of the river. Abu Simbel is a separate trip: The temples are about 290 kilometers southwest of Aswan. Convoys of buses and escorted cars leave Aswan twice a day, and many visitors fly instead. Getting back on time: Your ship posts the time to be back on board. It sails on schedule and will not wait for anyone touring alone, and Egypt's clocks change on the last Friday of April and the last Thursday of October.

Question 2

Sights

Accepted Answer

Aswan's sights include the Philae temples, moved to Agilkia Island, the Unfinished Obelisk in the old granite quarry and the Nubian Museum. Five of the city's sites belong to the UNESCO World Heritage listing of the Nubian Monuments. The five are the Old and Middle Kingdom tombs of Qubbet el-Hawa, the ancient town on Elephantine, the stone quarries and Unfinished Obelisk, the Monastery of St. Simeon and the Fatimid Cemetery. The Unfinished Obelisk would have stood about 42 meters tall and weighed around 1,168 tons had it been finished. Abu Simbel is about 290 km southwest of Aswan, on the west bank of Lake Nasser.

Question 3

History

Accepted Answer

Aswan was ancient Swenett, later called Syene, the frontier town at Egypt's southern edge, and its granite went into monuments across the country. In the 20th century two dams reshaped the river here and forced the rescue of the temples upstream. The frontier town: As Egypt's southernmost town, Swenett was where the country was thought to begin, and its quarries supplied granite for many ancient monuments. They are still worked today. Abu Simbel, around 1244 BC: Work on the temples of Ramesses II began around 1244 BC and took about 21 years. Sand later buried much of the main temple, and it was unknown to Europeans until 1813. Philae and the first dam, 1902: The Aswan Low Dam was completed in 1902, and the Philae temples were often under water after it was built. Raising the dam, 1912 and 1926: The Low Dam was raised twice, in 1912 and in 1926. The High Dam, completed 1970: The water held back by the High Dam formed Lake Nasser. The great rescue: Abu Simbel was moved to higher ground in 1968, and Philae was later taken down and reassembled on Agilkia Island. The Nubian Museum, 1997: The museum opened on November 23, 1997, to house finds from the international campaign to save the monuments of Nubia, and it won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2001. To learn more ashore: The Nubian Museum in Aswan tells the story of Nubian culture and of the campaign that saved its temples.

Question 4

Accessibility

Accepted Answer

The rebuilt corniche has lifts and accessible paths along the riverfront where ships moor. Ask your ship about the gangway and the route to the promenade before you plan a day ashore. The Ahl Misr Walkway redevelopment added lifts and accessible pathways for people with disabilities. Feluccas are small open sailing boats, so ask the captain about boarding before you book a ride.

Aswan

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Aswan on Your Own

Sights

History

Accessibility

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