Aswan, Egypt

Aswan, Egypt's sunniest city in the south and ancient frontier town located about 81 miles south of Luxor, has a typical African atmosphere. Its ancient Egyptian name was Syene. Small enough to go around and graced with the most beautiful setting of 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 freshly caught fish.
 In Aswan 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 souk, full of fragrance and color of spices, perfumes, scarves and baskets. View the spectacular sunsets, while tea on the terrace of the Old Cataract Hotel (named for the first position of the cataract of the Nile is here). Aswan is a favorite winter resort since the beginning of the nineteenth century, and still is a perfect place to escape from it all.
 Every night Nubian dancers and musicians perform in the Cultural Center, just off the Corniche. 
Folklore troupes recreate scenes from village life and perform the famous Nubian mock stick combat dances.
 Aswan is a strategic location which currently houses a garrison of the Egyptian army, but has also seen ancient Egyptian garrisons, as well as that of General Kitchener, Turkish troops of the Ottoman Empire and the Romans.
 The city itself is located on the east bank of the Nile. Relax, visit a few mosques, but then get ready for adventure. The bazaar runs along the Corniche, which continues past the Ferial Gardens and the Nubian Museum, and continues 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 south of this, two Graeco-Roman sarcophagi and an unfinished colossus remain half buried in the sand.
 The most obvious is Elephantine, which is timeless with artifacts dating from pre-dynastic forward. It is the largest island in the area.Just beyond Elephantine is Kitchener's Island (Geziret el-Nabatat).E 'was nominated for the British general Harat Kitchener (185 - 1916) and was sent to Egypt in 1883 to reorganize the Egyptian army, which then led against the Sudanese Mahdi. But the island is known for its garden and exotic plants the Kitchener planted there, and who today continue to thrive.
 On the other side (West Bank), the cliffs are surmounted by the tomb of a marabout, Qubbet el-Hawwa, who was a local saint.Below are tombs of the local (pharaonic) nobles and dignitaries.
 Upstream a bit 'is the tomb of Mohammed Shah Aga Khan, who died in 1957. Known as the Tomb of the Aga Khan, is beautiful in its simplicity. One way to bring them back to the Coptic Monastery of St Simeon, which was built in the sixth century in honor of Amba Hadra, a local saint.
 Just the river a bit ', there is also the old Aswan dam, built by the British, which was enlarged, expanded, but unable to control the Nile for irrigation.