Aswan, Egypt

Aswan is a city in the south of Egypt, the capital of the Aswan Governorate. It stands on the east bank of the Nile about 81 miles south of Luxor. It is Egypt's sunniest southern city and is a busy market and tourist center.

Aswan is located in a beautiful setting with the Nile river flowing through amber desert and granite rocks, round emerald islands covered in palm groves and tropical plants. Here you can visit a few mosques, the souqs, the Ferial Gardens and the Nubian Museu. 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.

Things to see and do

* El-Tabia Mosque
* Archangel Michael's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral
* Nubian Museum
* The souqs (markets)
* West Bank

Cruise Season - Oct - April
Currency - Egyptian pound (LE) (EGP)
Language - Arabic
Population - 275,000
Electricity - 2 round pins European style
Time - GMT plus two hours
International Country Telephone Code - +20

Port Location - Cruise boats dock in Aswan on east bank of the Nile, which is approx 290 km's from Abu Simbel.

Transport Links - An average of six return flights a day are maintained by Egyptair between Aswan and the Egyptian capital Cairo. One morning flight also exists between Luxor and Aswan.

Egypt's train service which runs along the Nile extends down to Aswan and is a regular and a good travel alternative.

If you are in Hurghada you can catch a bus from there down to Aswan; the trip could take anything from three hours to nine.

Dozens of cruise ships depart from Luxor to Aswan everyday. These can be booked through agents or at the actual ships themselves.