Keeping Track of the Past in Aswan

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Despite the constant development that the whole of Egypt is succumbing into, one little town called Aswan is not as frenetic as the rest to put everything in a hastened pace. Drawing inspiration from how it was before as a commercial center, Aswan have decided to take a break from all the hassles and bustles of eager forwards and stay within the confines of idle and comfort.

Whilst Aswan might not be as advanced as other cities, they thrive into giving you a laid-back vibe, which is quite unusual for an Egyptian city, and the town would make you feel floating in mid-air with all the slowed movements happening around.

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The history that this town beholds is just magical that making them live their old ways is never at all regrettable.

Rebel on huge granite boulders and find joy in the town’s Nubian-pegged roofs, hear the calming flow of the humongous Nile River rumbling from a distance and be comforted by the fact that Aswan is just off-the-charts for plethora of tourists taking every inch of available space.

Location

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Aswan is technically connected to the infamous Nile River, which is just 0.64 kilometers away. 

Specifically, the town is located on Egypt’s southern tip and is just a quick north from Aswan Dams.

Currently, the city had stretched its land scope up to the small isle of Elephantine and is being inhabited by a total of 290,327 persons as of 2012. The town is also slightly elevated at 636 feet above sea level.

Climate

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Much just like the rest of Egypt, Aswan is classified to be experiencing a dry desert climate as according to the Koppen Climate Classification. Tied with Luxor, Aswan is dubbed to have the driest and most scorching summer episodes within the whole city in an annual scale. Temperatures in Aswan is normally above the 40-degree Celsius range with 49.5-degrees Celsius as the peak temperature to be recorded.

When the sun is not at its zenith, temperatures drop to its lowest at 8.7-degrees Celsius and normally happen during the month of January. While it is an accepted fact that weather in Aswan is predominantly hot, the town’s sunshine hours are also at its best harnessing a grand total of 3,862 hours of sunshine all throughout the year.

Rainy days can be found during the months of August and September but not registering a high amount of accumulated precipitation and can just get a miniscule amount of 1.4 millimeters per year.

Transportation

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If getting in and out via air travel, tourists and locals can succumb to the offering of the Aswan International Airport located at the town’s southern area. In here, people can get scheduled flights to nearby cities and regions, as well as international flights to selected countries from all over the planet.

Due to the fact that Aswan is known to be a bit huge as compared to other Egyptian cities, public and mass transportation is of huge importance to everyone living here. Bus systems and train lines are well placed all over town, providing their visitors a more convenient method of getting to one place to another.

Luckily, taxi and rickshaw are of the same essence as these are readily available within the city if you want to basically roam around from one landmark to the other. There are also two public ferries situated around town to give you a full-blast access to water passageways going to the Aswan Museum, Siou, West Aswan and the legendary Tombs of Nobles.

What to See

Tombs of the Nobles

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The much celebrated and well-revered Tombs of the Nobles might actually scare you away, but we’re telling you, this shouldn’t. Aswan takes pride to this legendary landmark and treated this as one of the most taken care of destination in the whole of Egypt.

In here, you’d be able to see tombs of people who have made an impact to all Egyptian history and are dated as far back as the Old and Middle Kingdom epoch.

Unfinished Obelisk

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Aside from the Tombs of the Nobles, Aswan also owns the so-called Unfinished Obelisk, which can raise your eyebrows due to its very name. This towering creation of impeccable architecture is actually an avenue of history and archaeology due to its specific eye for detail.

Technically, this obelisk has been left abandoned by those who erected it and yet, the very anti-climatic characteristic of the rock made it perfect in the eyes of tourists and experts alike.

Aswan Botanical Gardens

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Located on Elephantine’s west bank, the Aswan Botanical Gardens is a haven for those who value flora and fauna in inexplicable level. In here, you’d be immersed in an extensive array of plants and palms, flowers and other stunning botanical elements scoping a total land area of 6.8 hectares.

Locals, normally in groups, crowd the area with their makeshift picnic spots that definitely would be an opportunity for you to roam around and see how Aswan people go about their lives.

Aswan Temple

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Images
(1) http://www.travelways-egypt.com/?page_id=1479
(2) http://egyptianstreets.com/2015/03/01/deadly-blast-kills-two-in-egypts-aswan/
(3) https://experiencecollectors.com.au/journal/thirsty-for-a-dry-spell/
(4) http://www.asia-pictures.net/egypt_pictures_1/egypt_pictures_selection_1.html
(5) https://experiencecollectors.com.au/journal/thirsty-for-a-dry-spell/
(6) https://www.getyourguide.com/aswan-l543/ground-transportation-transfers-tc152/
(7) http://www.leeabbamonte.com/africa/5-things-to-do-in-aswan-abu-simbel.html
(8) http://egyptfuntours.com/component/tags/tag/14-aswan-attractions
(9) http://www.panoramio.com/photo/68763714