The most beautiful city of Upper EgyptAswan is the capital city of the southernmost governorate of Egypt and lies on the east bank of the Nile
Aswan, Egypt’s southern frontier town, in its delightful river setting, is a highlight of any Nile cruise. It is stunningly beautiful, charmingly romantic, and the sunniest city in Egypt, hence its popularity. However, the city’s undoubted attractions are helping to send it the same way as Luxor and the ever-growing tourist scene has all the accompanying downsides of increased hassle, clean-ups of the souk, felucca-captains waiting on every corner and hideous buildings springing up. But though the sense of ancient enchantment that used to pervade the very air of Aswan is hard to find now, it is still here – you just might have to look on the west bank or in one of the villages to find it. The city itself is not too large to walk around in the cooler part of the day and pace of life is slow and relaxing. From the cool and inviting Corniche you can watch tall-masted feluccas handled masterfully by a tiny crew and listen to Nubian musicians. Across the river, dramatic desert cliffs merge with palm-lined Nile waters, and huge apricot-coloured sand banks appear startling against the cloudless blue sky. In the late evening you can watch the flocks of egrets skimming the surface of the Nile as they go to roost before you feast on freshly caught Nile fish. In the early morning you can watch the sun rise behind the city and hear the call of the muezzin. With the outstanding Nubian museum, colourful west bank villages and islands to explore, as well as proximity to several notable temples and the nearby High Dam, the city is much more than a stopover en route to Abu Simbel.
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