Between the banks of the River Nile in Upper Egypt, a small houses nests

on the island of Elephantine. Built with handmade mud bricks in the

traditional Nubian style with sand floors and a flat roof, and boasting one of
the best views on the Nile, its terrace is a spectacular spot to watch the sun
setting over the sand dunes of the west bank.

Your hosts, will be pleased to make you welcome. They serve drinks and
meals, provide basic accommodation, and will arrange sightseeing or
relaxing trips if you should wish.

From their beach you can take a felucca boat trip along the Nile to Edfu or
cross over to the Tombs of the Nobles on the west bank then walk or go by
camel to St. Simoen Monastery and the Agha Khan's Mausoleum. If you
wish your boatman will wait to take you upstream to the First Cataracts and
onto Kitchener's Island to enjoy the lush botanical gardens. Or you may
prefer to while away some hours watching the feluccas glide by and
spotting birds on the river while sipping a cup of sweet tea or strong ginger
coffee on the terrace.

Accommodation
The house is clean and completely furnished, with a living room, a kitchen,
three bedrooms, a bathroom, a toilet and warm and cold running water. And
who doesn’t want to experience living in an African village just once in his
life? Here is your chance! You’ll have a completely different holiday: the
village people accept you as one of them; a local from West-Aswan instead
of a tourist. You do your own shopping in the village, cook by yourself if
you like. Time is yours to discover Nubia all by yourself.

Women
The Nubian House is a safe and comfortable place for women travelers,
where they will be treated with respect. Please respect local customs and
dress modestly, covering your body from shoulders to knees.

Bird Watching
Elephantine offers exceptional bird spotting. From the terrace of the Nubian
House, you may watch Green Heron among many other breeding and
migratory water birds such as the Egyptian Goose. Black Kite circle
overhead, having made the tower of the Oberoi Hotel a regular perch.
Amongst them, you may also spot a Lappet-faced or an Egyptian Vulture.
Elephantine Island
has wonderful gardens and is a good place to spend some leisure time
wandering through the Nubian village where the people are friendly and the
houses are often very colorful. The houses often have paintings or carved
with a crocodile at the bottom, a fish in the middle and a man on top, with a
woman's hand made of brass as a door knocker between the fish and man.
Elephantine is Greek for elephant. The town has also been referenced as
Kom, after it's principle god of the island, Khnum (Khnemu). It is believed
that the island received it's name because it was a major ivory trading
centre, though in fact it was a major trading post of many commodities.
There are large boulders in the river near the island which resembled
bathing elephants, and this too has been suggested as a reason for the
island's name.

The island is very beautiful, and there is a considerable amount to see. One
of the main attractions is a Nilometer which was used to measure the water
level of the Nile as late as the nineteenth century. There has been an
ongoing excavation at the town for many years by the German
Archaeological Institute and some of the finds along with many other island
artefact, including a mummified ram of Khnum, are located in the
Elephantine Museum. Another major attraction is the ruins of the Temple
of Khnum. Elephantine Island was considered to be home of this important
Egyptian god, and while this structure dates back to the Queen Hatshepsut
of the 18th Dynasty, there are references to a Temple of Khnum on the
island as early as the 3rd Dynasty. There are also ruins of a Temple of
Satet, who was Khnum's female counterpart (the three local deities were
foremost Khnum, but also Satet and a local Nubian goddess Anqet. These
gods were worshipped here since the earliest dynasties), also build by
Queen Hatshepsut, a shrine to Hekayib from the 6th Dynasty, a local
governor who was deified after his death. His cult flourished during the
middle kingdom, and some fine statues from the shrine are now in the
museum. You will also find a 3rd Dynasty granite step pyramid which is
now just visible, and to the north, the mud-brick vaults of the late period
which housed the bodies of the royal rams. On the south end of the island is
a small one room Ptolemaic temple which was constructed from materials
removed from the Kalabsha Temple
The Unfinished Obelisk:
It lies at the east south of the old cemetery in Aswan, and its height is 41.75
metres, and its weight is 1168 tons. since the ancient times the most
important source of granite needed by the ancients to build up their temples,
obelisk, their coffins, statues, pyramids and the like should go to Aswan as
the land of Granites.

Nobles' Tombs:
They are engraved in the rocks of the west mountain in front of the north of
Aswan. They date back to the Old and Middle Kingdom. They were
discovered in 1885 and the most important of which are: Mekho, Sapti,
Khons, and Harkhok Historians discovered on the walls of these tombs
inscriptions and writing through which they followed up the role played by
those nobles to protect the country, or the adventures they made to find out
the source of the Nile.

Philae Temple:
The Philae island is at a distance of 3 km. at the south of Aswan Dam, and
it comprises a group of religious temples and buildings of various eras; they
are: Nkhtenbo Temple, west Arches, East Arches Arsniofis Temple,
Emhotop Temple, Isis Great Temple, Churches, Hathor Temple, and Keshk
Tragan or Bed of pharaoh. After the set up of the High Dam, the water
overswept the island, and because of the significance of its temples,
UNESCO in cooperation with Egypt rescued the temple and moved them to
a next island called "Egilco"; which is a rock island at a height of 30 metres
above the sea level. The project began in 1973 and ended in 1980 and the
tourists can enjoy the show of the Sound and Light program with different
languages supported.

KALABSHA TEMPLE:
Its construction goes back to the reign of the Roman Emperor "Octavius
August" (39 b.c -14 b.c). It was moved from its first place on the west bank
of the Nile, at a distance of 57km at the south of Aswan, and rebuilt near
the west of the High Dam in 1963. It is one of the biggest and most
beautiful Nubian temples next to Abou Simbel Temple and most perfect
one with respect to the architectural elements of the ancient Egyptian
temples. It is built of sand rocks and on its walls there are important
inscriptions and writing representing the Egyptian deities, such as ISIS,
OSORIS, AMON ... etc. This temple was for the worship of Nubian God
"Menolis", yet there were private worship for Amon, Raa, khanoum, and
Betah.

Al Wali House Temple:

It is one of the most beautiful temple engraved in the rocks in Nubia. It was
established by King Ramses the second, and was located at a distance of 57
km, at the south of the High Dam, but was moved and rebuilt at the west of
the High Dam, next to Kalabsha Temple.

Abu Simbel Temple:

They are the most important relics of Ramses the second (1290-1223 B.C)
in Nubian, and are situated at a distance of 280 km from the south of
Aswan.
They are engraved in the rocks, the big one is distinguished by four huge
statues of Ramses the second, the height of each is 20 metres, and it was
specialized for the worship of God "Raa Hor Akhti" the God of the rising
sun. Inside the temple there is a hall carried on pillars engraved in rocks
representing the king in the form of Osoris. On its walls colored painting
portraying some battles launched by Ramses the second in Libya and Syria.
At the end of the temple, there is a room of the Holy of Holies, in which
there are four statues, the first one belongs to the worshipped "Hor Akhti"
the second is of "Amoun Raa" the third of "Betah" and the fourth of the
king Himself, as the worshipped God of the temple.
There are also several side rooms, on which walls there are colored
inscriptions. Outside the temple, there are other relics, amongst which is the
famous painting portraying the story of the marriage of Ramses the second
with the daughter of Hittites King.
The second temple is smaller than the first one. It is called "Nefertari
Temple", and at a little distance from built by Ramses the second for his
beautiful wife Nefertari. In front of its facade, there are statues engraved in
rocks representing both of the king and the queen, the height of which is
about 10 metres.
Inside the temple, there are colored paintings on the walls portraying the
queen offering sacrifices to "Hathor".
The water of the High Dam have overwhelmed the places of these two
temple like the other temples of Nubia.
Hence, the world countries exerted a great effort to rescue these
monuments, as they participated through UNESCO in paying at
expenditures of a project based on breaking the rocks of these two temples
into parts, to be easy to move, then re-building them, as they were, on a
high hill overlooking the banks of the lake, not far from the original place.
KOM OMBO TEMPLE:
It is situated in Kom Ombo City, overlooking the east bank of the Nile, at a
distance of 45 mk from the north of Aswan city.
Its name in the Pharaonic era was "nebt" meaning the "Golden" then in the
Coptic was "Anbo", and in the Greek was "Anbos" from which the present
name was derived.
The city is famous of its dual temple devoted for the worship of Gods
"sabk" and "Horo". It dates back to the Greek Roman era, and is
distinguished by its high position overlooking the River Nile, its wonderful
pillars, and the surrounding ruins of the old city.
It is the most beautiful temple of the Roman era in Egypt, where the
Egyptian connected it with the Nile, hence its celebrations were held at the
time of Nile inundation.

EDFU TEMPLE:
It lies in Edfu city at a distance of 123 km from the north of Aswan city,
and overlooks the west bank of the Nile. It dates back to the ptolomic era
and was specialized for the worship of God "Horus" It is one of the most
magnificent Egyptian temples, distinguished by the greatness of
construction and is a wonderful example of the Egyptian Temples in
keeping its general appearance.
Its construction began at the end of 237 b.c. during the reign of Ptolmy 111
but the dissension, and bloody revolutions in Upper Egypt then, hindered
the completion of work, till it ended in 42 b.c. after the passage of 180
years.
On its walls there are inscriptions portraying the religion of the ancient
Egyptians and many details about their religious rituals and feasts.

The Botanical Island:

It is situated midst of the Nile, and is a model garden on an area of 18
feddans, In addition to being an experimental station to acclimate the plants
and trees of the hot and tropical areas.

Anba Samaan Monastery:

It is at a distance of 25 minutes from the Nile, and is the most important
Christian Antiquity in Egypt. It gives a full picture of the Coptic
Monasteries in their peak of fame, for it still preserves all its important
parts such as the church and houses of clergymen.... etc. Its establishment
dates back to the seventeen century and was destroyed in the thirteen
century.
Aga Khan Mausoleum:
It lies on the west bank of the Nile, was set up in the footsteps of the
Fatimid style and the mausoleum contains two tombs one for Him and the
other is for his wife "Om Habiba" who entombed in 2000 and it comprises a
coffin of snow white marble containing the body of Aga Khan the third,
leader of the Ismaelian Sect. Below the mausoleum there is the "Milanor of
Peace" for the residence of his wife "Om Habiba".

Aswan Dam:
Its construction had begun before High Dam in 1898 and ended in 1902. It
was elevated for the first time in 1912, where the storage level of water was
113 metres, then for the second time in 1930 as to store 5 billion cubic
metres and includes 180 openings with gates and 40 closed ones to
complete its construction.

High Dam:
"Egypt is the Gift of the Nile" said Herodetus the ancient Greek historian.
This has been established fact over the ages, defying the changes of history.
The eternal River Nile has ever been the source of this gift. It can bestow
goodness here and there, when it floods in one year, while in another year
nothing but drought and privation may prevail. The High Dam will ever be
a Symbol of the struggle of the folks to construct a grand structure for their
present needs and future generations. The High Dam is a structure that
provides numerous benefits paving the way towards the dignity growth and
prosperity of Egypt. The High Dam has been considered the core of all
production projects in Egypt. It is one of architectural engineering miracles
of the twentieth century and is one of the biggest dams in the world. With
respect to its economic advantages the High Dam considered unique among
all the big irrigation projects in the world is unsurpassed in terms of its
return. Soon after the 1952 Revolution, the idea of constructing a High
Dam in Aswan for high-level storage was brought up. Such a Dam would
guarantee supplying Egypt with the required annual discharges for
agricultural expansion and protecting the country from the peril of high
floods.

The High Dam Lake:

It was composed of the storage water in front of the High Dam is one of the
biggest artificial lakes in the world . Its length is 500 km , and its width
average is 12km . The regional planning project of Aswan governorate pays
a great attention to the studies and researches conducted on the lake and the
economical [profits of cultivating its banks, using them for touristic
purposes.
The Tropical Garden
The project is situated on the Nile peninsula located at the north of Aswan
Dam on 150 feddans out of which 85 feddans will be planted and divided to
squares , each will include plants from the same botanical families An
average of 40 square meters will be specified to establish an international
tropical garden . A certain acreage of 5000 to 10000 square meters will be
given for each country to establish its own garden with the addition and
establishment of artificial pools, fountains and the like.
THE MOST SUITABLE FAMILIES BOTANICAL WHICH CAN FIT
THE DISTRICT CIRCUMSTANCES ARE FOLLOWS:

BIGNONIACEAE VERBENACEAE
MELIACEAE SALCACEAE
TAMARACEAE ANNONACEAE
MGRTACEAE BOMBACEAE
MAGNALEACEAE OLEACEAE
EYPHORBIACEA
COMBRETACEAE
E
RHANNACEAE BORAGINACEA
E
CARICOCASE RUTACEAE
STERCULIACEAE APOCONACEAE
ANACORDIACE
LEGUMINIACEAE
AE
MORACEAE PALMACEAE
EYCTAGENACE
CYCADACEARE
AE
PUNI CACEAE -

MARRIAGE AND BIRTH:

Marriage in Nubia is responsibility of the parents but uncles share this
responsibility Because kinship in Nubia is both patriarchal and matriarchal.
Marriage between cousins is favored and even obligatory at times .
Marrying his cousin ( On the father's side) is a moral obligation for a young
man. The bride price in that case is much lower than what an outsider
would have to pay. The exact amount varies in different tribes Presents and
money are given to both families to help with the expenses which are very
high for weddings are celebrated in large feasts to which all the village is
invited and some people from other villages. The Nile plays a prominent
role in Nubian culture , the couple have to go down to the river on their
wedding night and wash in its water ,to ensure prosperity , good health and
numerous progeny When a male child is born , the birth is celebrated on the
7th day with the slaughter of a sheep or more , a recital of the Holy Quran
and the boy is given a name . When the child is a female , they only invite
friends and go to the Nile bank where the baby is named.

NUBIAN ART AND ITS SYMBOLS:

Nubian art reflects Nubian culture ; many of its symbols and motifs are
significant expressions of folk traditions and superstitions. They can be
seen in tattoos and wall paintings that decorated the facades and entrance
halls of many houses. These symbols recur in the designs of bead work and
all kinds of baskets ,plates and mats ... etc Decorative motifs often carry a
moral or magic significance : a sword stands for courage and heroic
achievements. Stars and crescent are Islamic symbols of good omen ,also
the black cat. Crows and owls carry bad omens . Roses and flowers in
general stands for friendship and love , the apple for feminine attraction ,
the tortoise for idleness , the chameleon for change and a pitcher and a
prayer rug for purity and chastity