Aswan

Aswan was formerly spelled Assuan or Assouan. Names in other languages include ({{langx|ar|أسوان|ʾAswān}}; Ancient Egyptian: {{transliteration|egy|Swenett}}; {{langx|cop|Ⲥⲟⲩⲁⲛ|Souan}}; {{langx|grc|Συήνη|Suēnē}}; proposed Biblical Hebrew: סְוֵנֵה Sǝwēnê). The Nubians also call the city Dib which means "fortress, palace" and is derived from the Old Nubian name ⲇⲡ̅ⲡⲓ.{{Cite book|last=Hofmann|first=Inge|title=Nubisches Wörterverzeichnis: Nubisch-deutsches und deutsch-nubisches Wörterverzeichnis nach dem Kenzi-Material des Samuel Ali Hisen (1863–1927)|publisher=Academia Richarz|year=1986|location=Bonn|pages=49}}

{{Hiero | swnt{{cite book |last1=Gauthier |first1=Henri |title=Dictionnaire des Noms Géographiques Contenus dans les Textes Hiéroglyphiques Vol. 5 |date=1928 |page=[https://archive.org/details/Gauthier1928/page/n12 17] |url=https://archive.org/details/Gauthier1928}} | s-wn:n-t:niwt | align=left | era=lp}}

Aswan is the ancient city of Swenett, later known as Syene, which in antiquity was the frontier town of Ancient Egypt facing the south. Swenett is supposed to have derived its name from an Egyptian goddess with the same name.{{cite book|last1 = Baines|first1 = John|last2 = Malek|first2 = Jaromir|title = Atlas of Ancient Egypt (Cultural Atlas)|publisher = Facts On File Inc|date = March 1983|location = New York, NY|page = [https://archive.org/details/atlasofancienteg00bain/page/240 240]|isbn = 9780871963345|url-access = registration|url = https://archive.org/details/atlasofancienteg00bain/page/240}} This goddess later was identified as Eileithyia by the Greeks and Lucina by the Romans during their occupation of Ancient Egypt because of the similar association of their goddesses with childbirth, and of which the import is "the opener". The ancient name of the city also is said to be derived from the Egyptian symbol for "trade",{{Cite book|title=Muhafazat Al Gumhuriya Al Arabiya Al Mutaheda wa Asaraha al baqiah fi al asr al islamim|year=1966|author=Suʻād Māhir|publisher=Majlis al-Aʻlá lil-Shuʼūn al-Islāmīyah|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jEL5GwAACAAJ}} or "market".{{Cite book|title=A History of Egypt, from the Earliest Times to the Persian Conquest|year=1912|author=James Henry Breasted|publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons|page=[https://archive.org/details/historyofegyptfr00inbrea/page/7 7]|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofegyptfr00inbrea|access-date=2015-04-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111121211505/http://www.archive.org/details/historyofegyptfr00inbrea|archive-date=2011-11-21|url-status=live}}

Because the Ancient Egyptians oriented themselves toward the origin of the life-giving waters of the Nile in the south, and as Swenett was the southernmost town in the country, Egypt always was conceived to "open" or begin at Swenett. The city stood upon a peninsula on the right (east) bank of the Nile, immediately below (and north of) the first cataract of the flowing waters, which extended to it from Philae. Navigation to the delta was possible from this location without encountering a barrier.

The stone quarries of ancient Egypt located here were celebrated for their stone, and especially for the granitic rock called syenite. They furnished the colossal statues, obelisks, and monolithic shrines that are found throughout Egypt, including the pyramids; and the traces of the quarrymen who worked (alongside domesticated draft animals) in these 3,000 years ago are still visible in the native rock. They lie on either bank of the Nile, and a road, {{convert|6.5|km|abbr=on}} in length, was cut beside them from Syene to Philae.

Swenett was equally important as a military station and for its position on a trade route. Under every dynasty it was a garrison town; and here tolls and customs were levied on all boats passing southwards and northwards. Around 330, the legion stationed here received a bishop from Alexandria; this later became the Coptic Diocese of Syene.Dijkstra, J. Harm F. [http://dissertations.ub.rug.nl/FILES/faculties/theology/2005/j.h.f.dijkstra/thesis.pdf Religious Encounters on the Southern Egyptian Frontier in Late Antiquity (AD 298-642)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090704024558/http://dissertations.ub.rug.nl/FILES/faculties/theology/2005/j.h.f.dijkstra/thesis.pdf |date=2009-07-04 }}. The city is mentioned by numerous ancient writers, including Herodotus,(ii. 30) Strabo,(ii. p. 133, xvii. p. 797, seq.) Stephanus of Byzantium,(s. v.) Ptolemy,(vii. 5. § 15, viii. 15. § 15) Pliny the Elder,(ii. 73. s. 75, v. 10. s. 11, vi. 29. s. 34) Vitruvius,(De architectura, book viii. ch ii. § 6) and it appears on the Antonine Itinerary.(p. 164) It may also be mentioned in the Book of Ezekiel and the Book of Isaiah.Ezekiel 29:10, 30:6; Isaiah 49:12

File:View from the west bank to the Nile, islands, and Aswan.jpg

The Nile is nearly {{convert|650|m|mi|abbr=on}} wide above Aswan. From this frontier town to the northern extremity of Egypt, the river flows for more than {{convert|1200|km|abbr=on}} without bar or cataract. The voyage from Aswan to Alexandria usually took 21 to 28 days in favorable weather.

In April 2018, the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities announced the discovery of the head of the bust of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius at the Temple of Kom Ombo during work to protect the site from groundwater.{{Cite web|date=2018-04-22|title=Shrine to Osiris and bust of Roman emperor found in Egypt|url=http://www.digitaljournal.com/tech-and-science/science/shrine-to-osiris-and-bust-of-roman-emperor-found-in-egypt/article/520449|access-date=2020-12-28|website=www.digitaljournal.com}}{{Cite web|last=DPA|first=Daily Sabah with|date=2018-04-22|title=Archeologists find Roman emperor bust, ancient shrine in Egypt|url=https://www.dailysabah.com/history/2018/04/22/archeologists-find-roman-emperor-bust-ancient-shrine-in-egypt|access-date=2020-12-28|website=Daily Sabah|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=2018-04-22|title=Archaeologists find bust of Roman emperor in Egypt dig in Aswan|url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/1289571/art-culture|access-date=2020-12-28|website=Arab News|language=en}}

In September 2018, the Egyptian Antiquities Minister Khaled el-Enany announced that a sandstone sphinx statue had been discovered at the temple of Kom Ombo. The statue, measuring approximately {{cvt|28|cm}} in width and {{cvt|38|cm}}) in height, probably dates to the Ptolemaic Dynasty.{{Cite web|title=Archaeologists discover sphinx in Egyptian temple|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2018/9/17/egypt-archaeologists-discover-sphinx-in-temple-at-aswan|access-date=2020-12-28|website=www.aljazeera.com|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Heffron|first=Claire|date=2018-09-17|title=Archaeologists discover ancient sphinx in Egyptian temple|url=https://www.euronews.com/2018/09/17/archaeologists-discover-ancient-sphinx-in-egyptian-temple|access-date=2020-12-28|website=euronews|language=en}}{{Cite news|date=2018-09-17|title=Egyptian archaeologists find sphinx at Aswan temple|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-45546415|access-date=2020-12-28}}

Archaeologists discovered 35 mummified remains of Egyptians in a tomb in Aswan in 2019. Italian archaeologist Patrizia Piacentini and El-Enany both reported that the tomb, where the remains of ancient men, women and children were found, dates back to the Greco-Roman period between 332 BC and 395 AD. While the findings assumed belonging to a mother and a child were well preserved, others had suffered major destruction. Other than the mummies, artifacts including painted funerary masks, vases of bitumen used in mummification, pottery and wooden figurines were revealed. Thanks to the hieroglyphs on the tomb, it was detected that the tomb belongs to a tradesman named Tjit.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/24/mummified-remains-of-35-ancient-egyptians-found-in-aswan|title=Mummified remains of 35 ancient Egyptians found in Aswan|last=Giuffrida|first=Angela|date=2019-04-24|work=The Guardian|access-date=2019-07-25|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725203757/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/24/mummified-remains-of-35-ancient-egyptians-found-in-aswan|archive-date=2019-07-25|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/egypt-mummies-aswan-hidden-tomb-scli-intl/index.html|title=At least 34 mummies found in hidden Egyptian tomb|first=Emily |last=Dixon|date=2019-04-25|website=CNN Travel|language=en|access-date=2019-07-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725203757/https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/egypt-mummies-aswan-hidden-tomb-scli-intl/index.html|archive-date=2019-07-25|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/culture/2019/04/23/egyptian-necropolis-with-35-mummies-found_b19e4e39-c00d-4069-a42d-528cf82c5ee7.html|title=Egyptian necropolis with 35 mummies found - Culture|date=2019-04-23|website=ANSAMed|language=en|access-date=2019-07-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725203758/http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/culture/2019/04/23/egyptian-necropolis-with-35-mummies-found_b19e4e39-c00d-4069-a42d-528cf82c5ee7.html|archive-date=2019-07-25|url-status=live}}

Piacentini commented "It's a very important discovery because we have added something to the history of Aswan that was missing. We knew about tombs and necropoli dating back to the second and third millennium, but we didn't know where the people who lived in the last part of the Pharaonic era were. Aswan, on the southern border of Egypt, was also a very important trading city".

Stan Hendrick, John Coleman Darnell and Maria Gatto in 2012 excavated petroglyphic engravings from Nag el-Hamdulab in Aswan which featured representations of a boat procession, solar symbolism and the earliest depiction of the White Crown with an estimated dating range between 3200BC and 3100BC.{{cite journal |last1=Hendrickx |first1=Stan |last2=Darnell |first2=John Coleman |author2-link=John Coleman Darnell |last3=Gatto |first3=Maria Carmela |title=The earliest representations of royal power in Egypt: the rock drawings of Nag el-Hamdulab (Aswan) |journal=Antiquity |date=December 2012 |volume=86 |issue=334 |pages=1068–1083 |doi=10.1017/S0003598X00048250 |s2cid=53631029 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/abs/earliest-representations-of-royal-power-in-egypt-the-rock-drawings-of-nag-elhamdulab-aswan/5DB2326AD5659EF652D1F77C2B713729 |language=en |issn=0003-598X|url-access=subscription }}

In February 2021, archaeologists from the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities announced significant discoveries at an archaeological site called Shiha Fort in Aswan, namely a Ptolemaic period temple, a Roman fort, an early Coptic church and an inscription in hieratic script. According to Mostafa Waziri, the crumbling temple was decorated with palm leaf carvings and an incomplete sandstone panel that described a Roman emperor. Researcher Abdel Badie states more generally that the church contained ovens used to bake pottery, four rooms, a long hall, stairs, and stone tiles.{{Cite web|title=Ruins Of Ancient Ptolemaic Temple Discovered In Egypt - Greek City Times|date=3 February 2021|url=https://greekcitytimes.com/2021/02/03/ancient-ptolemaic-temple-egypt/|access-date=2021-02-05|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Geggel|first=Laura|title=Ruins of ancient church and temple discovered in Egypt|url=https://www.livescience.com/fort-church-temple-ancient-egypt.html|access-date=2021-02-05|website=livescience.com|date=2 February 2021|language=en}}

The latitude of the city that would become Aswan – located at 24° 5′ 23″ – was an object of great interest to the ancient geographers and mathematicians.Venturi, Jacir J.. [https://www.educacional.com.br/articulistas/outrosOutros_artigo.asp?artigo=jacir0003 Eratóstenes e a Esfericidade da Terra] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127203232/https://www.educacional.com.br/articulistas/outrosOutros_artigo.asp?artigo=jacir0003 |date=2022-01-27 }}. Revista Articulistas.[s/d]. They believed that it was seated immediately under the tropic, and that on the day of the summer solstice, a vertically positioned staff cast no shadow. They noted that the sun's disc was reflected in a deep well (or pit) at noon. This statement is only approximately correct; at the summer solstice, the shadow was only {{frac|400}} of the staff, and so could scarcely be discerned, and the northern limb of the Sun's disc would be nearly vertical.{{Citation needed|date=April 2020|reason=Eratosthenes did not use any assumption in the latitude of Aswan, so if no other geographer from antiquity did, the whole paragraph should be removed}} More than 2200 years ago, Greek polymath Eratosthenes used this information to calculate Earth's circumference.

{{More citations needed section|date=June 2011}}

Aswan has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh) like the rest of Egypt. Aswan and Luxor have the hottest summer days of any city in Egypt. Aswan is one of the hottest, sunniest and driest cities in the world. Average high temperatures are consistently above {{convert|40|°C|1}} during summer (June, July, August and also September) while average low temperatures remain above {{convert|25|°C|1}}. Average high temperatures remain above {{convert|23|°C|1}} during the coldest month of the year while average low temperatures remain above {{convert|8|°C|1}}. Summers are very prolonged and extremely hot with blazing sunshine although desert heat is dry. Winters are brief and pleasantly mild, though nights may be cool at times.

The climate of Aswan is extremely dry year-round, with less than {{convert|1|mm|2|abbr=on}} of average annual precipitation. The desert city is one of the driest ones in the world, and rainfall does not occur every year; in early 2001, the last rain in Aswan had been seven years earlier. When heavy precipitation does occur, as in a November 2021 rain and hail storm, flash flooding can drive scorpions from their lairs to deadly effects.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-59274686|title=Egypt: Hundreds stung by scorpions after deadly floods in Aswan|work=BBC News|date=13 November 2021}} Aswan is one of the least humid cities on the planet, with an average relative humidity of only 26%, with a maximum mean of 42% during winter and a minimum mean of 16% during summer.

The weather of Aswan is extremely clear, bright and sunny year-round in all seasons, with low seasonal variation and almost 4,000 hours of annual sunshine – very close to the maximum theoretical sunshine duration. Aswan is one of the sunniest places on Earth.

The highest record temperature was {{convert|51|°C}} on July 4, 1918, and the lowest record temperature was {{convert|-2.4|°C}} on January 6, 1989.

{{Weather box

|location = Aswan (1991–2020, extremes 1918–present)

|single line = y

|metric first = y

|Jan record high C = 35.3

|Feb record high C = 38.5

|Mar record high C = 44.0

|Apr record high C = 46.1

|May record high C = 47.8

|Jun record high C = 50.9

|Jul record high C = 51.0

|Aug record high C = 48.0

|Sep record high C = 47.8

|Oct record high C = 45.4

|Nov record high C = 42.2

|Dec record high C = 38.6

|year record high C = 51.0

|Jan high C = 23.2

|Feb high C = 25.9

|Mar high C = 30.3

|Apr high C = 35.5

|May high C = 39.5

|Jun high C = 41.6

|Jul high C = 41.9

|Aug high C = 41.9

|Sep high C = 40.0

|Oct high C = 36.4

|Nov high C = 29.8

|Dec high C = 24.5

|year high C = 34.2

|Jan mean C = 16.3

|Feb mean C = 18.6

|Mar mean C = 22.9

|Apr mean C = 28.0

|May mean C = 32.2

|Jun mean C = 34.4

|Jul mean C = 35.1

|Aug mean C = 35.0

|Sep mean C = 32.7

|Oct mean C = 29.2

|Nov mean C = 22.7

|Dec mean C = 17.6

|year mean C = 27.0

|Jan low C = 10.0

|Feb low C = 11.7

|Mar low C = 15.5

|Apr low C = 20.1

|May low C = 24.6

|Jun low C = 26.7

|Jul low C = 27.8

|Aug low C = 27.9

|Sep low C = 25.5

|Oct low C = 22.3

|Nov low C = 16.2

|Dec low C = 11.4

|year low C = 20.0

|Jan record low C = -2.4

|Feb record low C = 3.8

|Mar record low C = 5.0

|Apr record low C = 7.8

|May record low C = 13.4

|Jun record low C = 18.9

|Jul record low C = 20.0

|Aug record low C = 20.0

|Sep record low C = 16.1

|Oct record low C = 12.2

|Nov record low C = 6.1

|Dec record low C = 0.6

|year record low C = -2.4

|Jan rain mm = 0.1

|Feb rain mm = 0.0

|Mar rain mm = 0.6

|Apr rain mm = 0.3

|May rain mm = 0.1

|Jun rain mm = 0.0

|Jul rain mm = 0.0

|Aug rain mm = 0.0

|Sep rain mm = 0.1

|Oct rain mm = 0.7

|Nov rain mm = 0.0

|Dec rain mm = 0.1

|year rain mm = 2.0

|unit rain days = 1 mm

|Jan rain days = 0.0

|Feb rain days = 0.0

|Mar rain days = 0.1

|Apr rain days = 0.1

|May rain days = 0.0

|Jun rain days = 0.0

|Jul rain days = 0.0

|Aug rain days = 0.0

|Sep rain days = 0.0

|Oct rain days = 0.1

|Nov rain days = 0.0

|Dec rain days = 0.0

|year rain days = 0.4

|Jan humidity = 40

|Feb humidity = 32

|Mar humidity = 24

|Apr humidity = 19

|May humidity = 17

|Jun humidity = 16

|Jul humidity = 18

|Aug humidity = 21

|Sep humidity = 22

|Oct humidity = 27

|Nov humidity = 36

|Dec humidity = 42

|year humidity = 26.2

| Jan dew point C = 1.4

| Feb dew point C = 0.1

| Mar dew point C = 0.0

| Apr dew point C = 0.5

| May dew point C = 2.2

| Jun dew point C = 3.1

| Jul dew point C = 5.7

| Aug dew point C = 7.2

| Sep dew point C = 6.5

| Oct dew point C = 6.4

| Nov dew point C = 4.6

| Dec dew point C = 3.1

|Jan sun = 298.2

|Feb sun = 281.1

|Mar sun = 321.6

|Apr sun = 316.1

|May sun = 346.8

|Jun sun = 363.2

|Jul sun = 374.6

|Aug sun = 359.6

|Sep sun = 298.3

|Oct sun = 314.6

|Nov sun = 299.6

|Dec sun = 289.1

|year sun = 3862.8

|source 1 = NOAA (humidity, dew point, sun 1961–1990){{cite web

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230827043524/https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/1.1/data/0-data/Region-1-WMO-Normals-9120/Egypt/CSV/Asswan_62414.csv

| archive-date = 27 August 2023

| url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/1.1/data/0-data/Region-1-WMO-Normals-9120/Egypt/CSV/Asswan_62414.csv

| title = Asswan Climate Normals 1991–2020

| work = World Meteorological Organization Climatological Standard Normals (1991–2020)

| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

| access-date = 27 August 2023}}{{cite web

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230827000151/https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/WMO/1961-1990/RA-I/UB/62405.TXT

| archive-date = 27 August 2023

| url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/WMO/1961-1990/RA-I/UB/62414.TXT

| title = Asswan Climate Normals 1961–1990

| work = World Meteorological Organization Climatological Reference Normals (1961–1990)

| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

| access-date = January 30, 2015}}

| source 2 = Meteo Climat (record temperatures){{cite web

| url = http://meteo-climat-bzh.dyndns.org/index.php?page=stati&id=532

| title = Station Aswan

| publisher = Meteo Climat

| language = fr

| access-date = April 26, 2017

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190713123305/http://meteo-climat-bzh.dyndns.org/favicon.ico

| archive-date = July 13, 2019

| url-status = live

}}{{cite web |url=https://ogimet.com/cgi-bin/gsynres?ind=62414&ano=2024&mes=6&day=08&hora=15&min=0&ndays=30|title= 62414: Asswan (Egypt)|author= |date= 7 June 2024|website=ogimet.com |publisher=OGIMET |access-date= 29 June 2024|quote=}}

}}

In 2012, the Aswan University was inaugurated, which is headquartered in the city. Aswan is also home to the Aswan Higher Institute of Social Work, which was established in 1975.

The city is crossed by the Cape to Cairo Road, which connects it to Luxor and Cairo to the north, and Abu Simbel and Wadi Halfa to the south. Also important is the Aswan-Berenice highway, which connects with the ports of the Red Sea.

Aswan is linked to Cairo by the Cape to Cairo Railway, which also connects it with Wadi Halfa. The railway is incomplete towards the south.

Other key transport infrastructures are the Port of Aswan, the largest river port in the region, and Aswan International Airport.

{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Egypt}}

Aswan is twinned with:

• Sonoma, California, United States {{citation needed|date=February 2022}}

File:Archangel Michael's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, built in the Coptic style 2006-10-EGYPT-ASWAN.jpg|Archangel Michael's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, built in the Coptic style.

File:El-Tabia Mosque, Aswan.jpg| El-Tabia Mosque in Aswan

File:Lotus-tower near Aswan.jpg|The Lotus-Tower near Aswan, monument to Arab-Soviet Friendship. Near Aswan High Dam.

File:Aswan Nubian Museum entrance.jpg|Nubia Museum entrance

File:Fatimid Cemetery at Aswan.jpg|Fatimid Cemetery

File:Unfinished Obelisk in Aswan.jpg|Unfinished Obelisk in Aswan

File:Aswan street parallel to Corniche, Egypt, October 2004.jpg|A street parallel to Corniche in Aswan.

File:Al Khattarah Aswan Bridge.jpg|Aswan Bridge

File:Kitchener-Insel Aswan Botanical Garden.jpg|Aswan Botanical Garden

File:Aswan Souq (West Gate).jpg|Aswan souq

File:Market, Shopping street, Aswan, Egypt.jpg|Market in Aswan

File:Aswan Railway station (Egypt).jpg|Aswan station

File:Gharb Seheil by Hatem Moushir 1.JPG|Gharb Seheil

File:Assuao.jpg|Nubian village in Elephantine Island.

File:Cimetières des nobles Qubbet el-Hawa.jpg|Qubbet el-Hawa

File:Nile River, Boats and feluccas, Aswan, Egypt.jpg|River Nile in Aswan

File:Nile Feluccas in Aswan.jpg|Feluccas in Aswan

{{portal|Egypt}}

{{div col|content=

• Wadi Allaqi national park
• Abu Simbel
• Aswan Dam
• Elephantine
• Philae
• Luxor
• El Nabatat Island
• Temple of Kalabsha
• Tombs of Nobles in Aswan
• Nubia
• Banu Kanz
• Coptic Diocese of Syene
• Ta-Seti

}}

• {{SmithDGRG|wstitle=Aswan}}

{{reflist}}

{{Commons}}

{{wikivoyage|Aswan}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110707104222/http://aldokkan.com/geography/aswan.htm Ancient Aswan City]

{{Egyptian Cities}}

{{Governorates capital of Egypt}}

{{Sa'id / Upper Egypt Main Cities}}

{{Ancient Egypt topics}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Governorate capitals in Egypt

Category:Archaeological sites in Egypt

Category:Populated places in Aswan Governorate

Category:Roman sites in Egypt

Category:Tourism in Egypt

Category:Medieval cities of Egypt

Category:Upper Egypt