el Nabatat Island
{{short description|Island in the Nile River at Aswan, Egypt}}
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File:Aswan Botanical Garden 09.jpg.]]
Image:Aswan, Kitchener's Island, palm alley, Egypt, Oct 2004.jpg, in the Aswan Botanical Garden.]]
El Nabatat Island or Kitchener's Island[http://www.sis.gov.eg/newvr/124.pdf State Information Service of Egypt - Elnabatat's Island] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150123150036/http://www.sis.gov.eg/newvr/124.pdf |date=2015-01-23 }}[http://www.aswan.gov.eg/aswan-sun/DocLib/Forms/DispForm.aspx?ID=30&RootFolder=%2Faswan-sun%2FDocLib%2FReports aswan.gov.eg - جزيرة النباتات] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150123131541/http://www.aswan.gov.eg/aswan-sun/DocLib/Forms/DispForm.aspx?ID=30&RootFolder=%2Faswan-sun%2FDocLib%2FReports |date=2015-01-23 }} ({{Lang|ar|جزيرة النباتات}} Geziret En Nabatat (Plant Island) or the Botanical Island){{cite book|last1=Mann|first1=Joel F.|title=An International Glossary of Place Name Elements|date=2005|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=9780810850408|page=112|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XlKIrf5Q4zYC&dq=El+Nabatat+Island&pg=PA112|accessdate=18 November 2016}} is a small, oval-shaped island in the Nile at Aswan, Egypt. It is less than a kilometer long and its width is less than ½ a kilometer. The Aswan Botanical Garden is located on the island.
Geography
El Nabatat Island is one of two major islands on the Nile in the vicinity of Aswan, the other one being Elephantine. Elephantine is the larger one, and is located between El Nabatat Island and the city of Aswan (east bank). Therefore, it can be hard to see the smaller El Nabatat Island from Aswan: "Aswan disappears behind Elephantine Island".{{cite book|last1=Jani|first1=Vibhavari|title=Diversity in Design: Perspectives from the Non-Western World|date=June 23, 2011|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=9781563677557|page=286|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N3u9AgAAQBAJ&dq=Nabatat&pg=PA286|accessdate=18 November 2016}}{{cite book|last1=Ham|first1=Anthony|title=Middle East|date=2009|publisher=Lonely Plane|isbn=9781742203591|page=168|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u_DFlzttxl0C&dq=Aswan+Botanical&pg=PA168|accessdate=18 November 2016}}
History
The island was previously known as Kitchener's Island, named after Lord Kitchener who owned it.{{cite book|last1=Berrett|first1=LaMar C.|last2=Ogden|first2=D. Kelly|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GzWS9al8ZUEC&q=Botanical|title=Discovering the World of the Bible|date=1996|publisher=Grandin Book Company|isbn=0-910523-52-5|page=308|edition=3rd}}
He was gifted the island when he served as Consul-General in Egypt from 29 September 1911 to June 1914.{{cite ODNB|last1=Neilson|first1=Keith|title=Kitchener, Horatio Herbert biography|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/34341?docPos=1|date=2004 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/34341 |accessdate=24 November 2017}}
With the aid of the Ministry of Irrigation, Kitchener rapidly transformed the small {{convert|750|m|ft}} long island into a paradise of exotic trees, many from India, and plants in gardens with view walkways.{{cite book|last1=Cowie|first1=Robert|title=Journey to a Waterfall A Biologist in Africa|date=2014|publisher=Lulu.com|isbn=9781304669391|page=239|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pDp2BgAAQBAJ&dq=Aswan+Botanical&pg=PA239|accessdate=18 November 2016}} It later passed into the property of the Egyptian government and was used as a research station called the Botanical Research Institute, Aswân Botanic Island.{{cite web|title=Botanical Gardens in Egypt|url=https://www.cbd.int/doc/world/eg/eg-ex-bg-en.pdf|website=Convention on Biological Diversity|accessdate=18 November 2016|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20161119054928/https://www.cbd.int/doc/world/eg/eg-ex-bg-en.pdf|archivedate=19 November 2016}}
Aswan Botanical Garden
The island, as a whole, constitutes the Aswan Botanical Garden. One can view the many types of subtropical, exotic, and rare plantings and trees such as the royal palm tree and the sabal palm tree.{{cite web|title=The botanical garden of Aswan (Kitchener's Island)|url=http://www.ask-aladdin.com/Aswan-Travel-Information/Aswan_Botanical_Garden.html|website=Ask-Aladdin|accessdate=18 November 2016|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118224115/http://www.ask-aladdin.com/Aswan-Travel-Information/Aswan_Botanical_Garden.html|archivedate=18 November 2016}} The collection was begun by Lord Kitchener and has been cared for since. The gardens are popular among the local people and tourists as a place to go for a quiet afternoon away from the noise of the city, and for weekend picnics. The island and gardens can be reached by felucca that reach the southeastern side of the small island.{{cite book|last1=Haag|first1=Michael|title=Egypt|date=2004|publisher=New Holland Publishers|isbn=9781860111631|page=334|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EgXqbGauz0kC&dq=Aswan+Botanical&pg=PA334|accessdate=18 November 2016}}{{Dead link|date=February 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
Gallery
Image:Aswan, Kitchener's Island, east bank, Egypt, Oct 2004.jpg|A view to the inbound felucca wharf on El Nabatat Island
Image:Aswan, Kitchener's Island, palm trees, Egypt, Oct 2004.jpg|Palm trees at Aswan Botanical Garden
Image:Aswan, Kitchener's Island, felucca wharf, Egypt, Oct 2004.jpg|An outbound felucca wharf on El Nabatat Island
Image:P1010131-2.jpg|A view to the Nile's west bank from El Nabatat Island
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Coord|24|05|37|N|32|53|13|E|region:EG_type:isle|display=title}}
{{Islands of Egypt}}
Category:River islands of Egypt