Aswan

Aswan (, population 200,000) is a city in the south of Egypt and the capital of the Aswan Governorate. It is on the east bank of the Nile and is a busy market and tourist center.

Aswan is one of the driest places in the world where people live; as of early 2001, the last rain there was 6 years earlier. As of October 13, 2007, the last rainfall was a thunderstorm on May 13, 2006. In Nubian settlements, the people often do not put a roof over all of the rooms in their houses.

About 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) southwest of Aswan is the Aswan International Airport.
 History 


Aswan is the ancient city of Swenett. At a later time it was called Syene. In antiquity it 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. This goddess later was identified as Eileithyia by the Greeks and Lucina by the Romans during their occupation of Ancient Egypt. This is because both goddesses were associated with childbirth. In this context, the name was translated as "the opener". The ancient name of the city also is said to be derived from the Egyptian symbol for "trade", or "market".

The Ancient Egyptians oriented themselves toward the origin of the life-giving waters of the Nile in the south. Swenett was the southernmost town in the country. Egypt always was seen as  "opening" or beginning at Swenett. The city was on 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 a barrier.

The stone quarries of ancient Egypt were located here. They 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,  in length, was cut beside them from Syene to Philae.

Swenett was also 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. Religious Encounters on the Southern Egyptian Frontier in Late Antiquity (AD 298-642) . Many ancient weitere mention the city . Among them are 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

The Nile is nearly  wide above Aswan. From this frontier town to the northern extremity of Egypt, the river flows for more than  without bar or cataract. The voyage from Aswan to Alexandria usually took 21 to 28 days in favorable weather.

On 12 November 2021, many scorpions invaded the city as a result of flooding and strong winds in the city. Over 500 people were stung.

References

 Related pages 
 Aswan Dam

Category:Cities in Egypt
Category:Aswan Governorate