Aswan is situated at the south end of the section of the Nile plied by the cruise fleets, and just upriver is the First Cataract, the old Aswan Dam, and further, the High Dam. Aswan used to be the border trading city for Egypt and adjoining Nubia, and the rest of southern Africa, and a high percentage of Aswan's population are of Nubian descent. It still represents a major commerce centre, and some very pungent spices from the south can be obtained in the bazaars here.
To get the feel of Aswan, there is no better way than to take a horse-drawn carriage (negotiate the fare beforehand, and stipulate "No baksheesh"!) from your cruise boat to the Old Cataract Hotel, where Agatha Christie wrote "Death on the Nile". Here, have tea (or something stronger!) on the Terrace, which overlooks the Nile. A magnificent old colonial hotel!
Also at Aswan is the Nilometer, where the Pharaoh's officials measured the annual flood and set that year's tax level. On the West Bank, the Aga Khan's Mausoleum may be visited, and there is a museum and temple on Elephantine Island in the middle of the Nile. Of the nearby temples, Philae in the middle of the lake between the dams is most often visited by organised tours, and is another venue for evening Son et Lumiere presentations. Also included in most cruise itineraries is a visit to the "Unfinished Obelisk", which would have been the largest ever erected if it hadn't cracked before it was fully quarried. As it was abandoned in mid-excavation, it provides the opportunity to see the Ancient Egyptian quarrying technique.
