Holidays in Egypt - One World Tours

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Tailor made 3 Day Tour -originating Cairo and visiting Aswan (Ref : TM3ASWA) DAY SUGGESTED ITIN ACCOMMODATION 1 Transfer to train station Catch overnight train to Aswan - leaves early evening Overnight Train to Aswan 2 Arrive Aswan Excursion around the city visiting Philae temple, High Dam of Aswan and the Unfinished Obelisk. Cruise around Kitcheners and Elephantine Islands Hotel - Aswan 3 Early Start to travel to Abu Simbel Morning in Abu Simbel visiting both temples Return to Aswan Visit to Philae Temple Transfer to train station Overnight Train to Cairo Pricing and Details (Prices quoted based on 2 persons sharing a double room. Prices in UK sterling) TOTAL TOUR PRICE...... 1 & 2 Star 3 & 4 Star 5 Star 118 per person 152 per person 244 per person Click here for Currency Conversion Tour Includes :- All accommodation. Transfers (to and from train stations). Transportation (to and from all sites and destinations). First Class Train Tickets English Speaking Guide. Most hotel stays include breakfast. Items not included :- International Flights (See the flights section of this site or contact us for advice on obtaining flights). Entrance fees to sites (most sites are around £2-3. A full list is available on the "What to See" section of this site). Egyptian Visa (Download a visa application in the visa section of this site or contact us for information on obtaining your visa). Tour Notes Dates : All of our tours are run to fit clients exact date / time requirements. Just let us know what you require and the tour will be scheduled to fit it with you. Single Supplement: For clients travelling alone, tours will be subject to a single supplement - please contact us for further details Trains : on 1/2 and 3/4 star packages, overnight train accommodation is a reclining aircraft style seat - which is upgradable on request (in advance or on arrival) to a private sleeper cabin. 5 Star packages include Private Sleeper Cabins for all overnight train journeys.

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The City of Aswan

Aswan, Egypt's sunniest southern city and ancient frontier town located about 81 miles south of Luxor, has a distinctively African atmosphere. Its ancient Egyptian name was Syene. Small enough to walk around and graced with the most beautiful setting on the Nile, the pace of life is slow and relaxing. Days can be spent strolling up and down the broad Corniche watching the sailboats etch the sky with their tall masts or sitting in floating restaurants listening to Nubian music and eating freshly caught fish.

In Aswan the Nile is at its most beautiful, flowing through amber desert and granite rocks, round emerald islands covered in palm groves and tropical plants. Explore the souk, full of the scent and color of spices, perfumes, scarves and baskets. View the spectacular sunsets while having tea on the terrace of the Old Cataract Hotel (Named due to the location of the Nile's first cataract located here). Aswan has been a favorite winter resort since the beginning of the nineteenth century, and it's still a perfect place to get away from it all.

Every night Nubian dancers and musicians perform in the Cultural Center, just off the Corniche. Folklore troupes recreate scenes from village life and perform the famous Nubian mock stick-fight dances.

Aswan is a strategic location which currently houses a garrison of the Egyptian army, but which has also seen ancient Egyptian garrisons, as well as that of General Kitchener, Turkish troops of the Ottoman empire and the Romans. The city proper lies on the east bank of the Nile. Relax here, visit a few mosques, but then prepare for an adventure. The bazaar runs along the Corniche, which continues past the Ferial Gardens and the Nubian Museum, and continues on to the Cemetery, with its forest of cupolas surmounted tombs from the Fatimid period. Just east of the cemetery in the famous area quarries is the gigantic Unfinished Obelisk. Just to the south of this, two Graeco-Roman sarcophagi and an unfinished colossus remain half buried in the sand.

The most obvious is Elephantine Island, which is timeless with artifacts dating from pre-Dynastic times onward. It is the largest island in the area. Just beyond Elephantine is Kitchener's Island (Geziret el-Nabatat). It was named for the British general Haratio Kitchener (185--1916) and was sent to Egypt in 1883 to reorganize the Egyptian army, which he then led against the Sudanese Mahdi. But the island is known for its garden and the exotic plants the Kitchener planted there, and which continue to flourish today.

On the opposite shore (west bank), the cliffs are surmounted by the tomb of a marabut, Qubbet el-Hawwa, who was a local saint. Below are tombs of the local (pharaonic) nobles and dignitaries.

Upriver a bit is the tomb of Mohammed Shah Aga Khan who died in 1957. Known as the Tomb of the Aga Khan, it is beautiful in its simplicity. A road from there leads back to the Coptic Monastery of St Simeon, which was built in the sixth century in honor of Amba Hadra, a local saint.

Just up river a bit, there is also the old Aswan dam, built by the British, which was enlarged, expanded, but unable to control the Nile for irrigation.