Tuesday 10 May 2016

ASWAN, EGYPT

Aswan, formerly spelled Assuan, is a city in the south of Egypt, the capital of the Aswan Governorate. Aswan is a busy market and tourist centre located just north of the Aswan Dams on the east bank of the Nile at the first cataract. The modern city has expanded and includes the formerly separate community on the island of Elephantine.

Aswan is the ancient city of Swenett, 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. 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, or market.

Because the Ancient Egyptians oriented toward the origin of the life-giving waters of the Nile in the south, Swenett was the first town in the country, and 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 extend to it from Philae. Navigation to the delta was possible from this location without encountering a barrier.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Trees & Bushes meme,
and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.










8 comments:

  1. Beautiful pictures from exotic parts of the World

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello, gorgeous scenes and images from Egypt. Not quite what I expected to see there. Great photos. Happy Tuesday, enjoy your week ahead!

    ReplyDelete
  3. The landscape of Egypt is very pretty, very much what I picture in my mind. The colors of the market are stunning.

    Lisa @ Life Thru the Lens (www.lisakerner-slp.com)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I`ve been to Egypt only once in my life, but I`d like to see more of it. Thank you for sharing :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow - these are gorgeous shots!
    Thanks for sharing at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-cats-of-san-juan.html

    ReplyDelete
  6. Gorgeous! Stunning shots!
    http://travelingbugwiththreeboys-kelleyn.blogspot.com/2016/05/avery.html

    ReplyDelete
  7. Like the ruins from the boat and those colorful spices are wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I think they built a lot since I was there. But the market looks the same.

    ReplyDelete

I love to hear from you, so please comment. I appreciate constructive criticism as it improves my skills as an amateur photographer.