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.  Aswan International Airport is situated 25km SSW of the city, on the west bank and just south of the high dam. Public buses don’t go to the airport and security on the approach road to the terminal is tight, so it’s probably worth taking a taxi, for which you must agree a price in advance.

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. Because the Ancient Egyptians oriented toward the origin of the life-giving waters of the Nile in the south, Swenet was the first town in the country, and Egypt always was conceived to “open” or begin at Swenet.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. The stone quarries of ancient Egypt located here were celebrated for their stone, and especially for the granitic rock called Syenite. They furnished the colossal statues, obelisks, and monolithal shrines that are found throughout Egypt, including the pyramids; and the traces of the quarrymen who wrought in these 3,000 years ago are still visible in the native rock. They lie on either bank of the Nile, and a road, 6.5 kilometres (4.0 mi) in length, was cut beside them from Syene to Philae.

Dozens of cruise ships travel between Luxor and Aswan. Aswan-Luxor takes 3 nights while Luxor-Aswan takes 4 nights. As of Mar 2014, boats depart from Aswan 3 days per week. These can be booked through agents or at the actual ships themselves.   Also a boat to Wadi Halfa in Sudan departs once a week on Sundays (Feb 2014). Tickets go on sale on Monday for the following sunday and sell out quickly.   Alternatively instead of waiting in Aswan for a week, a fixer can be used to arrange a Sudan visa in 15 minutes, a spot on the boat (Even on the actual day of sailing) and help getting through the terminal. Price would be between 50-100 EP for the service.