Adventure Travel Tales and Photos of Egypt

Photos of Elephantine Island in the Nile near Aswan

Elephantine Island is the largest of the islands in the Nile near Aswan. The island is lush and green and an interesting place to visit. Sights to see there include the Aswan Museum, the Temple of Khnum, Nubian villages and a Nilometer. A Nilometer was a gauge that measured the peak of the annual Nile flood. By measuring the height of the flood waters, the ancient Egyptians could determine which crops would most likely thrive and also predict the bounty of the coming year's harvest. Tax rates were set accordingly. The Nilometer on Elephantine Island is was one of the earliest known Nilometers.

Elephantine Island is accessible by a couple of public ferries. It can also be reached by felucca.


The views around Aswan are quite nice. Elephantine Island lies roughly midway between Aswan and the west bank of the Nile. This is a view from Elephantine of the west bank and the mausoleum of Aga Khan.




Before the Aswan dams were built, navigation of the Nile at Aswan was considered very dangerous. There are many outcroppings of rock - cataracts - scattered throughout the Nile at Aswan. Now, with the flow of the Nile controlled by the dams, these cataracts only add to the beauty of the area.



On the west bank of the Nile, just north of Elephantine Island, lies the tombs of the Nobles.



This is a "Nilometer". In ancient times, the vertical markings alongside the stairway were used to measure the height of the crest of the Nile flooding. The pharoahs used this information to predict the bounty of the crops and set the tax rates accordingly. If the crest of the Nile flood was high, they anticipated more irrigation from Nile flooding and higher crop production. Clever, heh?



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