Archaeological site · Egypt
Elephantine archaeological site
إلفنتين
Excavated ancient town on Elephantine Island in Aswan, with temples of Khnum and Satet, a Nilometer and a site museum.
Where it is
24.0848, 32.8857
Why go
At the southern end of Elephantine Island, an excavated town marks the old frontier through which traders from Nubia entered Egypt. Visitors walk among house remains and the temple sites of Khnum, the ram-headed god of the flood, and of Satet, guardian goddess of the southern border, both tied to the Nile’s yearly rise. A stone Nilometer recorded that rise. A small museum close by shows objects excavated by the island’s long-running German mission. The site joined the World Heritage List in 1979.
Near Elephantine archaeological site
Museum
Nubian Museum
Aswan’s Nubian Museum presents the archaeology, history and living traditions of Nubia.
1 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Archaeological site
Temple of Isis (Aswan town)
A small, roofed Ptolemaic temple of Isis on Aswan's east bank, later used as a church; not the Philae temple.
1 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Historic site
Fatimid Cemetery of Aswan
One of the oldest Muslim cemeteries, on Aswan's east side, with early domed mausoleums from the Fatimid period.
1 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Monument
Unfinished Obelisk
A giant obelisk abandoned in an ancient Aswan granite quarry after cracks appeared, still lying where it was cut.
1 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ