Middle East - Anthony Ham [135]
Aswan Botanical Garden
Lord Kitchener turned this island into a verdant botanical garden (Map; admission E£10; 8am-5pm Oct-Apr, 8am-6pm May-Sep). You can still admire the remnants of his labours today, though you’ll need to hire a boat or felucca to get here.
Monastery of St Simeon
This well-preserved 6th-century mudbrick Coptic Christian monastery (Map; adult/student E£20/10; 8am-4pm Oct-Apr, 7am-5pm May-Sep) looks like a fortress and is a half-hour hike from the felucca dock near the Mausoleum of the Aga Khan. If you decide to take a camel or donkey instead of walking, you can usually get a return ride for E£30 after bargaining.
Tombs of the Nobles
A few of the Old and Middle Kingdom tombs (Map; adult/student E£20/10; 8am-4pm Oct-Apr, 8am-5pm May-Sep) of local dignitaries are worth exploring for their wall paintings and biographical hieroglyphics.
Activities
Top of the priority list for most visitors is a quick sluice between Aswan’s many islands on a felucca. The afternoon is the ideal time to do this, as the fiery sun plonks itself down over Aswan’s dunes. The ‘official’ price for hiring a felucca for one to eight people is E£25 to E£30 per hour; with a bit of bargaining you should be able get a boat for three hours for about E£60 to E£70, enough time to sail to Seheyl Island and back. For multiday trips, Click here.
Sleeping
Aswan’s accommodation scene isn’t nearly as good value as Luxor’s. Be warned that hotels in the centre of town, particularly those on the Corniche, can be noisy at night.
Budget
Nubian Oasis Hotel (Map; 231 2123/6; nubianoasis_hotel_aswan@hotmail.com; Sharia as-Souq; s/d with air-con E£30/40, without bathroom E£25/30; ) Worth considering only if you’re on a super-shoestring budget, this tattered hotel barely makes concessions to minimum standards of cleanliness. To top it off, the staff here seem spectacularly uninterested in the whole endeavour.
Hathor Hotel (Map; 231 4223; fax 230 3462; Corniche el-Nil; s/d E£55/80; ) What this hotel lacks in charisma it more than makes up for in cleanliness. The sometimes gloomy rooms are covered in bleach-cleaned tiles and proffer boxy bathrooms and air-con. A big bonus here is the great pool on the rooftop with breathtaking Nile vistas.
Keylany Hotel (Map; /fax 231 7332; www.keylanyhotel.com; Sharia Keylany; s E£55-66, d E£70-93; ) The pick of the town’s budget bunch, the longstanding Keylany is run like clockwork. Their newer, freshly painted air-conditioned rooms are kept hospital-clean, though the cheaper fan rooms in the older section are showing their age. The big draw here is the quiet location and a lovely rooftop café that’s kitted out in natural materials, with lots of shade and hearty breakfasts served every morning. There’s a small kiddie pool on the roof to help you cool down and you can use wi-fi for E£25 per 24 hours.
Ramses Hotel (Map; 230 4000; Sharia Abdal al-Tahrir; s/d E£85/120; ) The friendly management almost make you forgive the tattered ’60s decor inside this high-rise hotel. Don’t expect fireworks: rooms here are just comfy enough, and some even manage to eke out a slim view of the Nile.
Nuba Nile Hotel (Map; 231 3267; www.nubanile.com; s/d E£100/130; ) You will be pleased to discover that the rooms here surpass the low expectations set by the disappointing foyer. These freshly painted abodes all have bathrooms and air-con; some bright rooms sport balconies overlooking the street, though others wallow in windowless darkness – check out a few. It’s next to a popular ahwa near the station, convenient for backpackers dragging big bags.
Midrange & Top End
At the time of research Aswan’s grandest and most impressive establishment, the Old Cataract Hotel, was closed for