Aswān

Aswān, city, capital of Aswān muḥāfaẓah (governorate), Egypt, on the east bank of the Nile River just below the First Cataract. It faces the island of Elephantine (modern Jazīrat Aswān), on which stand the ruins of the ancient city of Yeb. Aswān was the southern frontier of pharaonic Egypt. Its local quarries supplied granite for many ancient Egyptian monuments and are still operated. On the Nile’s eastern bank was the site of the ancient city of Swen (ancient Egyptian: “the Mart”), whence came the Greek Syene and the Arabic Aswān. Aswān later served as a frontier garrison post for the Romans, the Turks, and the British.

Modern Aswān is an administrative centre, winter resort, and commercial centre, receiving trade from Sudan. It is also an industrial centre, with a copper- and steel-producing complex, a chemicals plant producing fertilizer, a cement plant, a sugar refinery, and quarries producing granite and marble. The old Aswān Dam (completed in 1902) rises about 3 miles (5 km) south of the city; the Aswan High Dam (completed in 1970) is about 7 miles (11 km) south of the city. The Higher Industrial Institute is located in Aswān. A school for fisheries training opened in 1980. On Elephantine a museum contains antiquities from the governorate. There are many hotels in the city, which is the southern terminus of the Cairo-Aswān railway. There is also an international airport. Pop. (2006) 266,013.