HIGH DAM
Departing your hotel at 8:30AM start your tour at the famous High Dam. Constructed in the 1960's to control flooding and generate electricity it has been a major asset to Egypt since.

KALABSHA TEMPLE
Located on the shore of Lake Nasser near the high dam this was the largest free-standing temple of Egyptian Nubia. The design of Kalabsha Temple is classical for the Ptolemaic period with pylons, courtyard, hypostyle hall and three room sanctuary. However, the Pylon is offset, which creates a trapezoid in the courtyard beyond. It was built on the site of an earlier structure built by Ptolemy IX as evidenced by a chapel. There is also a small chapel and gate on Elephantine Island from Kalabsha, and a gate built by Augustus was given to the Agyptisches Museum in West Berlin.

PHILAE TEMPLE
The original site of Philae lies underneath the waters of Lake Nasser; however, with the help of UNESCO, the entire temple was relocated to a new island, Agilkia, just south of Aswan. The earliest monuments on the island date are from the reign of Nectanebo I, while the largest structure on the island is the Temple of Isis, whose earliest decorations date to Ptolemy II. Nearby are the Temple of Hathor, a temple of Augustus, the Gate of Diocletian, and the unfinished kiosk of Trajan. Inhabitation by the Christians led to the destruction of many of the decorations within the temples.

PHARAOH'S GRANITE QUARRIES
Pharaohs granite quarries with the unfinished obelisk. Much of the red granite used for ancient temples and colossi came from quarries in the Aswan area. Around these quarries are many inscriptions which describe successful quarrying projects. The Unfinished Obelisk located in the Northern Quarry still lies where a crack was discovered as it was being hewn from the rock. Possibly intended as a companion to the Lateran Obelisk, originally at Karnak but now in Rome, it would have weighed over 2.3 million pounds and would have been the worlds largest piece of stone ever handled. However, a crack in the stone occurred, which caused it to be abandoned. Tools left by it's builders have given us much insight into how such work was performed.

NUBIAN MUSEUM
The beautiful architecture of the Aswan Nubian Museum alone is worth seeing. But don't forget to take a walk inside this partly open-air museum where you'll find yourself wandering between a prehistoric cave with painted rock-art, ancient Egyptian statues, obelisks and columns and even a complete Nubian house. Due to the quantities of material recovered from tombs, temples and settlements, UNESCO was encouraged in the 1980's to plan a new Nubian museum in Aswan where the objects could be stored and exhibited. The total area of the museum and its surroundings is 50,000 square meters. The Nubia museum contains artifacts, masterpieces that were found on sites now submerged, during the UNESCO salvage campaign. The museum contains a variety of monumental objects from different parts in Egypt, collected in Nubia during the first half of the twentieth century. It displays in its permanent exhibition about 1500 artifacts showing, in chronological order, the material culture of Nubia, from Prehistory to present times.

ASWAN SOUK AND SPICE MARKET
Aswan Souk is a colorful bazaar that offers Egyptian and African goods. Locally known as Sharia as-Souq, it is the cheapest place to buy souvenirs in Aswan. Located about four blocks from the Nile and running about 7 blocks in parallel to the river, the bazaar has plenty of Egyptian and African goods. Traders sell a wide variety of goods such as perfumes, peanuts, henna powder, dried hibiscus flowers, spices, T-shirts and custom made Ancient Egyptian styled souvenirs. In side alleys you'll find traders selling Nubian artefacts such as skullcaps, talismans and baskets, Sudanese swords, spices and carpets, and stuffed animals such as crocodiles.

Included: Transfer from your metro Aswan hotel to the sites included in tour program, entry fees to sites included in tour program, Egyptologist fluent in English, bottled water during the tour, Lunch, taxes and service charges.
NOT including: tips for the driver or guide, anything not specifically mentioned as included.