Located 500 miles south of Cairo, in southeastern Egypt is Aswan. Home to both the
'low' and 'high' Aswan dams it has historically been a favorite tourist attraction since
early in the nineteenth century. It's sunny African atmosphere with palm groves and
tropical plants have been the ideal setting for a winter get away. Aswan includes 5
centers, 94 villages and 487 subvillages. The entire area consists of approx. 1 million
people living within 34,608 square kilometers.
Agriculturally, Aswan has supported itself through its sugar, rice,
chemical, fertilizer, and fishing boat industries. As a tourist attraction, Aswan contains
26 hotels with 3,091 rooms, and has 13 culture centers. It also holds 991 mosques and 26
churches for worship.
Mid-stream in the Nile River, The Aswan High Dam backs up the water to create the world's largest
man-made lake: Lake Nasser. Named after the President and honored pan-Arabist Gamal Abdel
Nasser, who was also the driving force behind the dams construction. Lake Nasser backs up
the Nile 200 miles (320 km) into Egypt and almost 100 miles (160km) farther
upstream (south) in the Sudan. The enormous lake is
500 kilometers long, approximately 22 kilometers wide and 90 meters deep. The breaking of
the ground took place in 1960, and the Nile River was first redirected in 1964.