Its ancient Egyptian name was Syene. Small enough to walk around and graced with the most beautiful settling on the Nile, the pace of life is slow and relaxing. Days can be spent strolling up and down the broad Cornice watching the sailboats etch the sky with their tall masts or sitting in floating restaurants listening to Nubian music and eating freshly caught fish.

The Red Sea coast is famed for its crystal clear blue waters and exotic marine life, attracting thousands of tourists yearly. The reputation is well deserved - in 1989, an international panel of scientists picked the north part of the Red Sea as one of the Seven Underwater Wonders of the World.

Aswan feels so relaxed after being in Luxor. There are few people around you trying to convince you into doing things you don't want to do. And the beauty of Aswan is striking, too. Taking a journey around the islands on a white felucca is compulsory, but this means that you expose yourself to those always looking to get some more money out of you.

Among the major attractions of Aswan are of course the Aswan Dams. There are two. The first was finished in 1902, and was the largest in the world in its day. The new one was completed in 1971, and came as a result of the higher needs of the increasing Egyptian population. But it's far from containing it's maximum amount of water, due to low water in the Nile up from Aswan.