# Roots Earth in Aswan: audio stories about 40 places Canonical: https://rootsearth.com/cities/aswan Published: 16 September 2026 Roots Earth has audio stories about 40 places in Aswan, Egypt, in Africa. The Aswan stories are in all seven Roots Earth languages: English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian. The app needs no account: open Aswan, pick a place on the city's map of places and play. Download a city's audio, then it plays without a connection. The stories are written by local people. The 40 places are listed below in the order the app shows them, and again further down with their coordinates. The lists were taken from the Roots Earth catalogue on 15 September 2026. ## The 40 places in Aswan with audio stories In the order the app shows them. 1. Philae Temple Complex 2. Aswan High Dam 3. Abu Simbel Temples 4. Nubian Museum 5. Unfinished Obelisk 6. Elephantine Island 7. Temple of Kalabsha 8. Mausoleum of Aga Khan 9. Aswan Low Dam 10. Aswan Museum 11. Qubbet el-Hawa 12. Kitchener's Island (Botanical Garden) 13. Agilkia Island 14. Archangel Michael's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral 15. Monastery of St. Simeon (Gabal Tingar) 16. Sehel Island 17. Famine Stela 18. Temple of Beit el-Wali 19. Kiosk of Qertassi 20. First Cataract of the Nile 21. Temple of Kom Ombo 22. Temple of Amada 23. Temple of Dakka 24. Temple of Maharraqa 25. Temple of Gerf Hussein 26. Temples of Wadi es-Sebua 27. Lake Nasser 28. Aswan Souk (Sharia as-Souq) 29. Corniche el-Nil 30. Gharb Aswan Nubian Village 31. Nubian Heritage Quarter 32. Aswan University 33. Heisa Island 34. Daraw Camel Market 35. Kom Ombo Town 36. Aswan Governorate Centre 37. Aswan International Airport 38. Nubia (Cultural Region) 39. Felucca Nile Sailing 40. Gebel el-Silsila ## Is there an audio guide for Philae Temple Complex? Yes. Philae Temple Complex has its audio stories in the Roots Earth app: a short introduction and a deeper story, in English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian. It is place 1 of the 40 Aswan places in the app, at 24.02528, 32.88417. Every one of the other 39 places in the list above has the same two stories. Roots Earth is not a guided tour: you choose the place on the city's map of places and play its story yourself. ## How to use Roots Earth in Aswan Open Roots Earth and choose Aswan. The city has its own map of places with all 40 of them on it. Tap the place you are standing in front of, or any other, and play its short introduction or its deeper story. You decide what to listen to and in which order. You can listen in English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian, and there is no account. Download a city's audio, then it plays without a connection. --- **In full** All 40 places in Aswan, in the app's order, with their coordinates. ## All 40 places in Aswan, with coordinates Every place below has a short introduction and a deeper story in the Roots Earth app, in English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian. The names, the coordinates (latitude, longitude) and the one line descriptions are the app's own catalogue values of 15 September 2026; a place without a line here has none that this page can print. ### 1. Philae Temple Complex - Coordinates: 24.02528, 32.88417 - In one line: A sacred island temple dedicated to the goddess Isis, begun under Nectanebo the First and enriched across Ptolemaic and Roman centuries. Rescued from the rising Nile and rebuilt block by block on Agilkia Island. ### 2. Aswan High Dam - Coordinates: 23.971, 32.878 - In one line: A colossal rock-fill dam built between 1960 and 1970 to tame the Nile's annual flood. It created Lake Nasser, generates hydroelectric power, and reshaped Egypt's agriculture, though it displaced tens of thousands of Nubians. ### 3. Abu Simbel Temples - Coordinates: 22.337, 31.626 - In one line: Two rock temples carved for Ramesses the Second in the thirteenth century before the common era, guarded by four colossal seated figures about 20 meters tall. Famous for a twice-yearly sunrise that lights the inner sanctuary. ### 4. Nubian Museum - Coordinates: 24.08, 32.88944 - In one line: A museum opened in 1997 that tells the long story of Nubian civilization and the great campaign to rescue its monuments from Lake Nasser. Its sandstone design won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. ### 5. Unfinished Obelisk - Coordinates: 24.077, 32.895 - In one line: A giant obelisk abandoned in the granite quarries of Aswan after cracks split the stone. Had it been finished, it would have stood nearly 42 meters tall and been the largest ever raised in ancient Egypt. ### 6. Elephantine Island - Coordinates: 24.09, 32.89 - In one line: An ancient river island at Aswan, once Egypt's southern frontier town and a hub of the ivory trade. Home to the Temple of Khnum, a stepped Nilometer, and living Nubian villages along its lanes. ### 7. Temple of Kalabsha - Coordinates: 23.96083, 32.86722 - In one line: A grand Nubian temple built under the Roman emperor Augustus and dedicated to the sun god Mandulis. ### 8. Mausoleum of Aga Khan - Coordinates: 24.08827, 32.8789 - In one line: A pink-limestone tomb crowning the desert hills of the Nile's west bank, built between 1956 and 1960 for Aga Khan III, imam of the Nizari Ismailis. Its Fatimid-inspired domes overlook the river he loved. ### 9. Aswan Low Dam - Coordinates: 24.03389, 32.86583 - In one line: The first dam ever built across the Nile, raised by the British between 1899 and 1902. A vast masonry barrier of granite-faced stone, it was the largest of its kind in the world when it opened, and it reshaped the river forever. ### 10. Aswan Museum - Coordinates: 24.08472, 32.88667 - In one line: A small museum on Elephantine Island, established in 1912 by the Egyptologist Cecil Mallaby Firth. It gathers antiquities found in Aswan and on the island itself, from statues and sarcophagi to ram mummies sacred to the god Khnum. ### 11. Qubbet el-Hawa - Coordinates: 24.10177, 32.88916 - In one line: A necropolis of around 100 rock-cut tombs carved into the cliff on the Nile's west bank, burial place of the governors and expedition leaders of ancient Elephantine. Its name, Dome of the Wind, comes from a sheikh's shrine on the summit. ### 12. Kitchener's Island (Botanical Garden) - Coordinates: 24.094, 32.887 - In one line: A lush island garden in the Nile near Aswan, planted with exotic and tropical trees gathered by Lord Kitchener in the 1890s. Roughly 750 meters long, it is now a botanical research garden reached by felucca, shaded with palms from around the world. ### 13. Agilkia Island - Coordinates: 24.02528, 32.88417 - In one line: The island that received the Philae temple complex when it was rescued from rising water in the 1970s. Reshaped to echo the drowned island of Philae, it now carries the temple of Isis above the reservoir of the old Aswan dam. ### 14. Archangel Michael's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral - Coordinates: 24.08, 32.89 - In one line: A modern Coptic Orthodox cathedral in Aswan, consecrated in 2006 and ranked the second largest in Egypt. Twin towers, domes, and a white stone facade rise above the town, the spiritual home of Aswan's Christian community. ### 15. Monastery of St. Simeon (Gabal Tingar) - Coordinates: 24.08528, 32.86806 - In one line: A ruined 6th-century Coptic monastery on the desert hills west of the Nile near Aswan. Once one of Egypt's largest fortified monasteries, its mudbrick walls, keep, and church still rise above the sands beside the Gabal Tingar quarry. ### 16. Sehel Island - Coordinates: 24.05917, 32.87111 - In one line: A granite island in the Nile below the First Cataract, southwest of Aswan. Once sacred to the water goddess Anuket and worked as a quarry, its boulders carry hundreds of ancient inscriptions, including the famous Famine Stela. ### 17. Famine Stela - Coordinates: 24.05751, 32.874 - In one line: A Ptolemaic-era inscription carved into a granite boulder on Sehel Island. Its 32 columns of hieroglyphs tell of a seven-year famine ended by King Djoser, the god Khnum, and the sage Imhotep, set centuries before the carving itself. ### 18. Temple of Beit el-Wali - Coordinates: 23.96186, 32.86639 - In one line: A small rock-cut temple carved for Ramesses II and dedicated to Amun-Re and other gods. Famed for vivid painted battle reliefs, it was relocated near Kalabsha in the 1960s to escape the rising waters of the Aswan High Dam. ### 19. Kiosk of Qertassi - Coordinates: 23.9603, 32.8675 - In one line: A small Roman-era kiosk in brown sandstone, honouring Hathor and Isis. Its surviving columns include two crowned with Hathor heads. Originally built by the Qertassi quarries, it was relocated to New Kalabsha in the 1960s Nubia rescue. ### 20. First Cataract of the Nile - Coordinates: 24.0145, 32.8768 - In one line: The northernmost of the Nile's six cataracts, just south of Aswan, where granite boulders and rocky islets once broke the river into rapids. For millennia it marked Egypt's southern frontier, now largely submerged behind the Aswan dams. ### 21. Temple of Kom Ombo - Coordinates: 24.45, 32.93 - In one line: A Ptolemaic temple on the Nile north of Aswan, unique for its perfectly symmetrical double design. One half honours the crocodile god Sobek, the other the falcon god Haroeris. It is famed for its reliefs of surgical instruments and crocodile mummies. ### 22. Temple of Amada - Coordinates: 22.73115, 32.26261 - In one line: The oldest surviving temple in Nubia, begun by Thutmose III in the 18th Dynasty and dedicated to Amun-Ra and Ra-Horakhty. Famed for vivid painted reliefs, it was moved 2. 6 kilometers to escape Lake Nasser. ### 23. Temple of Dakka - Coordinates: 22.8, 32.55 - In one line: A temple to Thoth begun by the Meroitic king Arqamani and expanded by the Ptolemies and Roman emperors. Its towering 12-meter pylon survives in fine condition. The whole monument was moved to New Wadi es-Sebua during the Nubia rescue. ### 24. Temple of Maharraqa - Coordinates: 22.8, 32.55 - In one line: An unfinished Roman temple to Isis and Serapis that once marked the southern frontier of Roman Egypt. The only Nubian temple with a spiral staircase, it was dismantled in 1961 and rebuilt at New Wadi es-Sebua. ### 25. Temple of Gerf Hussein - Coordinates: 23.2833, 32.9 - In one line: A rock-cut temple built for Ramesses II by his viceroy Setau, dedicated to Ptah, Ptah-Tatenen, Hathor, and the deified king. ### 26. Temples of Wadi es-Sebua - Coordinates: 22.79, 32.55 - In one line: Two temples in the Valley of the Lions, one founded by Amenhotep III and a larger one built for Ramesses II by his viceroy Setau. ### 27. Lake Nasser - Coordinates: 22.5, 31.86 - In one line: One of the world's largest reservoirs, created by the Aswan High Dam between 1960 and 1970 and named for President Gamal Abdel Nasser. Its rising waters displaced Nubian communities and prompted the dramatic rescue of Abu Simbel and other temples. ### 28. Aswan Souk (Sharia as-Souq) - Coordinates: 24.0925, 32.8985 - In one line: Aswan's lively market street runs parallel to the Nile, heaped with spices, hibiscus, dates, and Nubian crafts. Heir to the city's ancient role as a trade gateway between Egypt and Africa, it blends Egyptian, Nubian, and Sudanese color and clamor. ### 29. Corniche el-Nil - Coordinates: 24.0905, 32.8975 - In one line: The Corniche el-Nil is Aswan's riverside promenade, a palm-lined walkway tracing the east bank of the Nile. Feluccas glide past granite islands while cafes, vendors, and cruise boats animate the city's busiest, most scenic public stage. ### 30. Gharb Aswan Nubian Village - Coordinates: 24.092, 32.882 - In one line: Gharb Aswan is a Nubian village on the Nile's west bank, famous for vivid blue and ochre houses, sandy lanes, and warm hospitality. Domed homes, painted facades, and Kenzi Nubian voices preserve a culture rooted along this river for millennia. ### 31. Nubian Heritage Quarter - Coordinates: 24.0885, 32.8855 - In one line: The Nubian Heritage Quarter celebrates the culture of Nubia, an indigenous Nile people whose kingdoms once ruled Egypt. Music, painted houses, crafts, and cuisine survive here after the 1960s dam displaced over 100,000 Nubians from their ancestral homeland. ### 32. Aswan University - Coordinates: 23.9989, 32.8599 - In one line: Aswan University is the city's public university, independent since 2012 after decades as a branch of Assiut and then South Valley University. Its desert campuses host faculties from medicine to archaeology, drawing students across Upper Egypt to the Nile's southern frontier. ### 33. Heisa Island - Coordinates: 24.0145, 32.8768 - In one line: Heisa Island is a granite Nile island near the High Dam, home to about 2,000 Kenzi Nubians in colorful hillside houses. Once a burial ground for Philae's priests, its people stayed put when the dam rose, simply moving to higher ground. ### 34. Daraw Camel Market - Coordinates: 24.4, 32.91667 - In one line: Daraw, north of Aswan, hosts one of Egypt's largest camel markets. Animals driven up the ancient Forty Days Road from Sudan are bought and sold here on busy mornings, in a raucous, dusty arena of traders, herders, and bargaining. ### 35. Kom Ombo Town - Coordinates: 24.47, 32.95 - In one line: Kom Ombo is a Nile town about 50 kilometers north of Aswan, ringed by sugarcane fields and famous for its double temple to Sobek and Horus. Once the ancient gold city of Nubt, it now shelters many Nubians resettled after Lake Nasser flooded their homeland. ### 36. Aswan Governorate Centre - Coordinates: 23.59, 32.82 - In one line: Egypt's southernmost governorate spreads across more than 62,000 square kilometres of desert, river, and the vast waters of Lake Nasser. Its capital, Aswan, has long been the country's gateway to Nubia and the heart of a region shaped by the Nile. ### 37. Aswan International Airport - Coordinates: 23.964, 32.82 - In one line: Built in 1956 and upgraded in the 1990s, Aswan International Airport sits about 16 kilometres southwest of the city. With a single long runway, it serves as the modern gateway to Aswan and the launch point for flights to distant Abu Simbel. ### 38. Nubia (Cultural Region) - Coordinates: 24.0889, 32.8998 - In one line: Stretching along the Nile from Aswan deep into Sudan, Nubia is one of Africa's oldest cultural regions. Home to ancient kingdoms, distinctive pyramids, and living languages, its people endure around Aswan even after the High Dam drowned much of their homeland. ### 39. Felucca Nile Sailing - Coordinates: 24.0895, 32.8945 - In one line: The felucca is a traditional wooden sailing boat with a tall triangular lateen sail, long the workhorse of the Nile. Around Aswan, its quiet craft still glide between the islands, carrying travellers who prefer wind and water to the noise of motorboats. ### 40. Gebel el-Silsila - Coordinates: 24.63333, 32.93333 - In one line: At the Nile's narrowest point between Edfu and Kom Ombo, Gebel el-Silsila is ancient Egypt's greatest sandstone quarry. From here came the stone for Karnak and Luxor, and its cliffs still bear chapels, rock stelae, and the temple of Horemheb. ## Roots Earth in short Roots Earth has audio stories about 5,665 places in 130 cities, 25 countries and 6 regions, written by local people. - No account - Download a city's audio, then it plays without a connection - Audio stories in English and German in every city, and in Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian in 126 of the 130 cities Roots Earth for Android is available on Google Play: [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rootsearth.app](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rootsearth.app). ## More from Roots Earth - [Africa in the Roots Earth catalogue](https://rootsearth.com/cities#africa): every city in Africa with its number of places and its languages. - [What Roots Earth is](https://rootsearth.com/app): the app in one page, how it works and what is in it. - [Questions travellers ask](https://rootsearth.com/faq): the cities, the languages, the account, listening without a connection. - [The 7 languages](https://rootsearth.com/languages): the seven languages with their codes and how many cities each one covers. - [Alexandria](https://rootsearth.com/cities/alexandria): 44 places in Egypt with audio stories. - [Cairo](https://rootsearth.com/cities/cairo): 52 places in Egypt with audio stories. - [Giza](https://rootsearth.com/cities/giza): 40 places in Egypt with audio stories. - [Luxor](https://rootsearth.com/cities/luxor): 46 places in Egypt with audio stories. 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