Elephantine
The island of Elephantine belongs to Egypt and is located near the Nile River. It stretches close to 1.4 km. The nearest settlement to the lake is Aswan.
Once upon a time, in ancient times, the island housed the sanctuary of the patroness of the Nile, the goddess Satis. Nowadays, this temple complex can only be imagined, because in reality only some ruins remain of it. Since the island of Elephantine served as a place of worship for the god Khnum, there are traces of a temple that was built back in the IV century BC. There is also a necropolis on the territory of Elephantine, where sacred sheep were buried.
During the reign of the pharaohs, trade centers were concentrated on the island of Elephantine, and there was also a so-called customs point through which goods were imported and exported. It was from this place that various expeditions, including military ones, went out. About 3 thousand years ago BC, a huge fortress was built here, which protected the southern side of Egypt.
Among the main attractions of the island of Elephantine is the "nilometer", which was built under Amenhotep III. Work has been carried out on its reconstruction several times, but even today it looks like it originally did. This is not a deep shaft that can be used to descend directly to the Nile. The "nilometer" has special markings that show the depth of the river in a given location. Thanks to this design, it was possible to determine the flood level in advance, although the Nile has long been famous for its floods, which occur in June from the 15th to the 18th. In this place, the water usually rises from 6 to 8 meters.
On the island of Elephantine, tourists can enjoy the museum, which is housed in a remarkable colonial-style building. The museum exhibits both primitive tools and Greco-Roman mummies, which were found during excavations on the territory of Aswan. All of them are placed in chronological order.
