Aswan

Aswan Governorate is one of the governorates of Egypt. The southernmost governorate in Upper Egypt, its capital is Aswan. The Aswan Governorate borders Qena to the north, Red Sea Governorate to the east, New Valley Governorate to the west, and Sudan’s Northern state to the south.Aswan is a busy market and tourist centre located just north of the Aswan Dam on the east bank of the Nile at the first cataract. The modern city has expanded and includes the formerly separate community on the island of Elephantine.The city is part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in the category of craft and folk art.

Aswan is the ancient city of Swenett, later known as Syene, which in antiquity was the frontier town of Ancient Egypt facing the south. Swenett is supposed to have derived its name from an Egyptian goddess with the same name.This goddess later was identified as Eileithyia by the Greeks and Lucina by the Romans during their occupation of Ancient Egypt because of the similar association of their goddesses with childbirth, and of which the import is “the opener”. The ancient name of the city also is said to be derived from the Egyptian symbol for “trade”,or “market”.