Enchanting is the word you can describe the place with. A great serenity surrounds the view and the viewers. That is how you feel when you are in Aswan. The desert siding the Nile, and the palms embracing the sand hills. Small boats (fellouka) driven by young Nubian commanders dancing through the river creating a dazzling dance floor. And if you are missing romance, then a full moon night walk or a cruise by the shore of the Nile will be exactly what you are looking for. The aroma of the past will simply entice your imagination to flicker, weaving ancient stories that your role is its hero or heroine. Fortune and destiny can bring to your way Ahmos or Ramsis the second spirits appearing in a young Aswanian guy, who could charm and capture your mind and heart with his strong and determinate, yet loving personality. The unique blend of the people makes them different. They descend from pure ancient Egyptians whom some of them married the Arab conquerors who held the Islam banner. That is why people there are very peaceful, hospitable and they don’t have the destructing concept of revenge “el Tar”, compared to the rest of the upper of Egypt “el Saied”.

A short visit to the market will amaze your ears from the different languages that Aswan’s sellers professionalize in. Some speak English; others speak French, Italian and German too. Yet the Chinese language is still a new one they are on their way to learn as well. The sellers do their best to convince you of buying their products which is totally different -in their point of view- from the next door seller!!!!!!!

Aswan is not a city of the past only. It’s a city of the past, present and the future. If we praise our ancient ancestors then we should praise our fathers as well. Visiting the unique striking High Dam will illustrate that. The High Dam was and is a great achievement that modern Egypt has accomplished. When I visited it, I realized why Abdel Halim sang his famous song “Ehna elli banina el Sad el Alli”. Yes, indeed it is our fathers who built it. And today we are establishing the Toshka project, with a current labour capacity that reached 15,000 young workers from different fields, hoping that this will create a bright future for Aswan.

However, Aswan still needs more attention and consideration from the volunteer workers, and specially our Rotary clubs. People there suffer from hygiene and sanitation problems, as cleaning companies are not sufficient. Streets and inner lanes needs repaving and renewals, bearing in mind that Aswan is considered a touristic city and should be appealing to tourists and foreigners. Furthermore, youth suffer from unemployment problems, which create a crisis because it renders them an easy prey to radical and fundamentalists extremists despite of the kind of religion. Though, there are some foreign NGOs such as CARE, which try to provide the citizens with loans and some donations but they are quite limited.

Aswan is a magical unforgettable city that if you visited it once, you will find yourself simply adoring it, and want to do your best to see it more beautiful. I believe there is something mysterious, yet majestic in the air there………………….