Elephantine Island is one of the solid granite islands in terms of geological formation and one of the most important islands in Aswan City, not only now but also since ancient times.

It was a strategic area linking the south to the north, especially in the trade exchange between Egypt and the rest of Africa. The most important thing that the Pharaohs imported was ivory or elephant tooth, so they named it (Apo), meaning elephant or ivory. As for the name Elephantine, it is what the Greeks gave to this island. We must differentiate between Elephantine Island and Philae Island, as they are not one island.

Elephantine Island.

Where is the Elephantine Island located?

Elephantine Island is one of the Nile islands of Egypt. It is located in the city of Aswan a northern Nubian village, in Egypt. The island contains several monuments and temples that cover all historical stages in Egypt, from prehistory to the early Islamic era and passing through the Pharaonic, Ptolemaic, and Roman eras.

Elephantine Island.

The History of the Elephantine Island

Elephantine Island, which archaeologists call the “Jewel of the South” because of the antiquities and secrets it contains about successive civilizations in Egypt, is one of Egypt’s Nile Islands located in the city of Aswan. Its area is about 1,500 meters in length and 500 meters in width; most of its residents are Nubians. There is the Mövenpick Hotel and agricultural areas, mostly palm trees, the Aswan Museum, and the remains of stone temples from different eras.

The population of the island is 5,800 people, the majority of whom are Nubians (Al-Kunoz) who live in two villages in the centre of the island, “Sio” and “Kuti.” Most of them work in handicrafts, agriculture, and tourism, as they still retain the Nubian character in the sandy streets and colourful houses.

Elephantine was a religious centre for the worship of Khnum, the first member of the sacred Elephantine Triad. Khnum is one of the oldest deities in Egypt. He was the one who created the other gods and the first man on his pottery wheel. He was considered the deity of water responsible for the annual flood.

One of the most beautiful features of the island is that you will have to ride a sailboat or a ferry with the Nubian residents to reach the island. The difficulty of access is one of the most important reasons for preserving the island’s antiquities and its information treasures about the civilizations that succeeded each other on this charming island, as it is considered a historical record for more than 5 thousands of years, and this is what has been proven by excavations and research.

Elephantine Island.

Elephantine Island Components

The Island consists of several parts. The archaeological part is in the south of the Island, then the Qibli Nag, followed by a forest of mango trees, date palms, and multi-useful acacia trees, then the Bahari Nag, and finally, in the far north, where the Mövenpick Hotel is. The Island has some cultivation of small fields that may meet the needs of some families in the village, for example, vegetables, legumes, onions and garlic, in addition to a simple irrigation project that organizes irrigation through small channels to which water is pumped from a mechanical pump.

The houses on the Island are less spacious than the houses in other Nubian villages due to the limited space, so an upper floor is built in most of the houses, and the streets and paths are beautiful and narrow. This gives the residents a relative advantage, as they enjoy calm because there are no cars or the scourge of the era, taxis. There are also schools on the Island until the middle school.

One of the most recommended places to visit is the Animalia Museum, which includes all information about ancient Nubia, its environment, plants, reptiles, insects, animals, stones, and natural resources. The means of transportation that connects the Island to Aswan is the motor boat from the eastern side.

Elephantine Island.

Elephantine Island strategic importance

The island was a focal point on the trade routes to the south of Egypt, in addition to being the main headquarters for all government, military and commercial missions heading south or returning to the homeland. Some also attribute its name to the topography of the island’s shape, which is in the shape of a ram’s horn or an elephant’s tusk.

The oldest construction work on the island took place in late prehistoric times. It extended until the early Islamic era, including the history of ancient Egypt in all eras, up to the Greco-Roman era.

Satet is considered the god of the region, especially the god of floods. Various ruling families built temples for her. The first temple dates back to the First and Second Dynasties, i.e. around 2800 BC. The second temple dates back to the beginning of the Sixth Dynasty, i.e. around 2250 BC. Senusret I built the third around 1950 BC, and the fourth and final one was built by Queen Hatshepsut around 1480 BC.

There is also the temple of the god “Khnum”, the stones of which were looted earlier, and only the two pillars of the main entrance remain. Near it, there is a cemetery of rams for the same god. There are also booths to commemorate the rulers of Elephantine, the most important of whom is (HaqqaIb). Additions continued throughout the New Kingdom, and Elephantine played its role throughout the late Egyptian era when the kings of the 26th Dynasty showed great interest in the island.

They established a measure of the Nile, and the measurements of the Nile’s flood appeared in the Greek and Arabic languages. It was in use until recently, and after them were the Ptolemaic kings and some Roman emperors, whose names were recorded on the walls of the temples. On the gate of one of the temple’s southern halls appear inscriptions representing Alexander II in the form of an Egyptian king offering sacrifices to the gods. His name is written in hieroglyphics, with the formula “Step-en-Ra-Meri-Amun,” chosen by Ra and loved by Amun.

The Elephantine Island Museum (Aswan Museum) is located in the southeastern part of Elephantine Island. The museum building was erected in 1898 as a headquarters for the chief engineer of the Aswan Reservoir, “Sir William Wilcox.” The museum’s establishment dates back to 1917 and includes antiquities from the Nubia region that were found before the construction of the Aswan Reservoir.

Those that were found later were excavated by foreign missions conducting excavations. It includes antiquities dating back to the pre-dynastic era. It also contains statues of kings and individuals, some mummies of the ram, the symbol of the god Khnum, various types of pottery, architectural and decorative elements, and several coffins and daily life tools for the ancient Egyptians. And some funerary paintings.

Elephantine Island.