Egypt Guide
The Nile Valley
The Aswan Musuem
Opening time: Daily 8am–4pm
Price: £E10
The small Aswan Museum casts light on the island's past, when its southern end was occupied by the town of Yebu or Abu (meaning both "elephant" and "ivory" in the Ancient Egyptian language). Most of the museum's best exhibits have been moved to the Nubia Museum, but a mummified gazelle and jewellery found at the island's Temple of Satet are worth a look, as is the new Annex, whose highlights include a life-size granite statue of a seated Tuthmosis III, a colobus monkey embracing a pillar, and a pre-nuptial agreement from the reign of Nectanebo II. The museum was originally the villa of Sir William Willcocks, who designed the first Aswan Dam, and is set amid fragrant subtropical gardens. Come back and enjoy them once you've visited the Nilometer and the ruins of Yebu.