The Nubian Village
Aswan attractions
Located very close to Aswan, a visit to the Nubian village is a journey into the past and into the traditional way of life of an ancient culture that developed between southern Egypt and northern Sudan. Today, there are several Nubian villages, of which Gharb Soheil is the most important; the others are scattered along the Nile valley and all retain a physiognomy that sets them apart from the rest of the inhabitants of Egypt and Sudan: beautiful dark skin and very pronounced features with very light eyes, even blue in many cases.
The Nubians were occupied by the Egyptian Empire and used as labour for the construction of the pyramids. But they were not characterised as a submissive people; on the contrary, they were good at war, especially with the bow and arrow, with which many of them were buried when they died.
Gharb Soheil is a village whose natural, environmental and geographical features have been successfully exploited by the Nubians to transform it into a singular tourist destination for its nature, beauty and simplicity. Visitors to the village from all over the world would like to spend the rest of their days here, thanks to the beauty of the place, which combines the clear waters of the Nile, the yellow sand and the black basalt rocks in the middle of the Nile. In 2004, the State decided to transform Gharb Soheil into a village for sustainable ecological tourism, including a number of motels built according to the Nubian architectural model.
The history of the village, located to the west of Soheil Island, goes back more than 100 years to the construction of the old Aswan reservoir in 1902 and its subsequent raising in 1912. The village has adopted an ecological tourism programme to attract foreign tourists.
Although crocodiles are scary predators, the situation in the village of Gharb Soheil is quite different. They live with the villagers and tourists take photos with them without any fear. ‘Aloma’ and “Baloma” are among the most famous crocodiles in the village. They live in the house of Haj Nasser, who takes great care of them.
