Luxor4u

Ministry of Antiquities وزارة الآثار

foil a theft attempt at Nubia Museum in Aswan
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In collaboration with the Tourism and Antiquities Police the ministry of antiquities succeeded to foil a theft attempt at Nubia Museum in Aswan yesterday 23/07/2017.
Engineer Mahrous Saeed, Director General of Nubia Antiquities said that the theft attempt occurred yesterday between 1:00pm to 4:00pm, when the museum is closed for lunch break. The museum's controlling cameras have detected the existence of three people circulating around the museum's halls during that time and tried to rob a statue depicting goddess Isis breast feeding her son Horus.
The incident was reported to the Tourism and Antiquities Police which succeeded to determine the criminals. Saeed pointed out that two of criminals were employees in the museum's administration department and the third is still unknown.
One of the criminals was caught while the two others are still at large.
Investigations are going on in order to caught the other criminals.

the Nubia Museum in Aswan opened to the public in November 1997.
It houses finds made during excavations carried out in Nubia to save its Monuments as well as more than 3,000 objects presenting the history of Nubia and its culture from prehistory to the present day

And is well worth visiting if you are ever in Aswan!

It certainly is a smashing museum, I try to visit each time I go to Aswan, quite a lot of variation too with little displays and exhibits plus the usual stuff. Shame about that tea room though, every time I go it seems to be closed. because I usually walk to it so I can look at the lovely white church building on the way up.

The interesting thing about the Nubia Museum in Asswan, is that yes the main antiquities are of Ancient Egypt, but a reasonable amount has been set out the true history of the Nubian people even up to the present day, which it has achieved.

Long before this museum was built, U.N.E.S.C.O. insisted that each of three new museums to be built as part of the Asswan Dam Project, which included the National Museum of the Egyptian Civilization must also reflect its history to the modern day. It will be interesting to see whether each of the different regions of the Nile Valley are recognised in this modern day life of Egypt.

The third museum is to be called the Nubia Museum in Sudan, and although not one brick has yet been laid, I understand it is to be built not far from Abu Simbul. Let us hope that now the recent civil war has come to an end, progress can be made on this project.

With regards the Nubian nation of people, their homeland was either side of the Egyptian/Sudan border where was once found perhaps the most fantastic date palms, all now gone, like its people. As the Asswan Dam was being built many of these people moved to Cairo, the remainder moved south into Sudan. I am sure many tourists have heard of 'Nubian Villages' in both Asswan and Luxor in the past, quite honestly I have never seen a Nubian village, or person, for that matter in Luxor.. Perhaps up until 2005 there were a few such people in Asswn, but I have not seen any in recent years.

The majority of the Egyptian Nubians were resettled in the Kom Ombo area....not entirely satisfactorily.

They have long been fighting for compensation and resettlement to their ancestral lands further south but have been frustrated by the creation of restricted military zones, the Toshka project, and, more recently , Sisi's attempts to revive it, leading to Nubian land being sold off to international investors.

The ebony-skinned Nubians also claim to have suffered a degree of racism and discrimination from their lighter-skinned bretheren and that the government does not adequately protect their language and culture.

And just past the museum, same side, is a mountain vehicle track leading you up onto the top of a small mountain. On top is a very interesting collection of stone carvings, over a hundred from a couple of feet high to several meters. My favorite one was the very large hippo, so large that you could clime inside its open mouth for a photo. I pulled my back out lifting my wife inside. These are from artists from around the world. They even have/had one from a guy from my home town St. Helens.

The terrace of the nearby Basma Hotel with views of the river is lovely for refreshments before or after the Museum. There are also tombs and other items in the museum's gardens worth a visit.

Winged Isis wrote: There are also tombs and other items in the museum's gardens worth a visit.

Yes this is true, however the whole area surrounding the museum is one large Muslim cemetery, there is also within this cemetery tombs of Sheikhs, and high up and slightly to north of the museum is the 'tomb' (it's not just a tomb, but a 'house' of eternity.) of a quite important Sheikh, who is visited by many people each day, though he died many years ago.

It's the same really with the cemetery on the WB Luxor, where to the west are a few VI Dynasty tombs, though few people know this these days, and tourists were discouraged from visiting them.

P

Dusak wrote:And just past the museum, same side, is a mountain vehicle track leading you up onto the top of a small mountain. On top is a very interesting collection of stone carvings, over a hundred from a couple of feet high to several meters. My favorite one was the very large hippo, so large that you could clime inside its open mouth for a photo. I pulled my back out lifting my wife inside. These are from artists from around the world. They even have/had one from a guy from my home town St. Helens.

Many thanks for the above information and I must admit this is the first I have heard of this place. So to show my appreciation I will come up with something new for you to view next time you are in Asswan.

There are so many secret sites in the Asswan area that they could charge tourists to see, it's quite amazing really, some that are right in the centre of the city, believe it or not whole ancient temples, that people simply walk by without even knowing they are there, and regarding broken obelisks, there is certainly more than one scattered around the Asswan area.

I know from reading your various posts, you are not a keep temple person, but one I have in mind may be of interest, it is almost within the city not far from Asswan Police H.Q. It's just off the southern end of Saad Zaghloul ( others will know it as the market street, which starts at the rail station, and ends very near the site I mention here).

You will discover a temple about two thirds the size of Essna Temple, and until recent years totally buried to its roof in the same manner, however this temple is from Tuthmosis III period. It is totally fenced off, but then again if you would like to climb down for a better view, I understand the south/west corner might aid you. There is a guardian as usual, so your visit should be on any Friday around 11-00 a.m. onwards to avoid his presence.

You know A-Four I really can not work you out, you are intelligent and have a good wealth of information which would benefit many people, I am sure they would be very appreciated of such information which in turn should make you feel happy, yet you always go and taint your posts with digs and snide remarks towards the Luxor4u team or some members, of course I have started to edit these out of your posts, it ruins a great post.

Nip it in the bud mate, it makes you look bad

If any of my post are edited in the future I will not write on here again.

My post are either accepted in full or not at all, as is now,............but I must have a right to reply to some one who think they are clever, and know all when in fact that is not so, and often there posts prove this, and is why a number of members who wrote on such subjects are no longer on this site.

Horus wrote:: because I usually walk to it so I can look at the lovely white church building on the way up.

This is the modern Cathedral of the Arch Angel Michael (I think) but the reason I post here is that there is a very old Coptic church, again along Saad Zaghloul very near where you see the back of Asswan Police H.Q. (This immediate area is quite an old Christian quarter of Asswan). Unfortunately I have forgotten the name of the church, though people will be keen to show you if requested.

Thank you, I think I recal someone telling me once that it was a Cathedral, but I was not sure I had remembered correctly, still it is a beautiful building.

Well if I was you I would stop the snide and petty remarks towards the people who give up their free time to moderate this forum, If you think it is acceptable to do this, keep doing it, but you will find your posts edited, if you want to leave, fine, it's entirely up to you.

The only person I see who comes across as clever on here is you, I thought better of you, what is the problem if someone copies and pastes information from another site or wikipedia, if you think they are wrong, post the reasons why, there is no need to try and make them look small and beneath you.

Like I said in my previous post, you have a wealth of information, I would like you to show that and put this problem behind us. Please

A-Four wrote:If any of my post are edited in the future I will not write on here again

......oooh diddums!

My post are either accepted in full or not at all, as is now,............but I must have a right to reply to some one who think they are clever, and know all when in fact that is not so,

Don't be shy. Speak up....I'm always willing to learn from an (ahem) "expert"

and often there posts prove this, and is why a number of members who wrote on such subjects are no longer on this site.

I wonder who that could be ....Frater?

Nip it in the bud mate, it makes you look bad

This police station you speak of, has it got a prison attached to it? If so, I think I may have been there.

If you travel to the museum by caleche, stop it at the bottom of the hill opposite the cathedral and walk the rest (not far), otherwise the driver will make the horse race up in the heat.

If you are interested in seeing inside the cathedral, go in. There is often someone who will give you a tour, asking just for a donation to the cathedral instead of a fee. It's a lovely, simple interior and the tour is interesting.

The gardens opposite used to be nice to sit in for the shade and view, but I haven't been in that part of Aswan for a while, so am not sure of the situation now.

I've been in those small gardens they are lovely and a nice spot to while away an hour at sunset.

Dusak wrote:This police station you speak of, has it got a prison attached to it? If so, I think I may have been there.

The police H.Q. in Asswan is situated towards the southern end of the Cornische. I should point out that between the back of this building and the road (Saad Zaghloul) which is elevated quite high from the Cornische, and runs parallel, you will discover Greek/Roman ruins, but do careful the police discourage all trespass in this area.

What I always find interesting about tourists in Asswan, they never seem to ask where are the tombs of Nobles, for there were many of high rank entombed in the western hills. Most simply accept that just a few minister are buried there, and perhaps must think the rest are buried at Luxor,......though simply not true.