Aswan or Aswanl, formerly spelled Assuan, (Arabic: Aswa-n; Ancient Egyptian: Swenet, "Trade"; Coptic: Swa-n;
Ancient Greek: Syene) is a city in the south of Egypt, the capital of the Aswan Governorate.
It stands on the east bank of the Nile at the first cataract and is a busy market and tourist center.
The modern city has expanded and includes the formerly separate community on the island of Elephantine.
Aswan is one of the driest inhabited places in the world; as of early 2001,
the last rain there was six years earlier. As of 6 October 2009[update], the last rainfall was a thunderstorm on May 13, 2006.
In Nubian settlements, they generally do not bother to roof all of the rooms in their houses.
