Kitchener's
Island (now locally known in Arabic as
Geziret an-Nabatat, which translates as
"island of plants"; also known
as Plantation Island) is a small, oval-shaped
island in the Nile at Aswan, Egypt. The
island was given to Lord Kitchener as
a thank-you for his services in the Sudan
Campaign (1896-1898). With the aid of
the Ministry of Irrigation, Kitchener
rapidly transformed the small (approx.
750-meter-long) island into a paradise
of exotic trees and plants and carefully
planned walkways. It later passed into
the property of the Egyptian government
and was used as a research station for
examining different food and cash crops.
Today, biological research station is
present at the southern tip, which is
closed to visitors. Kitchener's Island
is one of two major islands on the Nile
in vicinity of Aswan, the other one being
Elephantine. Elephantine is much larger
than Kitchener's Island and located between
Kitchener's Island and the city of Aswan
(east bank). Thus, it is hard to see the
smaller Kitchener's Island from the city.
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