Aswan
(Arabic: Aswan ) (24°05' N 32°56'
E, population 200,000) is a city in the
south of Egypt, the capital of the governorate
of the same name. It stands on the east
bank of the Nile at the first cataract
and is a busy market and tourist center.
Aswan is one of the driest inhabited places
in the world; as of early 2001, the last
rain here was 6 years ago. In Nubian settlements
they generally do not bother to roof all
of the rooms in their houses. This is
identified with the ancient city of Syene,
which is famous for providing a basis
on which Eratosthenes disputed the Flat
Earth theory and attempted to determine
the circumference of the Earth, using
Syene as the originating point and Alexandria
as the terminal point of a measured arc
to make an accurate estimate of the circumference
of the Earth.
Aswan
(Arabic: Aswan ) (24°05' N 32°56'
E, population 200,000) is a city in the
south of Egypt, the capital of the governorate
of the same name. It stands on the east
bank of the Nile at the first cataract
and is a busy market and tourist center.
Aswan is one of the driest inhabited places
in the world; as of early 2001, the last
rain here was 6 years ago. In Nubian settlements
they generally do not bother to roof all
of the rooms in their houses. This is
identified with the ancient city of Syene,
which is famous for providing a basis
on which Eratosthenes disputed the Flat
Earth theory and attempted to determine
the circumference of the Earth, using
Syene as the originating point and Alexandria
as the terminal point of a measured arc
to make an accurate estimate of the circumference
of the Earth.
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