The Nubian Museum in Aswan tells the story of Nubia, the land along the Nile between Aswan and Sudan, from prehistory to today. It opened in 1997, and its building, by the Egyptian architect Mahmoud El-Hakim, won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture for the way it blends into the granite hillside.
Why it was built
When the High Dam was built and Lake Nasser flooded Nubia in the 1960s, archaeologists from many countries rushed to save what they could. The museum shows the finds from that rescue, and it also records the culture of the Nubian people, who lost their homeland under the water.
What to see
Highlights include a large statue of Ramses II, objects from the Kingdom of Kush, whose kings ruled Egypt as the 25th Dynasty, the mummy of a sacred ram covered in gold, and a model of a Nubian village with daily life scenes. The garden outside has a reconstructed Nubian house and rock-cut tombs.
Visiting
Allow about an hour and a half. The museum is air-conditioned, which makes it a good stop in the heat of the day. Read more on our page on Nubian history and culture, and ask us to add the museum to your Aswan day tours.
