Fatimid Cemetery

Behind the Nubia Museum is the vast so-called Fatimid Cemetery, a collection of low mud-brick buildings with domed roofs. Although most tombs are modern, some of the mausolea clustered towards the back of the cemetery go back to the Tulunid period (9th century).

The old tombs are in bad shape and when the original marble inscriptions fell off after a freak late 19th-century rainstorm, they were taken to Cairo without anyone recording which tomb they had come from. As a result, the dates and names of tomb owners have been lost forever. The tombs are covered with domes built on a drum with corners sticking out like horns, a feature unique to southern Egypt. Some domes near the outer edges of the cemetery are decorated with flags and much better kept than the others. These belong to local saints and you may see Aswanis circumambulating a tomb, praying for the saint's intercession.

The municipality of Aswan has fenced off the Fatimid Cemetery. Enter from the main gate, a 10-minute walk from the Corniche along the road to the airport, and walk right through the cemetery to join the road to the Unfinished Obelisk; just aim for the four-storey building facing the back of the cemetery. The site's caretaker will often accompany you and show you the best-preserved tombs, for which he should be given baksheesh of a few pounds.