El Nabatat Island or Kitchener's Island,State Information Service of Egypt - Elnabatat's Island
aswan.gov.eg - جزيرة النباتات
( Geziret En Nabatat (''Plant Island'') or the Botanical Island) is a small, oval-shaped island in the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest ...

Aswan Aswan (, also ; ar, أسوان, ʾAswān ; cop, Ⲥⲟⲩⲁⲛ ) is a city in Southern Egypt, and is the capital of the Aswan Governorate. Aswan is a busy market and tourist centre located just north of the Aswan Dam on the east bank of the ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

. It is less than a kilometer long and its width is less than ½ a kilometer. The Aswan Botanical Garden is located on the island.

Geography

El Nabatat Island is one of two major islands on the

in vicinity of Aswan, the other one being Elephantine. Elephantine is the larger one, and is located between El Nabatat Island and the city of Aswan (east bank). Therefore, it can be hard to see the smaller El Nabatat Island from Aswan: "Aswan disappears behind Elephantine Island".

History

The island was previously known as Kitchener's Island, named after Lord Kitchener who owned it. He was gifted the island, when he served as Consul-General in Egypt from 29 September 1911 to June 1914. With the aid of the Ministry of Irrigation, Kitchener rapidly transformed the small long island into a paradise of exotic trees, many from India, and plants in gardens with view walkways. It later passed into the property of the Egyptian government and was used as a research station called the Botanical Research Institute, Aswân Botanic Island.

Aswan Botanical Garden

The island, as a whole, constitutes the Aswan

Botanical Garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

. One can view the many types of

subtropic The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 35° north and ...

al, exotic, and rare plantings and trees such as the Royal Palm tree and the Sabal Palm tree. The collection was begun by Lord Kitchener and cared for since. The

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

s are popular among the local people and tourists, as a place to go for a quiet afternoon away from the noise of the city, and for weekend picnics. The island and gardens can be reached by

felucca A felucca ( ar, فلوكة, falawaka, possibly originally from Greek , ) is a traditional wooden sailing boat used in the eastern Mediterranean—including around Malta and Tunisia—in Egypt and Sudan (particularly along the Nile and in protect ...

that reach the Southeastern side of the small island.

Gallery

Image:Aswan, Kitchener's Island, east bank, Egypt, Oct 2004.jpg, A view to the inbound felucca wharf on El Nabatat Island Image:Aswan, Kitchener's Island, palm trees, Egypt, Oct 2004.jpg, Palm trees at Aswan Botanical Garden Image:Aswan, Kitchener's Island, felucca wharf, Egypt, Oct 2004.jpg, An outbound felucca wharf on El Nabatat Island Image:P1010131-2.jpg, A view to Nile's west bank from El Nabatat Island

References

{{Islands of Egypt Islands of the Nile River islands of Egypt Botanical gardens in Egypt Parks in Egypt Aswan Tourist attractions in Egypt