Animalia in Kawm Umbu

Excelent opportunity to know a few history, millenial culture e nice Nubian people

Wonderful experience. Very insightful and educational as well as entertaining.

Very "intimate" and interesting small, guided visit of this house but one of the inhabitants of the island. For us, it was a young lady that made great efforts to speak French, and spoke good English too.It is nice to have the point of view of the real local people, and see more mundane facets of life in Nubia.Price is cheap, and the shop has fixed prices. Maximum an hour visit :)

It definitely worth visiting, the man who shows everything is awesome.

Very sweet small museum about Nubian culture and lifestyle, for just 40 pounds I got a private tour and learned a lot of interesting facts! Go!

Small museum with a little souvenir shop. Very nice place to visit. I got there many new information about the Nubian culture, about the womens role, about the combination of different religions and customs...

Nice museum to understanding nubian people... Amazing staff

A very small local museum made by locals, impressive how small and informative it is i was lost on the island and found myself there, glad that i did. you will get real knowledge about the nubian life and culture.

Wandering the narrow dirt alleyways, through the central farmland of this Nubian village, youll come across Animalia. This small but informative Museum, with both French and English speaking tours, depicts the daily life and culture of the Nubian people, along with examples of their incredible usage of the native palm trees that have provided shelter, baskets and furniture for their people since ancient times. Their gift shop is quaint with traditional handicrafts for purchase. I highly enjoyed this visit and a glimpse into the Nubian lifestyle.

Very neat, comprehensive and detailed museum all about Nubian culture in southern Egypt. It was amazing to learn about the differences in culture and how the dam has changed life drastically for Nubians. Be sure to buy some woven baskets made by local Nubian women from the gift shop - they make great souvenirs!

Such a beautiful and unique place to understand the magic of the Nubians. Highly recommend

Do not miss this place during your Aswan visit. It perfectly reflects Nubian culture and everything is done with so much love. Our guide was fantastic and very proud of her heritage.

It was clean. The manager was good solving issues. Too many mosquitoes and street noise. Country side area.

just amazing! We received a great exhibition explanation about nubian life and history. Mohammed and the staff of the museum are so friendly. we have luckily booked a room with a terrace on the top floor of the museum. It was a good option to stay in the quiet fields of the elephantine Island, thus we were able to have a break of the vibrant loud city.

Mohammed is a delightful host ! I was with an Egyptian group, and when he realised I couldn’t understand everything in Arabic, he kindly added an English translation to help me follow 🙏🙏🙏Thanks you, we all have benefited a lot !

Its a very nice place with a beautiful nice owner, the rooms r very clean with comfy beds ,and they have Wi-Fi lol , I enjoyed staying there for 2 days , also its very easy to take the ferry boat to reach animalia, I would absolutely recommend it ,also price is very suitable.

One of the good places to visit with very informative owner, anybody wanna know the nubian history needs to visit this place

Its hard to believe looking across the Nile from the Aswan waterfront that youve got a real Nubian village right there. Complete with rated Airbnbs to keep you comfortable. Find narrow dirt streets winding through mudbrick walls and very cheerful children to keep you from getting lost. Animalia is a dusty little museum which will give you an excellent look into life in Nubia which can so easily be overwhelmed by the big hotels and tourist money in Aswan.

Maybe not the best museum on earth, but local and pleasantly introduced. These individual initiatives deserve to be encouraged.

After a short walk through the Nubian village, we arrived at Aimalia. Fascinating visit to a house with traditional birthing room, courtyard, and attached amimal museum. Interesting discussion in a number of ‘off topic’ areas with the young woman, who also described the Nubian way of life, in the past as well as at present. Not to be missed.

A unique mini Nubian museum run by a Nubian teacher who interestingly and passionately tells and demonstrates handful stories of the Nubian culture and history. The visit could take from 1 to 2 hours at the museum depending on the number of visitors, because demonstration and illustrations space is limited since it is inside a real Nubian house.

Simple set up with a quick intro into the Nubian way of life. They are very kind and offer a tour of the small place. Good place to drop in and learn about the Nubian culture and crafts. They do charge a small fee to see the museum and tell you what a typical Nubian house contains and how they live. You can do a thorough tour or a quick run through for 20EP and thats what we opted for. The girl did a good job of explaining and showing us around. There are some small souvenirs you can purchase but they are overpriced when comparing to other shops. There is no pressure to do the tour or buy anything. Very friendly and easy going. Youre actually not hassled here unlike other places.I believe there is a small balcony to sit upstairs where tea is offered. Great spot to visit on the island, much prefered it over the extremely tourist catered Nubian village south of Elephantine island.

Nice small place which give deep understanding of Nubian day to day liveIt is simple but done with a lot of loveI liked the explanation and all details

A must visit place in Aswan, it is a Nubian house, full of culture and charm. The owner and the guide are very friendly and welcoming. Highly recommended 👍🏻

Go see it ❤ the whole village is so nice, oriental and friendly 😍

Pleasant surprise! Whenwe entered they offered us a tour through the place. They explain their history, bits of their culture and how they make their items. Its inexpensive and actually quite interesting.

Simple, but very nice museum that gives a good view on Nubian life.

If you want to know more about Nubian heritage and traditions, you are at the right place. The owner will be your guide and you will feel like home. Take a shei and listen...

My wife and I were really surprised when we stumbled across this amazing private little family farm house, nestled in the middle of the flourishing Elephantine Island. Surrounded by green farmland and songbirds singing the house sits as a triple floor retreat owned and operated by a very sweet and kind family that makes you feel right at home immediately. On the arrival to Animalia it is showcased as a museum on the map, but if you wish to stay, they have a nice tea with you and get to know you before showing you to the splendid open rooftop terrace with a 360 view, air-conditioned Nubian style room. We were treated to 5 star traditional North african dinner that night that we were very grateful for. Fatma (the daughter of the houseworks as a professional tour guide all over the valley of the kings and has a wealth of knowledge about tourism in Aswan to Luxor. She is great company and her father, mother and sister also are great positive people to be around. Tell prices are great and the stay was absolutely perfect. I really couldnt recommend this place enough.

It is a traditional Nubisn house tells the history of Nubisn people in Egypt with pictures and real findings in the old Nubism houses . It contains also the different animals the Nubi deals with mummified from crocodiles to small insects

Very nice and the instructor is very knowledgeable

Woow visited this place in November 2018.This is not a museum. Its a showcase of Nubian culture. You can learn about Nubian culture and what all the Nubian used and still practising in their day today life. You can simply go there and press a calling bell. They will open but it has timings. Usually takes 10 to 15 minutes to look around. Just 5 or 10 Egyptian pounds per person( forgot it). The person explains well and answer your questions about Nubian culture and practise. Speak good english. If u are staying in elephantine island u can reach by walk. If u r not staying there. Just take a ferry to elephantine island ( cost 5 Egyptian pounds per person). U can explore this island by walking. I was staying in this island. Had a wonderful experience

Great place. We had lunch here and the food was amazing. They also have a room they rent out. The museum is nice and fun for the kids

It is double more expensive than it is written in the Lonely Planet (they havent review the information about Egypt in the last decades ;-). But, it is worthy every cent you pay for it, then this man, the owner is amazing! You will learn so much from him, you will get a free tea for the tour, and yes, go for the long tour. He speaks a lot of languages and you can ask him questions. He is really a treasure and it is totally worth it a visit. We learned so much from him about the Nubian people.

Great place to see a bit of Nubian life and pick up some hassel free souvenirs. You will get a tour, in Emglish if you want of a nubian house, an explanation of the Nubian crafts and way of life. Highly reccomend.

How to say it. Find an hour and visit this place. Its worth a trip to the Island. The owner who would be your guide as well is a really nice man with loads of information about nubian history and culture.Take it easy. Take the longer 45min Tour. Its worth it. You will leave the place with much better understanding of Egypt.

Great experience. The dedication of the owner is heart warming. Small museum giving a nice insight in Nubian life.

Great warm museum to know about Nubian culture and history. A nice host explained about at this small but interesting place.Small tip or buying items are suggested

Simple, warm, informative and interactive visit... suitable for all ages ... a must visit.. great effort by nice host... Great Presentation of nubian heritage

We loved this museum! Do pick the longer tour you get a better explanation of the Nubian history and culture. We knew nothing about Nubian people and was so happy to be able to learn more here. Definitely recommend.

Very interesting collection with an informative host. The Nubian history and culture is nicely explained, and theres a small gift shop as well inside. And its located on a very charming island full of plantations and farms. Is a nice view into the simple and peaceful life of the villagers.

Best little Airbnb and museum in Aswan, tucked away on Elephantine island.Mohamad Sobhi is the best host, and the little Nubian museum/exhibit he runs is worth its admission fee ten times over.Do yourself a favour and book this in for a visit.

Great museum! The owner walks you through and explains everything. He is very nice and passionate about Nubian history. We learned a lot!

A great spot to learn about Nubian culture and history! Mohamed is very knowledgeable and walked us through his museum that he had spent the last 14 years building with his wife. We loved it!

I had a good time with my best friend when we learned a part of nubiens history.. The museum guide was so interesting and respectful man... I hope to visite him one more time when he will finish the other part of the musium..... 😊😊😊

I have been staying here for the last three days (the upper part is a guesthouse you can book on Airbnb, and its well worth the few bucks a nightand I learned more in this small but well supplied museum. Mohammed is a gem of a person, and he is so in tune with his culture.Seriously, if you come to Aswan, you have to stop by the museum. Listen and learn. Theres a little stock of items for sale at the end of the tour, but the prices are very fair, and theres zero pressure (and if you have been in Egypt for a minute, you know that Egyptians are the most aggressive salespeople on the planet). Stay at the guesthouse if you want a delicious complimentary breakfast made at your convenience and a quiet place away from the noise of the town.

Excellent small museum to learn about nubien life. A must on the island.

Good place to visitNice explanation

Ive been to many museums during my trip to Egypt, and Animalia has been my favorite. It is small, but the guide was so informative, friendly, and funny that I came away more satisfied than when I left the Egyptian Museum. The Nubian culture is worth knowing more about and this museum was created from a true Nubian house so you can see how they really look on the inside. Truly, though, it was a pleasure to be taught by Mohamed Sobhy.

Our tour guide greeted us at the front door of this quaint museum, and from that time forward, we were both entertained and educated about Nubian history and culture. What was most impressive is the vast knowledge and story telling ability of our guide. We stayed only a short time with him, but it was long enough to better understand and appreciate the Nubian way of life. I would recommend that anyone traveling in this area take the short ferry ride to Elephantine Island and experience a charming step back in time.