Kitchener Island

Kitchener Island
	Northwest side of Kitchener Island
Waters	Nile
Geographical location	24 ° 5 '38 " N , 32 ° 53' 14" E Coordinates: 24 ° 5 '38 " N , 32 ° 53' 14" E
length	650 m
width	115 m
surface	6.5 ha

The Kitchener Island ( English Kitchener's Island ; Arabic also Geziret an-Nabatat , جزيرة النباتات, "island of plants") is a small river island in the Nile in Egypt . It extends below the first cataract for a length of 650 meters in a southwest-northeast direction with a width of up to 115 meters west of the larger Nile island Elephantine and the urban area of Aswan near the eastern bank of the Nile. The Botanical Garden of the city of Aswan is located on the 6.5 hectare Kitchener Island .

history

The island is named after Horatio Herbert Kitchener , the Sirdar (commander in chief) of the Egyptian army from 1892 to 1899, first Governor General of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in 1899 and later first Earl Kitchener of Khartoum . He was given the island in 1899 for his services in suppressing the Mahdi uprising in Sudan after the Battle of Omdurman . It was in his possession until his death in June 1916.

The planting of the island goes back to Kitchener, who had many exotic flowers, trees and other plants from Asia and Africa planted here, which formed the basis of today's botanical garden. The island later became the property of the Egyptian government, which set up a biological research station on it. In the present day, Kitchener's Island is a popular destination for tourists and locals alike.

description

The island is home to tropical and subtropical plants from Africa and Asia, which were planted here like a park. These include mahogany trees , breadfruit trees , nutmeg trees , trumpet trees , mango - and sycamore fig trees , multi-colored bougainvillea -Büsche, hollyhocks , oleander , hibiscus , clematis and poinsettias . The abundance of plants forms an ideal nesting place for numerous bird species.