Aswan (horse) Aswan (horse) Aswan (1958–1984), originally named Raafat in Egypt. Aswan was a highly influential grey Egyptian-bred Arabian stallion who stood at the Tersk Stud in Russia. Sired by Nazeer out of Yosreia, he was given as a gift to the Soviet Union by the Egyptian government in 1963, in return for Soviet help in building the Aswan Dam. He sired 296 foals over 19 seasons, more than any other stallion at Tersk Stud. His offspring were exported all over the world. A life-size commemorative bronze statue of him stands at the entrance to the Tersk Stud. Though classified as "Straight
Aswan Low Dam in the lower Nile. The dam, originally limited in height by conservation concerns, worked as designed, but provided inadequate storage capacity for planned development and was raised twice, between 1907 and 1912 and again in 1929–1933. These heightenings still did not meet irrigation demands and in 1946 it was nearly over-topped in an effort to maximize pool elevation. This led to the investigation and construction of the Aswan High Dam upstream. The earliest recorded attempt to build a dam near Aswan was in the 11th century, when the Arab polymath and engineer Ibn al-Haytham (known as "Alhazen" in the West)