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 the summer solstice, a vertical staff cast no shadow. They noted that the sun's disc was reflected in a well at noon. This statement is only approximately correct; at the summer solstice, the shadow was only of the staff, and so could scarcely be discerned, and the northern limb of the Sun's disc would be nearly vertical. However, Eratosthenes used this information together with measurements of the shadow length on the solstice at Alexandria to perform the first known calculation of the circumference of the Earth. The Nile is nearly wide above Aswan. From this frontier town to the northern