Sites near Aswan

Feb. 28: Philae Temple & More

This morning, a short bus ride took us to a small port area where a motor boat ferried our group to an island, the new home of the Philae Temple. The original buildings, even though they were below the Aswan Dam, would have been destroyed by water. The solution was to move the buildings to higher ground. The project took a decade to complete. 

Temple of Philae

The original construction of the temple was started by the Ptolemaic rulers (the family of Cleopatra). The Romans added to it later. Evidence of Napoleon's soldiers being on site is in the names of soldiers carved into the walls. Later, Coptic Christians lived in the area and carved their crosses into the temple walls.

The Courtyard leading to the Main Entrance

Originally, the temple was dedicated to the female god Isis. She was the wife of Osiris, and the mother of Horus, three gods who are dominant in Egyptian beliefs. Images of all three have been carved into the temple walls at several locations.

Exquisitely detailed images

Some of the wall carvings show remarkably fine details, especially in the headwear of Isis. The main temple, its courtyard, and out buildings are the only structures on the little island. 

The Egyptian God of Comedy and Humor, Bes, pictured as a grotesque dwarf hopping on one leg.

Almost every site has a market of sorts selling souvenirs. You don’t have to bargain, but it’s an expected part of the game.

Leaving the temple, we visited the massive Aswan High Dam. This project completed around 1960 was built to control the Nile water level and also to provide about 60% of the country’s hydro electric power needs. The building of the dam created the massive Lake Nasser, 400 miles long and 10 miles wide. The lake is the reason that temples like Philae and Abu Simbel (we’ll go there tomorrow) had to be moved, piece by piece, to higher ground.

Next was a perfumery that extracts essential oils from flowers and plants. A fellow there demonstrated the art of blowing decorative and delicate glass bottles for the oils. A few bought some oils, but the glassware was probably too fragile to survive the rest of our trip.

The next stop was at a granite quarry where a partially finished massive obelisk was left in place when cracks appeared in the stone. This was to be the largest obelisk in ancient Egypt. It was started during the time Queen Hatshepsut ruled (1508-1548 BC) and would have been about 1/3 larger than any other obelisk at 1200 tons. The unfinished obelisk was discovered in 2005.

The unfinished obelisk in the granite quarry. It would have been massive.

After lunch, we embarked on a typical motor boat with a bird expert for a very pleasant trip through the series of islands below the old Aswan dam. We passed the Old Cataract hotel where we had tea yesterday. All sorts of birds were out this afternoon, some similar to the species we have at home, other very different.

The boat took us to a Nubian village for a short visit to a larger local home. At the extreme southern end of Egypt, the ancient Nubians mined most of the gold, silver, and copper used by the Egyptians. Their land was taken by the government when the new dam was built and as compensation, the government built new towns, complete with utilities, infrastructure, schools, and medical facilities. The Nubian older generation still isn’t happy about the forced move, but those born recently seem to be fine with it.

A typical ferry boat

Colourful Nubian home interior

So far the weather has been pretty close to perfect. Mid-afternoon is the hottest; today reached 27C. But it’s a dry heat and doesn’t seem so hot. Mornings are almost always cool; most people wear a light jacket. The Valley of the Kings, though, was quite hot. The light coloured limestone cliffs reflect the sun onto anyone in the narrow valley like a reflector oven. Working there during the hotter months must be almost unbearable. 

A local belly dancer was part of this evening’s on board entertainment.

Aswan sunset over the Nile River.