DAY 8 -- Temple in the water

This morning we arrived in our final destination for the Nile River cruise portion of our adventure, Aswan. After another wonderful breakfast we rode in a motorized boat to the Philae Temple on the island of Agilika. This sacred complex was dedicated to the Goddess Isis and reflects three great civilizations — Egyptian, Greek and Roman. 

In ancient times the River Nile was not as easy to navigate as it is today and regularly flooded Egypt. Prior to the 2 dams at Aswan, Philae Island occupied a position at the beginning or southern end of the First Nile Cataract, where the river gathered speed, dropping sixteen feet in swirling eddies and turbulent falls of white water for a distance of three miles. Various pharaohs attempted to calm or at least provide better passage around these rapids. Pepi I built at least one canal, as did Merenre, as early as the Old Kingdom, but later kings would also, such as Senusret III.

The first dam at Aswān was constructed between 1899 and 1902; it has a series of four locks to allow navigation where we traveled. The dam has twice been enlarged—first between 1908 and 1911 and again between 1929 and 1934—thus raising the water level and increasing the dam’s capacity. It is also equipped with a hydroelectric plant with an installed power of more than 345 megawatts.

After the first dam was constructed, Philae Temple was submerged in the Nile River. It was not until the seventies that many nations attempted to save the Temple. All these countries, together with UNESCO, selected a suitable place, but they had to wait until the completion of the High Dam, in 1971, which would stabilize the level of the water. 

This photo was taken in the 1920's.

The second dam, the Aswan High Dam is located about 600 miles upstream (South) from Cairo and 4 miles upstream from the first Aswan dam. 

Built in the 1960s, the Aswan High Dam spans the Nile River, more than two miles across and incorporating 16 times the amount of material that went into the Great Pyramid at Giza. It provides irrigation and hydro-electric power to much of Egypt, and the reservoir that formed behind it, Lake Nasser is 340 miles long.

The Aswan High Dam yields enormous benefits to the economy of Egypt. For the first time in history, the annual Nile flood can be controlled by man. The dam impounds the flood waters, releasing them when needed to maximize their utility on irrigated land, to water hundreds of thousands of new acres, to improve navigation both above and below Aswan, and to generate enormous amounts of electric power (the dam’s 12 turbines can generate 10 billion kilowatt-hours annually). The reservoir, which has a depth of 300 feet (90 metres) and averages 14 miles (22 km) in width, supports a fishing industry.

However, building the Aswan High Dam also had grave implications. Many monuments would have been submerged in the waters and needed to be moved. Twenty monuments from the Egyptian part of Nubia and four monuments from the Sudan were dismantled, relocated and re-erected.

The Philae Temple was one of these that was dismantled when the Aswan High Dam was constructed, and then painstakingly reassembled. 

We traveled to the island in small motorized boats. The dock was filled with vendors and the boats had to fight for a spot to load and unload passengers. It was an example of a bad safety moment.

The shoreline was pretty desolate.

However, the temple was beautiful.

In this promenade the columns were all made with a different design. I was enthralled by them.

Inside the carvings were also impressive

After the wonderful visit to the Philae Temple we traveled to the impressive granite quarries and site of the "Unfinished Obelisk." Illustrating the skills of Egypt’s stonemasons, this monolith is one-third taller than any other ancient Egyptian obelisk. 

Much of the red granite used for ancient temples and colossi came from quarries in the Aswan area. This Unfinished Obelisk still lies where a crack was discovered as it was being hewn from the rock. It is still attached to bedrock. Possibly intended as a companion to the Lateran Obelisk, originally at Karnak, now in Rome, it would have measured 120-feet and weighed over 1150 tons when complete.

The unfinished obelisk offers unusual insights into ancient Egyptian stone-working techniques, with marks from workers' tools still clearly visible as well as ochre-coloured lines marking where they were working.

One of the more interesting aspects of the Unfinished Obelisk is that it allows us to see just how they would have liberated the mammoth structure from the bedrock had it not cracked. It sounds unbelievable, but wet wood was the answer. Workers carved small cavities in the stone, creating a line that is not unlike a perforated piece of paper. The slots were filled with sun dried wooden wedges. The wedges were then repeatedly soaked in water. The expansion of this wood would cause the carved rock to break free from its home.

Hubby D and DW try their hand at carving the stone. It is much harder than you imagine.

NO! SW did not paint this rock, but he looks really funny trying to look like it was his handy work.

Hubby D was again impressed with the logistics of it all.

After returning to the boat for a wonderful lunch, we climbed over the edge through another boat and then onto a traditional felucca to sail around the Elephantine Island, Lord Kitchener's Botanical Gardens and the Agha Khan Mausoleum. It was an absolutely stunning evening out on the water.

This is looking down from SW and DW's balcony to where we were going to climb onto the felluca.

Once again Captain SW took the helm. The crewmen on the boat were impressed with how easy it was for him to take control of the felluca.

Feluccas  are the traditional sailboats of the Nile River. Egyptians and foreigners alike enjoy a relaxing felucca ride, as they are perfect for catching the breeze on a hot summer night, for brisker sails the rest of the year and watching the sunset anytime.

Breezing around the Aswan islands in a felucca at sunset was just wonderful. It was an amazing evening once again.

Cheers,
Brenda