Aswan feels so relaxed after being in
Luxor. There are few people around you trying to convince you into doing things you don’t want do. And the beauty of
Aswan is striking, too. king a journey around the islands on a white felucca is compulsory, but this means that you pose yourself to those always looking to get one more money out of you.
Elephantine
Island, just outside the centre of
Aswan is one of the highlights of Egyptian future. Dark yellow stones. where green trees grow out of nothing, framed by the sky that’s cays blue, and the
Nile. even more blue.
Elephantine
Island housed a sizable Jewish community some 400-500 years BCE but it mains an enigma what happened to them. On the other side of the
Nile, on the western you can see the Aga Khan mausoleum, which is very new, but has it’s charm through being the shrine over the celebrity-imam dying in 1957. And it’s one of the few landmarks in the nearest vicinity of
Aswan.
Among the major attractions of
Aswan are of course the Aswan Dams. There are two. The first was ‘shed in 1902, and was the largest in the world in its days. The new one was completed in 1971, and come as a result of the higher needs of the increasing Egyptian population. But it’s far from containing maximum amount of water, due to low water in the Nile up from
Aswan.
Philae Temple
Philae
Temple was dismantled and reassembled (on
Agilika
Island about 550 meters from its original home on Philae
Island) in the wake of the High Dam. The temple, dedicated to the goddess Isis, is in a beautiful setting which has been landscaped to match its original site. It's various shrines and sanctuaries, which include The Vestibule of Nectanebos I which is used as the entrance to the island, the
Temple of the Emperor Hadrian, a
Temple of
Hathor, Trajan's Kiosk (Pharaohs Bed), a birth house and two pylons celebrate all the deities involved in the
Isis and Osiris myth. The Victorian world fell in love with the romance of the
Temple. But at night you can also visit the Sound and Light Show, a magical experience as floodlit buildings are silhouetted against the volcanic rocks and water surrounding them. So today,
Philae is more fun then every before.
Although antiquities on the island date between the 26th Dynasty and the Roman Period, most of the work is from that of the Roman. This was a time of immense popularity of the Goddess Isis, and this was her island, where pilgrims would come from all over the
Mediterranean. Construction on the island took place over an 800 year span, and it was one of the last strongholds of Ancient Egyptian Religion which continued to flourish here into the 6th Century. When the
Temples where finally closed by Justinian in A.D 550, it ended 4,000 years of worship of the pagan gods.
The
Philae
Temple complex, prior to its removal and restoration, set alongside
Biga
Island. To the ancient Egyptians, Biga was the sacred mound, the first ground created from Nun out of Chaos. This was the legendary burial place of Osiris. The earth was considered to be part of his body so that only priests and temple servants were permitted to live there.
Elephantine
Island
It was one of the most powerful forts on
Egypt’s southern borders. It lies opposite the old Cataract Hotel. Or island there are the relics of stone temples of various including the
temple of
Khnum, erected during the old kingdom and reconstructed at the turn of the Pharaonic area.
The island houses “The Nilometer” dating from the r man era and also a museum containing an important collection of relics of the Greco-Roman eras which were discovered in
Aswan sand
Nubia.
The Unfinished Obelisk
It is a huge obelisk incompletely carved, about 4 meters high and more than 1150 tons weight. It owes its
importance to the fact that it shows the techniques the ancient Egyptians used in carving obelisks. There is the Fatimic netery which includes hundreds of tombs built of mud briclit dates back to the ninth century.
The High Dam
The world-famous High Dam was an engineering miracle when it was built in the 1960s. It is rising 7 km south of the city. The High Dam, one of the biggest dams in the world, was erected to store the flood waters of the
Nile where by preventing the annual flooding which on occasions coulc submerge whole villages. The water is stored in
Lake
Nasser and then used to irrigate and reclaim new land and generate the electricity needed by industries.
The Granite Qarries
Located where lies the unfinished obelisk, it is 14 m high It is thought that it was intended for the temple of Hatshepsut at Karnak.
The Cultural Center
It lies by Corniche El Nil, and it presents evening shows o Nubian folk art. The performances reflect local traditional life pattern of Nubians covering dance, music and ethnic festivals
The Nelometre
Dating to the Roman period, it shows the height of the
Nile floods in Greek, Demonic and Arabic languages, and was used until very recently.
Kitchener
Island
It lies in the mild-stream near
Elephantine
Island. It is a natural exhibition of exotic plants and trees imported from all over the world. The best place for spending leisure time relaxing in expansive shades.
The
Nubian
Museum
The construction of the museum in
Aswan is regarded as a great success of the international campaign for saving the monuments of
Nubia supported by UNO. The museum houses three thousand artifacts representing various archaeological periods throughout the history of
Egypt (prehistoric, Pharaonic, Greek, Roman, Coptic and the Islamic).
Aswan
Museum
It is the small museum which has a collection of antiquities discovered in the
Aswan and
Nubia area, such as the mummy of the Sacred Ram represents the god Khnum.
Agha Khan Mausoleum
It features a typical architecture of the Fatimid style. Agha Khan was the late leader of the
Ismailia sect, who preferred to spend winter every year in
Aswan His mausoleum is a masterpiece of Arab architecture.
Monastery of St. Simon
It dates from the 6th century AD. It is one of the most intact Coptic monasteries of old standing. It includes a church whose frescos are still extant representing Jesus Christ and the saints.
Kom
Ombo
Temple
It is located in Kom Ombo town, 45km north of
Aswan; it is built on a hillside overlooking the
Nile. This temple was constructed in the Ptolemaic Roman era for the worship of god Haroeris and Sobek, the crocodile god. It is noted for relief engravings on its walls which show ancient surgical tools, bones saws and dentistry tools, nearby there are three mummified crocodiles. They are now in Hathor ‘s chapel near Kom Ombo you can go on a visit to camel market held every Tuesday in Draw, where camels brought from north Sudan o are sold.
Sound & Light at
Philae
The sound and Light Spectacle here is present and in successive stages starting by arrival of spectators in
Philae
Island after a
Nile cruise in which they enjoyed the natural beauty of the area. The spectacle also describe how these temples were rescued and restored and relates the story of Alsis.
Edfu
Temple
It lies in Edfu town, 123 km north of
Aswan on the west bank of the nile, It dates back to the Ptolemaic period. It was dedicated to the worship of god Horus represented as a falcon.
It is one of the most beautiful Egyptian temples, distinguished by its huge splendid structure that blends Pharaonic and Greek architecture its grandeur competes with Luxor Temples.
It is the second largest temple after
Karnak. It also houses the nilometer and a huge pylon at the entrance. It was discovered in 1 860by the famous archaeologist Mariette. On its walls are reliefs which depict he history of Ptolemies and reflect religious belief and art style period.
Temple of
Kalabsha
It lies on the eastern bank of the
Nile and was built by the Roman Emperor Octavius Augustus in 30 BC and dedicated to the Nubiar god Mandolis.
The temple was moved from its original site 55km south of Aswan Nest Bank and rebuilt near the High Dam. It is one of the largest sandstone temples in
Nubia. Its walls are covered with texts and inscriptions.
Tombs of Nobles
They are carved in the rocks of the west mountain opposite to the north end of
Aswan
City. They date back to the 23rd century BC. Inside the tombs are decorated with vivid murals depicting scenes of everyday life, hieroglyphic biographies and inscriptions showing the noblemen journeys into
Africa.
Nubia
Nubia is located in today’s southern
Egypt and northern
Sudan. The modern inhabitants of southern
Egypt and
Sudan still refer to themselves as NubianS. They speak the Nubian language as well as Arabic. Thousands of Nubians from the north were forced to relocate from their endangered homelands to be resettled in
Egypt and
Sudan. This land has one of the harshest climates in the world. The temperatures are high throughout most of the year, and rainfall is infrequent. The banks of the Nile are narrow in much of
Nubia, making farming difficult. Yet, in antiquity,
Nubia was a land of great natural wealth, of gold mines, ebony, ivory and incense which was always prized by her neighbors.
Nubia is the homeland of Africa’s earliest black culture with a history which can be traced from 3100 BC onward through Nubian monuments and artifacts, as well as written records from
Egypt and
Rome. The
land of
Nubia is a desert divided by the river
Nile. For want of water and rich soil, most of
Nubia has never been able to support a large population for long periods. However, some of
Africa’s greatest civilizations emerged here, centers of achievement whose existence was based on industry and trade. Because they did not write their own languages until very late in ancient times, we know these centers and their people largely through their archaeology and what the Egyptians and Greeks said about them.
Temple of
Deir
Today, Dakka sits dramatically on a small bluff. This is the only Nubian temple with a facade that faces to the north and oriented north-south to parallel the course of the
Nile. The pylon of the temple is now separated from the remainder of the temple due to the missing enclosure walls of the open court. Above the entrance in the pylon, a solar disk with a uraeus extends its wings. On the southern side of the temple, a small entrance leads into the interior of the pylon and to a stairway that communicates with several internal rooms.
Temple of
Amada
The
Amada
Temple in
Nubia, though small, nevertheless contains some important historical inscriptions and is also significant as the oldest of the
Lake
Nasser temples. For example, one carved on a stela on the rear wall of the sanctuary in the third year of Arnenhotep II describes an Egyptian military campaign into Asia, and his bringing back the bodies of rebel chieftains to hang on the walls of
Thebes and one on the prow of his ship sailing through
Nubia as a warning. Another, carved on a stela on the northern side of the entrance doorway describes a Libyan invasion of
Egypt in the fourth year of Merenptah, the son of Rarnesses II.
This temple is located about 180 kilometers south of the High Darn, and was dedicated to the important
New Kingdom gods, Amun-Re and Re-Horakhty.
It was originally built on the orders of
Tuthmosis
Ill and his son, Amenhotep II during
Egypt’s
New Kingdom 18th Dynasty. The hypostyle hall was a later addition by Tuthrnosis IV. Seti I had a hand in some small additions, such as a large pylon with a sandstone gateway abutting against the hypostyle hall, along with other 19th Dynasty rulers including his son, Ramesses II, who seems to have involved himself in some way with almost every Nubian temple built prior to his reign. However, Ramesses I l’s restoration of the temple has been noted as rather a poor effort, probably employing the use of local artists of inferior skill. Of course, Ramesses II also added a number of his own temples to the Nubian landscape during his reign.
Temple of
Beit El Wally
Beit(Beyt) el-Wall, today, is located just south of the Aswan High Dam, very close to the
Kalabsha
Temple, making it easily a part of any tour that explores
Nubia’s monuments. Of the cluster of moments that were moved to New Kalabsha during the construction of the High Darn in order to avoid their burial beneath this great lake, this temple is the oldest, and for a long time was by far the oldest though now the Temple of Gerf Hussein also dating to the reign of Ramesses II resides on the island after having been dismantled since its rescue from the rising waters of Lake Nasser back in the 1960s. However, Belt el-Wali probably even predates that temple by a few years. Beit el-Wali was rescued from
Lake
Nasser by a Polish archaeological team financed by a joint Oriental Institute of Chicago/Swiss Institute of Cairo Project. Beit el-Wali represents another of Ramesses Il’s Nubian monuments dedicated principally to Amun, together with other gods, that was carved from the sandstone hillside and is probably unique as the smallest of its gender.
The other monuments located here, consisting of the Kalabasha temple, a birth house and the kiosk of Qertassi, all dating to the Roman era of Egypt’s history and the Temple of Gerf Hussein. This temple was originally located in a remote area from any towns. It was built probably for show rather than public worship, and the conductiong of temple services by small priestly staffs may have been only occasionally maintained, or minimally observed.
Though the temple was altered during the Christian era, the brightly painted reliefs in the inner part of the temple are well preserved. In fact, this temple is sometimes also referred to as “the house of the holy man”, because it was also once used as a hermit’s dwelling. The temple was probably originally fronted by a brick pylon not unlike that at Gerf Hussein and
Abu Simbel. The temple itself was built on a symmetrical cruciform plan, and consisted of a deep hall, a transverse antechamber with two columns and a sanctuary. Known as a speos, the temple was mostly hewn from the surrounding rock, except for the front wall ofthe deep hall with its central doorway.
Kiosk of Qertassi
To the south of the
Kalabsha
Temple near
Aswan is the light almost delicate Kiosk of Qertassi (Kertassi), with its two Hathor-headed columns, was moved at the same time and now stands near the water commanding fine views of
Lake
Nasser.
Wadi ef sabua
Temple
About 140 kilometers (85 miles) south of the High Aswan Dam in ancient
Nubia on the west bank of the Nile two temples were built during the
New Kingdom’s 18th and 19th Dynasties. When, in the 1960s, the High Dam was being constructed, one of these temples that was built by Ramesses II, and is now usually referred to as the Temple of Wadi al-Sabua (Wadi el¬Sebua) but originally known as the “House-of-Amun”, was salvaged (in 1964) and moved to a new, elevated site several kilometers to the northwest, while the earlier temple of Tmenhotep Ill was, regrettably, left to be buried beneath the Haters of Lake Nasser. However, five stela from this ten pIe are in the
Aswan
Museum. Both of these temples Wore part free standing and part speos, meaning that a section of the temples were hewn from the surrounding rock
Temple of
Dekka
The temple of Dakka, dedicated to Thoth of the Sycamore Fig, was originally located about ioo kilometers south of the Aswan High Dam in what we refer to today as Nubia, though much of that ancient land is covered by Lake Nasser. El¬Dakka was known to the Egyptians as Pselqet and to the Greeks as Pselchis. Because of the impending flooding of the region as a result of the High Dam, it was moved to the site of eI-Sebua, about 40 kilometers upstream, between 1962 and 1968. The temple we see today was actually begun by the Meroitic (Nubian) king, Akamani. who the Greeks called Ergamenes, in about 220 BC, though this date is somewhat disputed, with some scholars maintaining that it dates as earlier as Ptolemy II Philadelphus 282-246. However, ‘it is more likely that, while Akamani may have been alive early in the reign of Ptolomy II Philadelphus, ‘it is more likely that the temple dates to the reign of Ptolomy IV PhilopatOr (222-205). IrregardlesS, together with his son named Arka (probably Argamani, Greek Ergamenes II), it’s construction appears to have become a combined effort between these Nubian kings and the line of Greek Pharaohs in
Egypt, probably commencing with Ptolomy IV, though its construction continued through the reigns of Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II and into the Roman rule ofAugustus and Tiberius. Today, Dakka sits dramatically on a small bluff. This is the only Nubian temple with a facade that faces to the north and oriented north-south to parallel the course of the
Nile. The pylon of the temple is now separated from the remainder of the temple due to the missing enclosure walls of the open court. Above the entrance in the pylon, a solar disk with a uraeus extends its wings. On the southern side of the temple, a small entrance leads into the interior of the pylon and to a stairway that communicates with several internal rooms.
Temple of
Gerf of Hussein
On the west bank of the Nile, but now covered by Lake Nasser, a few kilometers south of the site of Dendur, stood the temple of Gerf (Garf) Hussein. Today it has been moved to New Kalabsha, but for many years, it remained disassembled. As a side note, it took considerable time for New Kalabsha itself to be opened to the public. The reason for this was perhaps that, what became an island, was originally meanttO be part of the mainland. Hence, as the waters from
Lake
Nasser rose above. Their intended level, and transport logistics therefore became a problem, it took considerable time to overcome these obstacles.
Since few people can lay claim to having seen the temple in its original location in the Nubian village from which the temple took its name, its reconstruction ranks as one of the most momentous archaeological activities of today. It recalls those days, back in the late 1960s, before the completion of the High Dam, when one could still sail from the
port of
Shellal south of
Aswan through
Nubia and see the temples in their original locations, mostly overlooking the
Nile.
Gerf Hussein, or more correctly, Per Ptah, the “House of Ptah”, so named by the ancient Egyptians, was actually the work of a high ranking official named Setaw (Setau) during the reign of Ramesses II. Other temples built in
Nubia during the reign of Ramesses II include Beit el-Wali, eI-Sabua, el-Derr, Aksha and of course,
Abu Simbel (and some small additions to the Amada). Setaw was the viceroy of
Nubia, and he supervised the temple’s construction on the same plan as Ramesses Ii’s temple at Wadi aI-Sabua (the Valley of the Lions), which was also rescued from the waters of
Lake
Nasser during the 1960s. The temple is also very similar to the more famous
Temple of
Abu Simbel, farther south.
