Philae, Aswan, Egypt - SpottingHistory

Agilkia Island in the reservoir of the Old Aswan Dam along the Nile River is the present site of the relocated ancient Egyptian temple complex of Philae. Partially to completely flooded by the old dam's construction in 1902, the Philae complex was dismantled and relocated to Agilkia island, as part of a wider UNESCO project related to the 1960s construction of the Aswan High Dam and the eventual flooding of many sites posed by its large reservoir upstream. To allow Agilkia island to accominate the relocated temple, the island was leveled to match the old contours of Philae island as best as possible, which required the removal of the top of the island.

The most ancient was a temple for Isis, built in the reign of Nectanebo I during 380–362 BC, which was approached from the river through a double colonnade. Nekhtnebef was his ancient Egyptian royal titulary and he became the founding pharaoh of the Thirtieth and last native dynasty when he deposed and killed Nepherites II.

For the most part, the other ruins date from the Ptolemaic Kingdom, more especially with the reigns of Ptolemy II Philadelphus, Ptolemy V Epiphanes, and Ptolemy VI Philometor (282–145 BC), with many traces of Roman work in Philae dedicated to Ammon-Osiris.

References:

Wikipedia

Address

Aswan, Egypt

See all sites in Aswan

Details

Founded: 4th century BCE
Category: Prehistoric and archaeological sites in Egypt

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

Nubian Museum (6 km)
Temple of Kalabsha (7,4 km)
Monastery of St. Simeon (7,7 km)

Kom Ombo Temple (47,6 km)
Qubbet el-Hawa (8,6 km)

User Reviews

Rithvik Jaya (3 months ago)
The view of the temple was absolutely amazing and the temple is gorgeous. You still need to get a boat to the temple but trust me if you love history you will absolutely love it. The only problem is that some areas were dirty but the main complex is very neat.

SY “Ha” CC (4 months ago)
The original temple was moved from the nearby land, which was sinking due to the construction of a dam. It was divided into different parts and carried to an island.

Don’t “Picky eater” Bother me ! (6 months ago)
What a fantastic bit of history this place is. The level of detail in and around the temple is magnificent. I was very impressed. The whole boat trip to the island was fantastic as you sail up the river and the temple comes into view, it’s a very impressive sight. There’s shops to to get drinks and gifts and snacks

Matt Wilson (6 months ago)
Great little boat ride to get there (not too far). Temple is amazing. Small cafe on island if needed and toilet

Alastair Woolley (2 years ago)
Yet another spectacular temple in Egypt. This one is on an island in the lake between the old and new dams. As with other temples in this area, this one would have been lost under the waters when the dam was created but was dismantled into thousands of pieces and moved to an island above the water level. Get a small boat there in about 5 mins for a pleasant stroll through ancient history.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Following Hadrian

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Philae