Private Aswan Highlights Tour: High Dam, Philae Temple, and Unfinished Obelisk

Early in the morning, a knowledgeable Egyptologist from Five S Travel will meet you at your hotel or cruise in Aswan to begin a fascinating day of discovery at some of the city’s most iconic historical landmarks:

Philae Temple: This remarkable temple is devoted to the goddess Isis and tells the legendary tale of how she revived her husband Osiris, gave birth to their son Horus, and performed Osiris’s mummification. Constructed during the reign of Ptolemy II in Egypt’s Greco-Roman era, the temple was carefully moved to Agilika Island to protect it from flooding caused by the construction of the Aswan High Dam. Originally, obelisks once stood at the temple’s entrance, but these were taken by British Consul Henry Salt in 1918 and are now displayed in a garden in Dorset, England.

Aswan High Dam: A monumental feat of engineering, this vast rock-fill dam stands at the northern border between Egypt and Sudan. Built between 1960 and 1968 and officially opened in 1971, the dam’s purpose is to control the Nile’s annual floods and provide Egypt with a reliable water supply. The structure measures 111 meters in height, stretches 3,830 meters in length, and has a base width of 980 meters, with a spillway capable of handling up to 11,000 cubic meters of water per second.

Unfinished Obelisk: Visit the quarry where a gigantic obelisk was being carved but abandoned due to cracks. This massive monument, still attached to the bedrock, would have been the largest obelisk ever erected had it been finished. The site offers a rare glimpse into the ancient techniques used to carve and transport enormous stones, a process still shrouded in mystery, especially considering the distances involved in moving such monuments to places like Cairo, nearly 800 kilometers away.

After this enriching excursion, you will be comfortably returned to your hotel or cruise, concluding your immersive exploration of Aswan’s ancient heritage.