Aswan is a pleasant small city situated far upstream in the Nile along one of the cataracts. It is as far south as it gets for Egypt. Next stop down is Wadi Halfa in upper Sudan. Being the gateway to Africa the people here are more Nubian, dark skinned African people.
The British built what is now referred to as the Low Dam in 1902 to regulate the flow of the Nile and also provide hydroelectricity. Subsequently between 1960 and 1970 the high dam was constructed, also known as the Nasser dam. The massive Lake Nasser created behind it is one of the largest man made lakes on the planet.
The pretty little Philae temple was built 2500 years ago. Dedicated to the goddess Isis it was partially submerged by the rising waters of Lake Nasser and a UN sponsored project undertook to rescue it. In the mid 60s a retaining dam was built around it and the whole temple was dismantled and rebuilt on a neighbouring island.
Aswan has abundant supplies of good quality pink and black granite. The ancient Egyptians carved out massive lumps of rock with primitive hammers and chisels for their obelisks and statues and floated them on barges 100s of kilometres down the Nile. The unfinished obelisk in the quarry has provided a wealth of information about the way the ancient Egyptians accomplished the Herculean tasks.
A relaxing Felucca boat trip up the Nile completes the afternoon.
