An Excursion to Egypt April 2001

Philae Temple and Aswan

Day 4: Saturday, April 14th

A pretty busy day today but the sites of Philae Temple and the Aswan Dam were quite close so it's a relatively late 7am wake up call. The first port of call is Philae Temple which was reconstructed on Agilqiyyah Island after being submerged under the Nile waters. Initially submerged for eight months every year when the first dam was built by the British in 1902, as the dam was heightened more and more of the temple went under water. Finally, as plans for the Aswan Dam were made, the temple was dismantled and re-sited at a cost of US$30 million.

The coach journey to Philae Temple took us over the first (lower) dam and to get to Philae Temple, there is a short 15 minute boat ride over to the island. Once again you have the tourist trap 'experience' as you walk down the jetty to the boats.

The view of Philae Temple as you approach Agilqiyyah Island where the temple was rebuilt after dismantling. The temple was originally dedicated to the goddess Isis and became a very important shrine for over 700 years. The site also had many smaller temples added as it became a cult centre and there is a small temple dedicated to Hathor showing carvings of musicians.

View of Philae Temple from the boat

Here you can see the Temple, with Hadrian's Gate at the left, behind the bush with the red flowers. Again the intricate carvings can be seen on the walls of the pylons. Note also the armed soldier under his post (the white thing !), one of several around the Philae Temple site.

Approaching Philae Temple

Two of the most photgraphed parts of Philae Temple. Hadrian's Gate (left) which has a relief which depicts the source of the Nile as the Nile god Hapi, who pours water from two jars. The ancient Egyptians are thought to have believed that the source of the Nile was to be found at the First Cataract. From there it flowed north towards the Mediterranean and south towards the Sudan.Trajan's Kiosk (right) where reliefs of the Roman Emporer Trajan can be seen making offerings to Isis and Osiris.

Hadrian's Gate

Trajan's Kiosk

On the return trip, necklaces and bracelets were available for purchase, all very cheap and at a fixed price arranged by Aassem. We purchased, or rather, my daughter did ! After visiting Philae Temple, the Aswan Dam was our next stop.

Nothing exciting here, although it was obviously an outstanding engineering achievement although its construction has changed some of the environment by preventing the flow of fertile silt to the lower part of the Nile Valley. However, it has produced a source of renewable energy for Egypt and prevents the disasters floods that used to devastate Egypt in September and October.

View from the top of the Aswan Dam

You can take still photographs here, but no video cameras and remember that dams are classed as military installations so are well guarded - so obey the rules !

On our way back to the boat, we stopped at the Papyrus Institute where we were given a short demonstration of how papyrus is made, given complimentary drinks and encouraged to view the gallery of hand painted papyrus. There were lots of different beautiful designs, sizes and prices and you could even have your name written on papyrus if you wished, for later delivery to the boat.

Cash or credit cards were accepted and interestingly enough, my purchase was converted to US Dollars for some reason ! We bought three pieces, for a cost of about £42, no bartering here much to my relief, everything was priced ! All the papyrus was gift wrapped and supplied with a certificate of authenticity. Again, Aassem assured us total satisfaction or money back. He also warned that you could buy cheaper 'papyrus' in the bazaars or off the streets, but much of it was banana leaves, not real papyrus.

After returning to the boat, we had a short 15 minute break to freshen up and cool down before boarding a fellucca for a sail on the Nile. A felluca is a sail powered boat and we spent the hour sailing on the Nile, with nothing but the wind in the sails. We were blessed with enough wind power for the boat as if there is no wind, the trip is taken in a motor boat instead, which would not have been the same thing at all ! The trip takes you around Elephantine Island.

A felluca on the River Nile

You also see the mausoleum of the Aga Khan and Kitchener's Island, now a botanical garden. This was a very relaxing and peaceful sail, with Aassem very reluctant to speak as he didn't want to spoil the tranquility of the moment. As we neared the ship, we were offered a variety of Egyptian goods and trinkets, all at a fixed price, which made it easy - I'm now the proud owner of a letter opener carved from a camel bone, and all for 5LE (£1).

Sailing on the River Nile in the felluca -The Aga Khan's Mausoleum

After lunch, we decided to visit the bazaar which was very close to the ship's berth. Here began the hassle. Horse and carts line up where the boats are berthed and we were continually verbally hassled by the drivers touting for business as we walked along the 'corniche'. In one case, the price dropped by 90% and we just couldn't get across the idea that we actually wanted to walk !! By the time he got the message, we were about 20 yards from the bazarr and he'd actually walked most of the way with us, leaving us with some abuse and suggesting that our origin was not English but German as "English people were nice and we weren't". Once in the bazaar, we were greeted by a variety of sights and smells, an abundance of spices and herbs. We did try to buy some shirts which were originally offered at a ridiculous high price. We got down to about £2 each (for 5) but noted they were ill fitting and dirty so walked away .. and we were then followed and hassled for a good 100 yards. Unfortunately, this reduced one of the ladies with us to tears, which is not what you want. So, this visit to Aswan bazaar was not very enjoyable - if you go - and it is worth a look, you'll need to be firm and tough !! You will also be amused at the constant use of the phrase "Lovely Jubbly" by the Egyptians- Del Boy would be proud !

We opted to take an optional excursion in the evening, returning to Philae Temple for the Son et Lumiere (sound and light show). If you want to video it, you'll need an extra ticket, but there was no charge for still photography. We bought our excursion ticket as a package for Abu Simbel and Philae light show, but for the light show alone it was £18 each for adults and children. This was the first time that we needed the insect repellent as the insects were obviously out for a night's feast on the island. The light show was disappointing, little use of colour and the system broke down several times. Towards, the end of the show, after several interruptions, everyone gave up and headed for the boats. Not good value for money.