Temples of Philae

Agilkia Island (Temples of Philae)

Agilkia Island, located in the Old Aswan Dam reservoir along the Nile, is home to such ancient wonders as the Gate of Diocletian and the Temple of Augustus. But the most ancient monument on the island, built sometime around 370 BC, is a temple dedicated to the goddess Isis. This historic structure is part of a complex of temples called Philae that has been relocated from its original spot in the first cataract of the Nile, as it had been in a precarious state ever since the Egyptians started damming the river. When the Old Aswan Dam was put into place at the turn of the 20th century, the complex was flooded or completely underwater for months at a time. Visitors could only take boats to the temple, which was mostly submerged, and envision the mysteries locked deep within the river.

As part of the UNESCO Nubia Campaign, requested by the Egyptian and Sudanese governments in 1959, Philae was disassembled and moved to Agilkia Island. It took workers eight painstaking years to fully deconstruct the temple and relocate the complex. In total, the Nubia Campaign transplanted 22 monuments and architectural complexes via 40 technical missions across five continents—a project that took nearly 20 years to complete.Read more