Friday, January 14, 2011

Dam Authority

Not a curse at those in charge... just a tribute to those who run the High Dam in Aswan which we visited today.

After a stroll around the Nubian Village avoiding camels being driven up and down at high speed through the village road, we were to be transferred by motor boat to our cruise ship in Aswan.  Our cruise ship was called "Mirage" and it was just this to the boat driver who cruised up and down the main port in Aswan trying to find the Mirage.  There were hundreds of cruise ships in port and these were parked up to four deep from the wharf so it was difficult to spot which was ours.  The method of discovery was to shout out to other boats passing and ask for directions.  This proved inaccurate but ultimately successful.







After leaving our luggage in our room, we took off to explore the Aswan area.  A quick stop to check out the Unfinished Obelisk which had been carved out of rock and left incomplete when a crack appeared - leaving a great example of how ancient Egyptians carved out these enormous pillars.  Next sop - the High Dam and a view of Lake Nassar the largest man make lake in the world (according to our guide).  At every point, we had to pass by soldiers armed with guns and metal detectors which went off as each person walked through.  No one was stopped.

Aswan High Dam. The biggest dam in the world!

The Unfinished Obelisk
Our next port of call was the Philae Temple which is located on an island so a short boat trip was needed to get there. This temple was built by the ancient Egyptians as a tribute to the Goddess Isis.  When the first Aswan Dam was built in the early 1900s, it was submerged.  Not until after the completion of the High Dam in 1971 was it saved.  A new island was made for it and divers cut up the temple and brought all the pieces to the surface where it was painstakingly put back together - quite a task when viewing the size of the structure!

Philae Temple









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