Philae Temple and the Aswan High Dam: A Practical Guide

Philae Temple and the Aswan High Dam are usually visited within the same day, and understanding how they're connected makes both sites more interesting.

Philae Temple

Built primarily during the Ptolemaic period and dedicated to Isis, Philae was one of the last places in Egypt where the ancient religion was actively practiced, continuing well into the Christian era before finally being closed in the sixth century CE. Reaching the temple today means a short boat ride to the island of Agilkia, where the entire complex was rebuilt after being moved.

Why It Had to Move

The original Philae sat on an island that would have been permanently submerged by the reservoir created behind the Aswan High Dam. Between 1972 and 1980, an international UNESCO-led project dismantled the temple into more than 40,000 numbered blocks and reassembled it on the nearby island of Agilkia, at a higher elevation — a project that saved the temple entirely, though the original island it once stood on is gone for good.

The Aswan High Dam

Completed in 1970, the High Dam controls the Nile's seasonal flooding and generates a large share of Egypt's electricity, but it also created Lake Nasser, one of the largest reservoirs in the world, submerging a stretch of ancient Nubia and forcing the relocation of Philae, Abu Simbel, and other monuments. Visitors can see the dam itself and the vast lake it created, though the technical interior isn't open to tourists.

Visiting Both

Most Aswan itineraries pair a morning at the High Dam viewpoint with an early-afternoon visit to Philae, when the light on the temple's reliefs is at its best, followed by the Unfinished Obelisk on the way back into town.