Our last day started early again as we were to have a half day in Aswan before the heat of the day.
We started with a trip to the Aswan dam, an engineering feat of the time which created the then largest dam in the world. This is the dam which created Lake Nasser which stretched off into the distance and was large beyond expectations.
This we followed with a quick boat ride to see the temple Philae. This was another temple which was moved due to rising waters created by the Aswan High Dam. This was an interesting temple as it was constructed in part during Roman times under the Emperor Trajan. In addition it was used as a Christian church for a time by the Coptic church. The Christians defaced many if the carvings, believing them to be paganistic but many still remain and are devoted to Isis.
It was also interesting to see graffiti on the walls from times past. One particular spot was carved by Napoleon's forces during one of their campaigns in the area.
There was also a temple devoted to the pygmy god. This was created at a time when pygmy's were enslaved and used to entertain the Pharoh and his court. One in particular rose to prominence and was so beloved that he was defied after his death. This is one of the rare representations of this deity found.
After this trip we went to an ancient quarry from which many monuments were carved. One remains in place because it cracked during its creation and was abandoned as a result.
These massive stone structures were carved in an angle to allow them to be slid into the anime when they were ready to be moved. It is still a mystery as to how they were then transported due to their weight and how they were erected as they had to be lifted straight up above the bottom to allow a tenon to be inserted into a corresponding motive. It was fascinating to see the dolomite stones which were used to carve the huge granite structures from the living rock!
We saw evidence of many excavations including one with hieroglyphics which explained where the resulting monument had eventually been placed.
These massive stone structures were carved in an angle to allow them to be slid into the anime when they were ready to be moved. It is still a mystery as to how they were then transported due to their weight and how they were erected as they had to be lifted straight up above the bottom to allow a tenon to be inserted into a corresponding motive. It was fascinating to see the dolomite stones which were used to carve the huge granite structures from the living rock!
We saw evidence of many excavations including one with hieroglyphics which explained where the resulting monument had eventually been placed.
Then we bid Egypt goodbye with a boat ride down the Nile in a traditional sail boat (fulucca?) And then we got dropped at the airport for our flight to Jordan.
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