Aswan High Dam, Temple of Philae and the Unfinished Obelisk

the magnificent Aswan High Dam. Although it was constructed several millennia after the majority of Egypt’s iconic landmarks, the High Dam is equally as impressive. A miracle of modern engineering, the dam is 364 feet high and spans for over two miles and contains eighteen times the material used to build the Great Pyramid of Cheops. Once, the largest rock-filled dam in the world, today the dam provides irrigation and electricity for the whole of Egypt.

the Unfinished Obelisk. Much of the granite used for Egypt’s temples was quarried in Aswan and in the Northern Quarry you will find an unfinished obelisk that has remained in situ ever since a crack was discovered as it was hewn from the rock. Possibly intended as a companion to the Lateran Obelisk that once stood proud at Karnak, if completed the obelisk would have been the largest piece of stone ever handled.

the beautiful Temple of Philae. Dismantled and reassembled on higher ground after the completion of the Aswan High Dam threatened its existence, the temple is dedicated to the goddess Isis and is set on its own island. The temple is widely regarded as the prettiest in Egypt.