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Aswan Highlights Tour (Philae Temple, Unfinished Obelisk, High Dam) | Egypt Tours

Aswan Highlights Tour (Philae Temple, Unfinished Obelisk, High Dam)

Tour Description

See three of Aswan’s top sights over the course of a few hours on this private excursion. Board your private, air-conditioned vehicle at your hotel or Nile cruise and depart for the High Dam of Aswan, built-in 1960. Then it’s off to learn about ancient Egypt as you explore the Unfinished Obelisk and take a boat ride to the Philae Temple, dedicated to the Goddess Isis.

Temple of Philae

This large temple complex, relocated to the island of Agilika with the building of the High Dam in Aswan, features the magnificent Temple of Isis that was built in the late Ptolemaic and early Roman periods.

Unfinished Obelisk

This gigantic semi-finished obelisk, dating from the New Kingdom, would have weighed a staggering 1,197 tons if completed.

Aswan High Dam

Supplying water and electricity to all of Egypt, this impressive two-mile dam was a 1960s feat of engineering.

Aswan High Dam

Start your day tour in Aswan by getting picked up from your hotel or cruise ship and drive to the High Dam of Aswan, an engineering miracle when it was built in the 1960s. From the top of the High Dam you can gaze across Lake Nasser to the Kalabsha temple in the south and the huge power station to the north.

Unfinished Obelisk

Continue to the Unfinished Obelisk in the granite quarries of Aswan, where much of the red granite used for ancient temples and colossi came from. The Unfinished Obelisk still lies where it was carved when a crack was discovered as it was being hewn from the rock. Your qualified Egyptologist guide will explain how the 1 tonne obelisk was carved, and why the crack caused it to be abandoned.

Philae Temple

The last of the 3 famous Aswan sites you will see is generally regarded as the best. Philae Temple was carefully moved to its current location (around 500 meters from the original site) when the construction of the High Dam caused surrounding Nile waters to rise. A short motorboat ride takes you to the island, where your guide will take you on a walking tour through the temple before allowing you free time to explore further on your own. Dedicated to the goddess Isis, Philae Temple has a beautiful setting on an island in the river which has been landscaped to match its original site. After finishing your tour, you'll be dropped off your hotel or Nile cruise in Aswan.

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