We viewed the Aswan high dam both from the wall itself and from the air as we flew into Aswan from Cairo.
The Aswan high dam was completed in the 1970’s. It
• controls flooding and drought along the Nile,
• allowed 30% more arable land to be reclaimed from the desert,
• increased the number of crops from 1 to 3 times annually,
• is a source of fish (45 tonnes per day) and
• is a supplier of hydro electricity.
However the high dam
• allows only water to pass and not silt which in the past provided natural fertiliser and soil to farms,
• causes rising salinity due to fewer floods,
• causes eroding of the delta coast by Mediterranean Sea (silt used to replace erosion),
• flooded many Nubian villages, and
• flooded many known and unknown ancient Monuments.
We visited the Philae Temple of Isis between the high and low Aswan dams. This temple is interesting because of the mixture of cultures in it. It was built at a time when Greece and then Rome controlled Egypt and their influence is obvious and then its construction was halted by the advance of Christianity. It was eventually used as a Church at the 6th Century in the time of Constantine.
We were amazed by the shear size of the temple and the beauty of the images and hieroglyphics as well as the skill of the artists who produced them. The fact that the temple had been reasonably seamlessly moved during the construction of the high dam was also amazing to us.
In the late afternoon we enjoyed a relaxing sail on the Nile in a Felucca – unfortunately the wind didn’t cooperate so we had to motor back.
We now have three nights on the Nile – “hard work but someone has to do it”! The Egyptians have a saying – “tourists are money from heaven”!
Last night the show was Whirling Dervishes and belly dancing – swirling around for over 15 minutes without being dizzy – how do they do that.
Day 21 – 22nd February 2010
The Aswan high dam was completed in the 1970’s. It
• controls flooding and drought along the Nile,
• allowed 30% more arable land to be reclaimed from the desert,
• increased the number of crops from 1 to 3 times annually,
• is a source of fish (45 tonnes per day) and
• is a supplier of hydro electricity.
However the high dam
• allows only water to pass and not silt which in the past provided natural fertiliser and soil to farms,
• causes rising salinity due to fewer floods,
• causes eroding of the delta coast by Mediterranean Sea (silt used to replace erosion),
• flooded many Nubian villages, and
• flooded many known and unknown ancient Monuments.
We visited the Philae Temple of Isis between the high and low Aswan dams. This temple is interesting because of the mixture of cultures in it. It was built at a time when Greece and then Rome controlled Egypt and their influence is obvious and then its construction was halted by the advance of Christianity. It was eventually used as a Church at the 6th Century in the time of Constantine.
We were amazed by the shear size of the temple and the beauty of the images and hieroglyphics as well as the skill of the artists who produced them. The fact that the temple had been reasonably seamlessly moved during the construction of the high dam was also amazing to us.
In the late afternoon we enjoyed a relaxing sail on the Nile in a Felucca – unfortunately the wind didn’t cooperate so we had to motor back.
We now have three nights on the Nile – “hard work but someone has to do it”! The Egyptians have a saying – “tourists are money from heaven”!
Last night the show was Whirling Dervishes and belly dancing – swirling around for over 15 minutes without being dizzy – how do they do that.
Day 21 – 22nd February 2010
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