Temple of Philae

We went on an organised trip to see the temple of Philae which is situated on an island, just above the old Aswan dam. We took a motor boat across the lake to an island in the moonlight, passing many granite rocky islands on the way. On our approach we had a floodlit view of the temple. [Which was submerged by the lake when the first dam was built in 1900 but was rescued and resited by UNESCO between 1960 and 80 after the High Dam was built]. Most of the temple was built by the Ptolemies (300 BC) and Romans (up to 300 AD). But all the carvings on the walls are Egyptian style, with hieroglyphs on the inner walls and large figures on the outer walls. The temple is dedicated mainly to Isis but also to Osiris and Horus (their son - depicted with a hawk's head). Good light show and walk around temple which has rows of Egyptian style capitals.

Click on an image for an enlarged view

Philae temple from the boat	Philae temple columns
Philae temple pylons	Philae temple pylons and columns
Philae temple interior	Philae temple carving on pylon Isis and Horus
Philae temple carvibgs	Philae temple - inner temple
Philae temple on departure	Philae temple
Philae temple	Philae temple