Aswan Dam
Travel Guide to the Aswan Dam
The Travel Guide to the Aswan Dam highlights
the most important places to visit in this area of Egypt and its
significance to the history of Egypt together with Ancient Egyptian
facts and information about the Aswan Dam.
Location of the Aswan Dam
Our Egypt travel guide
differentiates between the sites of Upper and Lower Egypt. Ancient Egypt
originally consisted of two parts which were called Upper and Lower
Egypt. The Aswan Dam is located in
Upper Egypt.
Upper Egypt was the valley area in the South and Lower Egypt was
the delta area in the North. Upper and Lower Egypt each had their own
governments and rulers. These two parts Egypt were eventually united in
3118BC. Plan your Tour of Egypt around the most important and ancient sites of Upper and Lower Egypt, including
the Aswan Dam, using our travel guide.
The Cataract at the Aswan Dam
The granite barrier of the cataract at
Aswan marked the natural Southern frontier of Egypt where the River Nile
flows north through Egypt until it reaches the Mediterranean Sea. The
word Cataract means a waterfall or where the flow of a river
changes dramatically. It comes from the Greek word meaning "downrush" or
the Latin "cataract" meaning a waterfall, a floodgate or a portcullis.
The cataract at Aswan, with its waterfalls, rocks and torrents, made it
impossible for boats to navigate. All river traffic stopped at this
point and the treasures and goods from Nubia
including gold and its valuable trade routes to
the Sudan had to be carried by
caravan across the barren Nubian Desert.
Places to Visit and
tour in Aswan - The Aswan High Dam, Temple of Isis & the Rock Temples of
Ramses II and Queen Nefertari
The most famous places to visit in
Aswan are as follows:
The Aswan Dams
There are two dams across the River Nile at Aswan . The older Aswan Dam
or Aswan Low Dam and the newer Aswan High Dam. The objective of the dams
was to prevent the flooding of the
River Nile, generate electricity and provide water for agriculture.
The British began construction of the
first dam in 1899 and it was completed in 1902. Due to potential
flooding the height of the dam was
raised in two phases, 1907–1912 and 1929–1933. In 1946 the danger of
flooding caused the decision to be made to build a second dam, 4 miles
up river. The project was eventually started in 1960 and was funded by
Russia. The Aswan High Dam was completed in 1970.
Aswan Dam - Moving the
Temple of Isis from Philae and the Rock Temple of Abu Simbel
The Aswan High Dam project threatened the Temples at Philae and Abu
Simbel and the tomb of Nefertari which would have been submerged under
water. The United Nations organisation (UNESCO) undertook the massive
task of relocating these great Ancient Egyptian Monuments and financing
the project. The Temple of Isis and other important buildings on the
island of Philae were transported over a system of steel rails to the
island of Agilkia. The fabulous rock temples of Abu Simbel dedicated to
the Pharaoh Ramses II and his wife Queen Nefertari were brought 180
metres inland to an artificially built rock which was 64 metres higher
than the original. The massive rock
temple was cut into pieces weighing 30 tons and reassembled in its new
location. For more facts and information about Abu Simbel
please click the following link:
Abu
Simbel
Aswan Dam
Each section of this Egyptian website addresses all topics and
provides interesting facts and information about the Golden Age of
Egypt. The Sitemap provides full details
of all of the information and facts provided about the fascinating subject of Egypt, the Ancient Egyptians and of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun, King Tut.
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