Philae and the Temple of Isis

When we were in Aswan, Egypt, we took a boat out to Philae, which is an island with a variety of temples. It was a very interesting site with plenty of things to see and definitely worth a half day to visit. The temples were moved to higher ground after the High Dam was built in order to save them and it was well worth the effort. As Aswan is in the southern part of Egypt, the temperatures can be quite hot, so be prepared and bring plenty of water.

Clearly the Temple of Isis is the highlight of visiting the island, but there is also the Temple of Hathor and the Kiosk of Trajan. The columns, hieroglyphs, and entrance were extremely impressive. We took our time walking around the temples and seeing them from every angle, but seeing them from the boat as we neared the island was truly stunning. There are still archeological activities occurring at the site and we saw people actively working while we were there.

There are a few other sites worth seeing in Aswan, but Philae was what stood out most to us. The history of temples goes back over 2500 years and seeing how well preserved they were was fascinating. We would definitely recommend a visit to the island to anyone who makes their way down the Nile River to visit Aswan.