Philae is one of the
highlights of any visit to Aswan. To reach it, one can take an organised
excursion booked through a travel agent, cruise boat, or hotel.
Alternatively, take
a taxi to the boat landing at Shellal on the east side
of the old Aswan Dam. From here you can buy tickets to visit the island
itself, and for the small boats that transport tourists to and from the
island. The
ticket office can be found at the end of a tourist bazaar at the gate to
the boat landing. During the boat trip you will get to see your first glimpse of the temple.
Dedicated to Goddess Isis, the temple was
originally constructed on the island of Philae, but with the construction
of the old Aswan Dam, the temple site became partially submerged, so
tourists viewed the temple ruins from rowboats. With the construction of
the new
High Dam, the site was due to become
completely submerged so the whole temple was dismantled and rebuilt on
the nearby higher island of Agilika, which was modified to resemble Philae.
To make all this possible, a coffer dam was constructed around the temples
and the water was pumped out the temples were carefully dismantled with
every block assigned a number and its position noted, they then resembled
the temples.thus saving them from the waters of the Nile, and enabling the
site to opened to the public again.
Metal pylons on the old
island of Philae can still be seen rising from the water to the south of Agilika.
Built
by Ptolemy XII the first pylon of the temple of Isis stands at the end of
two colonnades. carved into it are reliefs that depict the king overcoming
his enemies and worshipping the Goddess Isis. Passing through the first
pylon you enter into the east courtyard which contains a birth house and a
Roman chapel. The birth house contains reliefs of Isis suckling her son
Horus. The eastern court also contains a colonnade. This colonnade has ten
pillars, and five rooms, each with two storeys. What these rooms were used
for has been lost in time.
The
western colonnade of the Philae Temple had 31 columns; the eastern
colonnade was never completed. An additional entrance in the first pylon
can be seen on the left, this is the passage to the birth house. Further
on is the second pylon, this was built by Ptolemy VIII. The passage
through this pylon leads into a hypostyle hall and the sanctuary of the
Temple of Isis.
In
the hypostyle hall of the Temple of Isis, is an example of how the Coptic
Christians later utilised parts of the temple for their own use. Some wall
reliefs have been defaced and Christian symbols have been carved on the
wall and into a stone that has been used as an altar.
There is a
distinctive
structure Known as the Kiosk of Trajan. It was originally the main
entrance to the temple when approaching from the river. The building is
rectangular in shape and would originally have had a wooden roof supported
by the fourteen remaining columns. Depicted Inside is the Roman emperor
Trajan making offerings to the Egyptian gods
Isis, Osiris and Horus.
Built
by Ptolemy XII the first pylon of the temple of Isis stands at the end of
two colonnades. carved into it are reliefs that depict the king overcoming
his enemies and worshipping the Goddess Isis. Passing through the first
pylon you enter into the east courtyard which contains a birth house and a
Roman chapel. The birth house contains reliefs of Isis suckling her son
Horus. The eastern court also contains a colonnade. This colonnade has ten
pillars, and five rooms, each with two storeys. What these rooms were used
for has been lost in time.
