Aswan High Dam

Aswan

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Egypt's modern example of construction on a monumental scale, the controversial Aswan High Dam, 13km south of Aswan, contains 18 times the amount of material used in the Great Pyramid of Khufu and created Lake Nasser, one of the world's largest artificial lakes.

Most people visit the High Dam as part of an organised trip to sights south of Aswan. A visit here is often included with Philae's Temple of Isis, but can also be combined with a trip to the Kalabsha Temple.

At the dam site is a small pavilion with displays detailing the dimensions and the construction of the dam; on the western side is a monument honouring Soviet-Egyptian friendship and cooperation.

Note that video cameras and zoom lenses are not allowed on site, although nobody seems to monitor this.

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Nearby Aswan attractions

1. Kalabsha Temple

1.51 MILES

Kalabsha Temple is an impressive Ptolemaic and Roman structure, not unlike nearby Philae in its layout. The early 19th-century Swiss traveller Burckhardt …

2. Temple of Kertassi

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Just north of the Kalabsha Temple are the scant but picturesque remains of the Temple of Kertassi, with two Hathor columns, a massive architrave and four…

3. Beit Al Wali

1.53 MILES

Close to the Kalabsha Temple, the Temple of Beit Al Wali, mostly built by Ramses II, is cut into the rock and fronted by a brick pylon. On the walls of…

4. Temple of Isis

3.86 MILES

Built to honour the goddess Isis, this was the last temple built in the classical Egyptian style. Construction began around 690 BC, and it was one of the…

5. Fekra

4.27 MILES

Fekra is a farm located on 40,000 sq m of land on the lake between the old dam and the High Dam, and overlooks Philae Island. The Fekra Cultural Centre –…

6. Aswan Dam

4.57 MILES

Completed in 1902, the Aswan Dam was a feat of engineering for its time and the largest dam in the world, measuring 2441m across, 50m high and 30m wide…

7. Nile Museum

4.83 MILES

A three-storey building on 146,000 sq metres of land, the Nile Museum exhibits antique items that tell of the waterway's history and photos that…

8. Seheyl

5.87 MILES

Situated just north of the old Aswan Dam, the island of Seheyl was sacred to the goddess Anukis. Before the dam’s construction, the Nile would rush…

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