Our boat driver to Philae Island had very striking facial features, which Mohamad told me were distinctively Nubian. I simply could not resist taking a photo of him, and he allowed me to do so. Here you can clearly see the classic tufted hair and high cheekbones, although his nose is a bit more hawkish,almost Roman-like is appearance. He was definitely photo worthy. Now for more Fun Photo Friday favorites of the Aswan-Lake Nasser area:
Russia Egypt Friendship Memorial
Approaching the Philae Temple Anchorage entrance
Walking the Vendor Gauntlet to Our Boat
Boats for Philae Island
By the way, what we today call “Philae Island” isn’t really Philae Island. That island disappeared. I’ll have more on that in Monday’s article. Until then, I’ll leave you contemplating this little mystery: When in Philae Island not Philae Island? Now for one final Fun Photo Friday image of Trajan’s Kiosk:
Mohamad Salah and Ursula enjoying the boat ride to Philae
After departing Aswan High Dam, Mohamad arranged our land transportation to the anchorage from which our next adventure would begin. We passed through the gates picture below, ran the ubiquitous gauntlet of vendors selling everything from statuettes of various Ancient Egyptian royalty to pottery and jewelry, boarded a boat, and headed south toward Philae Island.
Philae Temple Anchorage
In case you’re wondering where this is in relation to both the High and Low dams, here’s a Google Maps image to orient you:
Google Map of the Philae Temple area
Along the way we passed by several of the island’s temples, including the Temple of Isis seen here:
Temple of Isis; Philae Island
After our boat was secured, we made our way across this foot bridge to arrive at the Philae Temple Complex:
Foot bride to the Philae Temple Complex
Whereupon we arrived at this guide to the complex:
Philae Temple foot guide
For the next two weeks I’ll be showing you images taken at the Philae Temple Complex, beginning with these:
Our luggage was safely stowed aboard the Jaz Cruises‘ riverboat Jaz Celebrity in preparation for our voyage beginning the next day. But as for this day, Wednesday, 26 February 2025, we were out touring with our absolutely wonderful Luxor and Aswan Travel-assigned guide and expert in Ancient Egypt, Mohamad Salah. No. Not this Mohamed Salah, who spells his first name with an “e”:
Egyptian football hero Mohamed Salah playing for Premier League club Liverpool
Rather, I’m referring to this absolutely amazing chap, Mohamad (with an “a”) Salah
Our first stop was theAswan High Dam. This immense structure, constructed with help from the U.S.S.R., was the tallest embankment dam at the time of its completion in 1970. There’s a lot to that story, not least of which were (primarily) Cold War politics and (secondarily) the recognition by the U.S. that completion of the dam would devastate Egypt’s agricultural industry, which depended upon the annual Nile floods to replenish nutrients to the soil. Today there stands a monument at the Aswan High Dam commemorating the ties between Egypt and the U.S.S.R.:
Aswan High Dam Monument to Arab-Soviet Friendship
Here are two images of the Aswan High Dam:
Aswan High Dam looking south over Lake Nasser
Aswan High Dam; River Nile side and the hydroelectric station
After our visit to the dam, it was time for a boat ride to a small island in the small resevoir between the Aswan High Dam and the Aswan Low Dam located some 4.3 miles/6.9 kilometers north of the High Dam.
River Nile resevoir between the High and Low dams
So, off we went with Mohamad Salah on this next adventure. Next stop would be the Philae Temple Comples:
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R. Doug Wicker — Author 