Philae Temple (Temple of Isis)

The Temple of Isis at Philae stands on Agilkia Island in the reservoir south of the Old Aswan Dam, about 8 km from central Aswan in southern Egypt. The sanctuary was built mainly under the Ptolemaic dynasty, with the earliest surviving work attributed to Nectanebo I of the 30th Dynasty in the 4th century BCE, and Roman emperors including Augustus, Tiberius and Trajan added gateways and kiosks. Isis was worshipped here for centuries after the rest of Egypt had turned to Christianity, and pilgrims from Nubia kept the cult alive until Emperor Justinian ordered the temple closed in the 6th century CE. Later the complex was partly converted into a church, and Coptic crosses can still be seen carved over older reliefs. The original island of Philae was repeatedly submerged after the Old Aswan Dam was completed in 1902, leaving the buildings damp for much of the year. Between 1972 and 1980 a UNESCO-led team dismantled the temples block by block and rebuilt them on higher ground at Agilkia, reshaping the new island to resemble the old one. Visitors reach the site by motorboat from the Shellal landing. Highlights include the monumental First Pylon with its smiting scenes, the colonnaded forecourt, the Mammisi or birth house, the small Temple of Hathor, and the Kiosk of Trajan, an unroofed Roman pavilion on the water's edge often called Pharaoh's Bed. The inner sanctuary of Isis holds relief scenes of the goddess and the myth of Osiris. The site is arranged as an open-air walk rather than a curated exhibition, with reliefs, graffiti by early travellers and the Roman-era Gate of Hadrian as the main points of interest. A sound and light show is staged in the evenings. Preservation is generally good because of the careful relocation, though salts and visitor wear continue to affect lower reliefs.