This is last of the series about Philae Temple. In this post, I will describe to you a little more of our experience that we had when we went to the Temple. If you are interested in seeing other posts on Philae Temple, please look towards the end of the section for a complete list.
Philae Temple – Our Experience
We had an excellent tour guide who explained the various aspects of the Temple, guided us through the temple and explained the hieroglyphics, the structure of the Temple with the pylons, the outer court, the inner court, the priests of the Temple and the vestibule.
I do suggest that it is really good to learn more about the Egyptian mythology before visiting Egypt so the “head doesn’t spin as much” – there is so much to learn. However, that’s where our Guide was great – he explained things very well so that our visit to Philae was extremely worthwhile. Without a guide, I could see that the visit would not be as rewarding.
The boat ride on the Dam was really good and there were numerous boats. We approached the Island between the Dam wall and the Island and docked at the far end of the island.
It was a very hot day when we visited – we did remember to take bottled water with us which is essential. The first thing that I noticed was everything was cut in pieces and re-assembled – you need to understood that this was not the original location of the Temple.
The restoration work has been undertaken very well, but as with all ruins, there are some areas that have been damaged.
It was interesting to see the amount of damage that has been done to the inscriptions on the walls – done many years ago by the Early Coptic Christians. The Cross had been carved into many of the stones within the Temple areas.
Photography was really great – even though the sun was very high in the sky and shadows were minimal – inside the Temples it was quite dark and using a Monopod allowed a number of photos to be taken with minimal camera shake.
There are some things to be careful of though.
- A major source of income is from Tourism – hence there are some high-pressure tactics applied trying to sell their products. This normally occurs as you are leaving the Boat area after the visit. If you are not wishing to buy – you unfortunately need to be a little rude and ignore them as they are talking (not something that I am overly comfortable with)
- Be careful when taking photos around the Temple. There are a number of Egyptian people that will pose alongside various locations and will then pressure you to pay for the privilege of taking the photo with them in it.
We had a great time to explore the island and I thoroughly recommend this as a destination.
Getting to Philae Island
Once in Aswan, you need to travel by road from Aswan to the boat landing, which is around 6km south – you turn off just before going over the Aswan Dam Wall. You then can hire a boat-ferry that takes you to the island of Philae.
As apart of our Tour we travelled by bus, went over the Aswan Dam Wall and travelled to the High Dam. On our return, we turned right after going over the Dam Wall to where the Boats depart.
For more information about Philae Temple
- 2014-03-20 – Unfinished Obelisk, High Dam, Philae Temple, High Tea
- Egyptian Goddess – Hathor
- Egyptian Goddess – Isis
- Egyptian Mythology – Horus
- Philae Temple
- Philae Temple – Part 1- Overview
- Philae Temple – Part 2 – Introduction
- Philae Temple – Part 3 – History
- Philae Temple – Part 4 – What to See
- Philae Temple – Part 5 – What to See
- Philae Temple – Part 6 – Our Experience