We awakened with Viking Aton docked in Aswan just downstream from the Aswan Low and High Dams.
The Aswan Low Dam was constructed in 1902 in an attempt to better control seasonal flooding on the Nile. Flooding on the Nile is the history of Egypt. Flooding inundated low-lying areas along the banks bringing in nutrients and new soil providing a narrow, but rich agricultural region to sustain the population.
But the low dam was never particularly successful at taming the seasonal flooding, and in the 50s the Egyptian government began to evaluate more robust solutions to the problem. The result, with the aid of Russian money, was the construction of the Aswan High Dam. Constructed between 1960 and 1970, it was the tallest earthen dam in the world when complete. The dam was constructed to mitigate seasonal flooding, increase water storage and generate hydroelectric power. Today the dam holds back Lake Nasser, with a length of 340 miles and a maximum depth of 430 ft.
But with the expected rise of water behind the dam, it became an international priority to try to save the archaeological antiquities that would be lost forever. So, a massive effort was initiated to save as many of these antiquities as possible. One of these sites was the Temples of Abu Simbel. Near the Sudanese border, these Temples originated in the 13th century. They were built by Rameses II to commemorate himself and his chief consort Nefertari. The larger temple honoring Ramesses II was dedicated to the gods Amin, Ra-Horakhty and Ptah. The smaller temple honoring Nefertari was dedicated to Hathor.
The race to save the two temples began in 1964 and culminated in 1968. The temples were cut into over a thousand blocks weighing up to 30 tons. The blocks were numbered and treated with the utmost care until they could be reassembled on higher ground. Total cost of the project was $40M, a huge sum in the 60s.
We took out in the morning by bus and drove by the low dam before proceeding to the High Dam. After the High Dam we went to the airport where we took a 45-minute charter flight 170 miles south to Abu Simbel.