Lake Nasser

Lake Nasser was formed when the High Dam was built above Aswan on the Nile. Built between 1960 and 1972 by Russian engineers, the High Dam has meant the end of Egypt's dependence on the annual flooding of the Nile, but has brought its own problems. The most pressing of these at the time of construction was the flooding of the Nile valley in Nubia, which would cover both modern villages and many ancient Egyptian sites in deep water. Thousands of villagers were moved to new homes and work began to do the same for the temples.

Many sites were saved by relocation to higher ground through an international effort, but others are lost to the waters of the lake. The most famous site to be saved in this way is Abu Simbel, but there are others that can be visited from a cruise on Lake Nasser, which we took in July 2000. Starting from Aswan, we visited Kalabsha, El Sebuoa and Dakka, Amada and El Derr, Qasr Ibrim and finally Abu Simbel. The temples are quite fascinating, many showing a distinctive style of statuary found in Nubia, and many that were built into the rock either partly or wholly, like small versions of the temples at Abu Simbel. We thoroughly enjoyed the cruise, you get to visit some of the less well known but still amazing sites and the finale of sailing up to Abu Simbel is unforgettable - highly recommended!