Lake Nasser

Since prehistoric times, the Nile River provided the main trade route between the Mediterranean and Africa, with Nubia the point of contact between the two worlds. For Pharaonic, Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Arab civilizations, Nubia was a valued province and the corridor to Africa, the home of diverse cultures and political powers over thousands of years.

In the last century this region has witnessed two of the greatest engineering feats in modern history; the construction of the Aswan High Dam with the consequent creation of Lake Nasser, and the UNESCO project which saved the historical sites of Nubia threatened with permanent submersion beneath the waters of the Lake.

The total volume of the dam itself has been calculated at 17 times that of the Great Pyramid, and to build it 30,000 men worked round the clock for 10 years. The resulting reservoir extends 500 kilometers, some 380 of which lie in Egypt, with an average width of 10 kilometers.

When the decision was made in 1954 to build the dam, the evacuation of the Nubian community of over 100,000 people became an imminent reality. Meanwhile, urgent attention was required to safe-guard the Nubian monuments. In 1960, UNESCO responded to appeals for assistance by launching the Nubian Campaign, an enterprise that involved the resources of some 54 nations over a 20-year period. The degree of ingenuity required to save the temples was a fitting tribute to the creative genius that accomplished their original construction. It was the first time in history that so many countries, individuals and disciplines united in an undertaking dedicated to the idea of a common cultural heritage and the universality of art.

Although the Nubian Campaign was officially completed in 1980, the Lake and its monuments remained isolated from tourism for over a decade. Thanks to the efforts of Mostafa and Tarek el-Gendy, the owners and operators of the Eugenie and Kasr Ibrim, the immense lake and the temples on its banks were made accessible to travelers as of 1993. Lake Nasser's coasts are currently uninhabited, but it is the el-Gendy brothers' dream that this wealth of fresh water and land will once more host thriving communities, as it has throughout the ages.

Lake Nasser Archeological Sites
Visited by the Eugenie and the Kasr Ibrim

Kalabsha Temple: Built by the Roman emperor Augustus and dedicated to the Nubian version of the god Horus (protector and guider of souls through the underworld) known as Mandoulis.

Beit El Wali: Rock-cut temple dedicated to the god Amun-Re (known as 'the pilot who knows the water'), smallest of its type, built by Ramses II (19th dynasty).

Kiosk of Kertassi: erected in honor of Isis (goddess of motherhood, magic and healing) with two splendid Hathoric columns.

Wadi el Seboua (Valley of the Lionesses): Named for the avenue of sphinxes which led to the rock temple built by Ramses II and dedicated to the god Amun. Was later used as a church.

Temple of Dakka; Meriotic and Ptolemaic temple reconstructed on the site of an earlier temple dedicated to Thoth (god of wisdom and science) built by Amenophis II.

Temple of Meharakka: Late Ptolemaic period temple to Serapis (a composite of Osiris, the Apis bull and various Greek deities).

Amada: Sandstone temple of Amun-Re and Re-Harakhte (god of the morning sun, a combination of Ra and Horus) built by Thutmose III and Amenhotep II, with a pillared court added by Thutmose IV.

Derr: Rock cut temple dedicated to Re-Harakhte, Ramses II, Amun-Re and Ptah (god of creation and patron of artists and artisans).

Tomb of Penout: Rock-cut tomb of the viceroy of Nubia under Ramses VI, the only extant one of its kind.

Kasr Ibrim: The only monument on Lake Nasser that still exists in its original location. Before the creation of the lake this fort stood atop a high bluff overlooking the valley, a strategic site since ancient times. The fort may date to the Middle Kingdom and it has been rebuilt and used in a variety of ways over time, including as a church and mosque.

Abu Simbel: The temple of Ramses II and his wife Nefertari, Abu Simbel also represents the of triumph of UNESCO's Campaign to salvage the temples, without which these monuments would have been forever lost beneath the Nile waters.

Lake Nasser's landscapes inspired this drawing by one of our passengers