5.0 on Tripadvisor Licensed by the Ministry of Tourism and AntiquitiesMinistry licensed guides On the river since 2011 Luxor and Aswan, every week
Philae was the great temple of Isis. It stands on an island near Aswan, so the visit begins with a motorboat ride and ends at the Kiosk of Trajan, above the water.
Five things not to miss on the island.
Philae sits on an island, so you cross by motorboat. The temples come into view between the granite rocks.
The western colonnade runs 77 metres and was decorated under the emperors Augustus, Tiberius, Claudius and Nero. It leads straight to the first pylon.
The towers show the king striking his enemies before the gods, the classic image of royal power on a temple front.
Columns with floral capitals, open to the sky. Built under Trajan (98 to 117 AD), probably as a resting point for processions, and never finished.
Not everything at Philae is pharaonic. Roman emperors built here too, and these arches belong to the Roman part of the island. You see them best from the boat.
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The last hieroglyphs. On 24 August 394 AD a priest named Esmet-Akhom carved a short text here. It is the latest dated hieroglyphic inscription known from Egypt. Priests of Isis went on writing graffiti in Demotic into the 5th century AD.
From temple to church. Emperor Justinian had the temple closed between 535 and 537 AD. Later, Bishop Theodorus turned the front hall of the temple of Isis into a church of Saint Stephen.
The oldest buildings on the island date to Nectanebo I, in the 4th century BC. The great temple of Isis was begun under Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285 to 246 BC), and later kings and Roman emperors kept adding to it, up to Hadrian in the 2nd century AD. The temple of Hathor was built under Ptolemy VI and Augustus. The island was threatened by the Aswan High Dam project, so from 1972 to 1980 almost all of its buildings were taken apart and rebuilt on the higher island of Agilkia, as part of the UNESCO campaign to save the monuments of Nubia. Since 1979 they have been part of the World Heritage site Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae.
Every cruise we sell visits Philae with a licensed Egyptologist.
By motorboat. We take you across from the landing near the old Aswan Dam as part of the tour, and your Egyptologist guides you around the island. Entrance is part of every cruise price.
The original island of Philae was threatened by the Aswan High Dam project. Between 1972 and 1980 almost all of its buildings were taken apart and rebuilt on Agilkia Island nearby, as part of the UNESCO campaign to save the monuments of Nubia.
No. The evening sound and light show at Philae is an optional extra. Ask us and we will add it to your day in Aswan.
Yes. With official permission arranged in advance, the island can be opened outside the public hours, just for your group. How it works is in our article on private openings in Egypt.
Tell us your dates and we will send back two or three ships that fit, with real prices.
See also the Unfinished Obelisk, visited the same day.
