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  • The Kiosk of Trajan, left unfinished, at the island's edge.
  • The great pylon: Isis and Horus carved the height of the wall.

Photo : Marc Ryckaert — CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Aswan · Agilkia Island

Temple of Philae

A sanctuary of Isis dismantled stone by stone, then rebuilt on another island.

4.8Ratingour own rating€€ Mid-rangeUnmissable

The High Dam was going to drown Philae: through the 1960s and 70s, UNESCO and Egypt cut the sanctuary into tens of thousands of blocks and rebuilt it exactly on neighbouring Agilkia island, reshaped to resemble the original. You arrive by boat, which is half the experience: the temple appears all at once from behind the rock. It is one of the last places where the old Egyptian cult held on, long after Christianity arrived.

The extra bit

Agree the boat price BEFORE boarding, round trip and waiting time included — it's the site's only real friction point.

Know before you go

The site ticket and the boat are two separate costs: you'll sometimes be quoted an "all-inclusive" that isn't. Come early — there is no shade on the island. The evening sound-and-light show is its own thing, take it or leave it.

Directions

Agilkia Island, south of Aswan

Directions

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