Egypt, Isis temple and unfinished obelisk

After our first night on the river boat, we spent several hours the next day touring the temple to Isis at Philae. Or rather this temple complex was originally built at Philae in the 6th century BC. When the Aswan low dam was constructed in 1902, the island of Philae was flooded. So the temples were dismantled and relocated to their current site on Agilika Island. 

Above is the Nile shore where we launched. Below is the place to disembark at the island for the tour of the temple.

I couldn't resist a couple pictures of the water as seen through old stone windows at the temple. How many eyes have enjoyed that same pretty view over the centuries? I imagine it was quite a few since this temple was in constant use for almost 1,000 yrs. 

The artistry of the ancient architecture and exterior decoration, as well as the hieroglyphics, was stark yet beautiful. 

This is where we spied our first temple cat. Or two.

You'll notice on several pics that the carvings have been defaced. This was the work of early Christians. You'll also see below where they carved the cross amongst, beside or on top of the hieroglyphics.

In fact, the Christians even set up a church inside the temple between the 3rd and 4th centuries AD for worship.

This temple was a unique fusion of three great civilizations - Egyptian, Greek and Roman and I really enjoyed visiting it. After lunch on the boat, we went to an ancient Egyptian stone quarry to see the great "Unfinished Obelisk". Ordered by Hatshepsut in the 15th century BC, it would have been the largest obelisk at that time, reaching a height of 137 feet. 

Stonemasons began carving it directly out of bedrock at the quarry. However, cracks appeared and the project was abandoned. What we see today is exactly how the stonemasons left it approximately 3500 years ago. The pic below obviously wasn't taken by me. And tourists were not allowed to walk on it while we were there. But I thought you might enjoy this bird's eye view to appreciate the size of the obelisk.