Philae

The island of Philae, which is located in the middle of the Nile River in Egypt, is a historical find of scientists. Even before its flooding, it occupied an area of 380 m long, and its width was set to 120 m. In ancient times, this territory was known as the islands at the threshold of the river and was called Pilak ( in translation - angular ). Now this historically-weighted object is being protected by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

Believing in ancient Egyptian beliefs, Osiris himself is buried here. In distant time immemorial, this island was considered inviolable land. Only priests had the right to be on this sacred land. Even fish and birds wereware of him. There were times when this island served as a point of trade for the pharaohs with Nubia. Under the rule of the Ptolemy dynasty, buildings grew very quickly on these lands, the materials for which were granite from adjacent quarries. Some of these facilities have been preserved by our time.

Temple complexes were built here, which included the Nectaneba I temple, the monumental Isida temple with adjoining buildings, the elegant Traian pavilion and the very small Khator temple.

The erected temple of Nectaben I was supported by both the Egyptian rulers themselves and the Ptolemy. It was then that two huge obelisks were erected here, various sculptures appeared, including seated lions with granite, and stone cells for sacred pigeons were built. The walls of the temple, as the ancient Egyptian culture relies on, were painted with various drawings, as well as amazing reliefs that certainly tell about the life of Osiris. This temple lasted as one of the last pagan shrines on the Byzantine lands. Under Justinian, he was transformed into the Church of the Virgin, and all the evidence about her resemblance was destroyed. So the reliefs and drawings on the walls were bred by icon collectors.

In the twentieth century, scientists faced the question of transferring this memorable ensemble of buildings to the island of Agilik. The reason for this decision was the threat of the immersion of the temple under the water of the Nile. The initiator of such an important event was UNESCO. After careful measurement, photographing, as well as transportation of these stone blocks of world heritage, temple structures were successfully installed on an area of 500 meters upstream, where they are not in danger of flooding.

Now the island of Fila is open to the public. Here, twice a day, tourists are invited to attend a memorable light-musical show, during which the history of the temple ensemble is presented, which in its time was erected by noble people.