Postcard of the Island of Philae, Egypt flooded due to the construction of the Aswan Low Dam.

Postcard of the Island of Philae, Egypt flooded due to the construction of the Aswan Low Dam.

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The island of Philae, submerged due to the completion of the Aswan Low Dam (Assouan Dam) - 1906. The Philae temple complex (/ˈfaɪliː/; Ancient Greek: Φιλαί or Φιλή and Πιλάχ, Arabic: فيلة Egyptian Arabic: [fiːlæ], Egyptian: p3-jw-rķ' or 'pA-jw-rq; Coptic: ⲡⲓⲗⲁⲕ, ⲡⲓⲗⲁⲕϩ,[ Coptic pronunciation: [ˈpilɑk, ˈpilɑkh]) is an island-based temple complex in the reservoir of the Aswan Low Dam, downstream of the Aswan Dam and Lake Nasser, Egypt in Africa. Originally, the temple complex was located on Philae Island, near the expansive First Cataract of the Nile in Upper Egypt. These rapids and the surrounding area have been variously flooded since the initial construction of the Aswan Low Dam in 1902. With the construction of the modern dam in Aswan (1960–1970) a few kilometers upstream, this temple was going to face total flooding and was initially omitted from the Nubia Campaign project to rescue all temples in the area and avoid what had previously happened with the Aswan Low Dam and the Temple of Philae. However, the importance of the monumental complex, formerly known as the Pearl of the Nile, remembered for the description by Pierre Loti in his literary work Mort de Philae, led to further commitment from UNESCO member countries, which launched an international competition to save the monuments of Philae.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philae_temple_complex

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