Agilkia Island in Aswan, Egypt | Places to Visit in Aswan
Facts about the best tourist places in Aswan and the history of the most important islands of the Nile River, which contain the most important Pharaonic Egyptian Temples such as the Temple of God Isis and The Temple of Philae, how to get there, working hours, entrance ticket prices, and more.
The importance of this island came when Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and the Egyptian government raised the problem of Philae Island in the sixties, considering it to be an urgent problem..
Agilkia Island Facts
The solution to the problem of Elephantine Island was to transfer the Egyptian Antiquities from the island in their entirety and place them on Agilika Island, the nearby island.
It is one of the most important Nile islands and at the same time, fortunately, it is considered the closest to Philae Island.
Agilika Island is only a very short distance from the elephants, about five hundred meters.
The most important landmarks and tourist attractions in the old Aswan Dam reservoir, Egypt, which includes the entire Philae Temple after it was dismantled and moved, and what are the working hours and ticket prices to visit the island.
In Aswan, the most important tourist attractions, archaeological and cultural sites in Egypt, tourism and also visiting Agilika Island and Elephantine Aswan.
The most important archaeological places and tourist attractions in the city of Aswan are worth seeing, as they are characterized by the picturesque nature surrounding its archaeological temples and more.
Agilika Island is located in the area of the old Aswan Dam and along the Nile River. It is the island on which the Temple of Philae is located, after the construction of the High Dam, as part of a wider UNESCO project, in 1902 AD..
Agilika Island is considered one of the most important tourist attractions in Aswan and one of the most important Egypt Archaeological Sites.
It is distinguished by its picturesque nature surrounding its ancient temples, which made it one of the most beautiful sites worth visiting in southern Egypt..
About Agilika Island
The island has great historical importance, not only because of the antiquities and Mortuary Temples it contains that embody different historical eras, but also because of its great strategic location, as this island was the main gateway to Egypt from the south, as in Geography of ancient Egypt.
What to see when visiting Agilika Island?
Other than the Temple of Philae, which is now on Agilkia Island, after being moved from Philae Island, there are many other prominent tourist attractions and monuments, such as the Temple of the God Isis, the most famous Egyptian deities – Ancient Egyptian gods and Goddesses in the Ancient Egyptian religion, which is one of the largest and most important monuments within the group of temples built on the sacred island of Philae..
The temple currently occupies a quarter of the area of Agilika Island, and is adjacent to it, a few metres away, the chapel of King Nectanebo I of Thirtieth Dynasty of Egypt of the Late Period and two rows of columns dating back to the Roman Kingdom “Greek-Roman era“.
Moreover, when you visit the island, you can see a small group of Greek and Roman temples, as well as the Temple of Imhotep, which dates back to the Ptolemaic Kingdom, along with the Temple of God Hathor and the Trajan’s Kiosk, which was built during the era of Emperor Trajan, which is the building that Emperor Trajan erected to worship the goddess Isis..
The Temple of Trajan, one of the temples adjacent to the Temple of Philae, consists of a rectangular room surrounded by fourteen columns with capitals decorated with engravings of flowers and plants, while the capitals of these columns take the shape of the head of the goddess Hathor.
The walls of the room are filled with many ancient Pharaonic engravings to indicate the development of Sculpture in Ancient Egypt and the arts of Architecture in ancient Egypt.
Top things to do in Agilika Island
You should know at first that going to Agilika Island itself is a fun sea trip, where you can take some pictures of it and the surrounding islands, rocks and picturesque nature..
When you arrive on the island, you can take a walking tour on its rocky beaches and take some photos of its wonderful nature..
After that, you can visit the amazing Philae Temple in Aswan, and there you cannot miss taking many amazing photos of the temple walls with exciting Pharaonic engravings, dating back thousands of years. After that, visit Trajan’s Kiosk, which is a unique stone canopy with huge columns overlooking the Nile River..
In addition to the temples that come from distant historical periods, there are a number of huge, stacked columns, with amazing decorations and engravings..
Finally, don’t forget to enjoy a quiet session and have a delicious local or international snack with some refreshments at Al Jazeera Café overlooking the Nile..
Visiting hours of Agilika Island: You can visit the island at any time, but it is preferable to visit it in the morning to ensure a good view of the ruins, without specifying a clear price for the ticket
Philae Temple on Agilkia Island
In fact, the Temple of Philae, with all its wonderful monuments, stands on the island of Agilkia. It is a large temple with a large outer courtyard, as defined by a group of rows consisting of long columns surrounding it on both sides..
This large courtyard in the temple eventually leads to the entrance to the temple, where there is a group of towers in the first edifice..
The central courtyard located in the Temple of Isis also includes a building called the Temple of Mammisi, or as the ancient archaeologists called it, “the house of birth.”».
It is the place where a set of rituals were actually performed in ancient times to celebrate the birth of the god, as in the myths of the pharaohs “Egyptian Mythology“.
Egyptian Pharaohs kings at that time were already keen since ancient times to participate in all of these rituals, and this was done to confirm their belonging to the existence of a lineage of this god, and then at the same time to strengthen their grip on power in ancient Egypt “Ancient Egyptian Government“.
It is also wonderful to mention that the second pylon in that ancient temple leads to the presence of a corridor that led on its way to the scope of the inner sanctuary area of King Isis.».
This sanctuary also takes you to a staircase in the western side, which leads to a number of rooms, all of which belong to God Osiris..
Temple of Isis is the largest monument
In fact, the ancient Temple of Isis is one of the largest, most massive, and most important historical monuments that are located within a large group of the most important ancient temples that were built over the area of the sacred island of Agilika Philae..
This temple currently occupies a very large area, which amounts to approximately a quarter of the area of Agilika Island.
Also located next to it, a few metres away, was the private cabin of King Nectanebo I..
There were also two rows of columns that at that time dated back to the Roman era..
The island of Aegilkia also includes a small group of Greek and Roman temples, in addition to the temple of King Imhotep, which dates back to the Ptolemaic era..
Not only this, but all of this is in addition to the presence of the Temple of King Hathor and the private cabin of Trajan, which is that large and unique building that Emperor Trajan built in ancient times to worship the goddess Isis..
Note: Facts and secrets of the history will be added soon…
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