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South of the city of Aswan lies the beautiful temple complex of Philae
(pronounced "feel-i"). Its main temple was dedicated to the goddess Isis and
its construction was undertaken during the third century B.C.
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The island of Philae and its temples came under threat when the British built
the Aswan Dam at the First Cataract. Philae began to spend some of its time
beneath the backed-up flood waters of the Nile. The Dam was progressively
raised in the following decades, but with the construction of the Aswan High
Dam in the 1960s. The temples were certain to disappear forever beneath the
river's waters.
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Fortunately, Philae was saved from drowning. In 1977, a safe dam was
constructed around the temples and the water was pumped out. Then the temples
were carefully moved to a nearby higher island called Agilkai which was
modified to resemble Philae. In 1980, Philae was once again opened to the
public.
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