Agilkia Island (Philae Temple, Egypt)

Agilkia Island (aka Agilika Island) is a Nile River cruise port destination located inside the Old Aswan Dam (along the river) and is the site of the Ancient Egyptian Philae temple complex. In 1902, the entire temple complex on Philae Island (downstream of Lake Nasser) was dismantled and relocated to Agilkia due to the flooding of this area to form the reservoir of the Aswan High Dam (1960-70).

A total of 22 Ancient Egyption monuments and architectural sites were threatened by the flooding from Lake Nasser. To preserve them was launched the UNESCO Nubia Campaign. By this grandious project were moved the Abu Simbel temples, Philae temples (Philae Island), Kalabsha temples and the Amada Temple (Nubia's oldest). Also dismantled and relocated were Debod Temple (15 km south of Aswan, moved to Madrid Spain), Dendur Temple (given to NYC's Metropolitan Museum of Art), Taffeh Temple (given to Leiden Holland's Rijksmuseum van Oudheden) and Ellesyia Temple (near Qasr Ibrim, given to Turin Italy's Museo Egizio).