This outstanding archaeological area contains such magnificent monuments as the Temples of Ramses II at Abu Simbel and the Sanctuary of Isis at Philae, which were saved from the rising waters of the Nile thanks to the International Campaign launched by UNESCO, in 1960 to 1980.

Brief synthesis The Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae lie in the Governorate of Aswan. It is a serial property of ten component parts covering 374.48 ha: Abu Simbel, Amada, Wadi Sebua, Kalabsha, Philae (Island of Agilkia), Old and Middle Kingdom Tombs, Ruins of town of Elephantine, Stone quarries and obelisk, Monastery of St. Simeon, and the Islamic Cemetery. The first five component parts contain temples moved during the UNESCO International Campaign from 1960 to 1980 to save them from flooding by the Nile and Lake Nasser because they were recognised as internationally significant by the international community. The remaining five cover antiquities of the Aswan area. This stretch of the Nile from Aswan in the north to the Sudanese border in the south is an archaeological haven. Home to temples ranging from the New Kingdom to the Ptolemaic and Roman periods, as well as early Coptic sites and villages, the region’s monuments represent the breadth of Nubian cultural articulations, and the various influences shaping the culture over time. Aswan, north of the first cataract, was the border town of ancient Egypt, an essential strategic point in ancient Egypt, and base for Egyptian activities to the south, whether trade or military raids. From prehistoric times onwards, expeditions were mounted to dominate Nubia. In each of the great periods of Egyptian history, there was, if only partially, a seizure of Nubia, which became a natural annex to the Kingdom and later a colony whose fiscal and commercial income was transferred to Aswan. The monuments of the property include exceptional architecture, such as the Great Temple at Abu Simbel, carved out of an escarpment of solid rock. Its design and layout allow rays of the sun to penetrate to the innermost chamber twice annually on the equinoxes. Philae above the first cataract was the great Ptolemaic sanctuary of the goddess Isis - renowned since Greco-Roman antiquity for its temples and their annexes. The final…