Lake Nasser is a massive freshwater lake about 350 miles (550 kilometres) south of Aswan and runs across Egypt’s southern border into northern Sudan. It was created when the Aswan High Dam was built in the 1960s.
The British colonial government built a smaller dam in 1902, but it turned out to be too small to control the river’s flow. After the Free Officers Revolution in 1954, President Gamal Abdel Nasser initiated an effective plan to improve Egypt’s infrastructure in 1960, and the Dam was built as part of this plan.
The Dam was supposed to make it easier for farmers to grow more crops, stop flooding in the Nile Valley, and give many villages in Egypt access to electricity.
From the outset, the Dam was controversial because rising lake waters forced more than 100,000 Nubians from their homes in Egypt and northern Sudan and threatened to flood many important monuments, including the temples at Abu Simbel.
No matter how much the High Dam project cost or how much it helped, the Dam is a remarkable feat of engineering, and the massive reservoir behind it is a unique body of water in Egypt’s arid south.
The vast waters of Lake Nasser helped start a new economy based on fishing and also aided the growth of tourism in southern Egypt. With international groups’ help, many monuments at risk of flooding have been moved to higher ground on the edge of the lake, where tourists can now easily reach them by boat.
Although the expulsion of the Nubian people remains a controversial political issue, many now live in and around Aswan, where they earn enough money from tourism to keep their unique culture alive.
Lake Nasser is an excellent place to start a trip to the south. People from southern Aswan take cruise ships on Lake Nasser of the Nile to see the monuments on its shores, such as the Philae Temple, Abu Simbel, Kalabsha Temple, Qasr Ibrim, and others.
The lake is the only place in Egypt where you can still see the famous Nile crocodile, whose population was wiped out under the Dam. The stunningly beautiful desert scenery along the banks of the lake is a great place to take in the view during a multi-day cruise through the ancient sites of Nubia.
Activities and places that you can visit in Lake Nasser:
Kalabsha Temple:
The High Dam can be seen from the Kalabsha Temple, often the first stop on a Lake Nasser cruise. After the Dam was built 30 miles to the south, it was moved here from where it had been before.
The temple was built at the end of the Ptolemaic dynasty but was not finished until Augustus took charge of Rome. The result is an exciting mix of Egyptian and Roman-themed images, including depictions of Roman emperors and pharaohs worshipping Egyptian gods. The temple was built for the god Mandulis by the Nubians.
It has a large tower connected to the rest of the building by a wall, which closes the space. On the roof is a staircase leading to a great view of the lake and the High Dam.
Amada Temple:
Amada Temple is the oldest building around Lake Nasser, about 180 kilometres (110 miles) south of the High Dam. The temple was built during the eighteenth dynasty of the New Kingdom and was built about 200 years before Ramses II and Abu Simbel. But inside is the sign of Ramesses and his son Merneptah, which characterizes the great Egyptian pharaoh.
Qasr Ibrim:
In the middle of Lake Nasser is a rocky island, and this is the only landmark around the lake that remains in the same spot. Qasr Ibrim used to protect a busy city, but now most of the ruins are submerged due to the lake. During the Middle Ages, this place became more critical, so the most interesting ruins on the island are the remains of a large cathedral that used to be here. People lived in the area until the mid-nineteenth century when it began to collapse.
Fishing in Lake Nasser:
Since the Dam’s construction, Lake Nasser’s waters have become a new tourist attraction. Because of the lake’s depth and size, some of the fish that live in the Nile have been able to thrive and grow to enormous heights.
Because of this, there is a growing sport fishing industry where people can catch some of the largest freshwater fish in the world. Anglers can go on day trips with outfitters, but longer trips are more popular because they allow boats to reach remote places where they can fish on their own. Both small boats and the beach can be used for fishing.
Abu Simbel Temple:
Abu Simbel has two temples: the Great Temple of Ramesses II and the Small Temple of his great royal wife, Nefertari. Both were hewn from the solid mountain rock. Ramesses II decided to build temples 280 kilometres south of Aswan. A frieze of baboons is atop the temple front, and the cliff face has been cut down to look like a tower.
It reaches a height of 32 meters, 35 meters wide at the bottom and 32 meters wide at the top. Four seated statues of a young Ramesses II stand in front of the building. It is about 20 meters high and is believed to be about the same size as the giant broken granite statue at the Ramesseum. Nefertiti, whose name means “beautiful companion,” was the first wife of Ramesses II and the one he loved the most. Her temple in Abu Simbel, which is of Nefertari and the goddess Hathor, located north of the Great Temple of Ramesses II, shows her images.
