The Nile · Aswan
Aswan High Dam
The High Dam on the Nile at Aswan, one of Egypt's great twentieth-century projects, with Lake Nasser behind it and the Egyptian-Soviet Friendship Monument overlooking the view.
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The story
Work on the High Dam began on 9 January 1960, with Soviet technical and financial support. The body of the dam was completed in mid-1970 and it was formally inaugurated in January 1971. It stands about 111 m high and roughly 980 m wide at its base. The dam ended the Nile's destructive annual floods, stores the river's water in Lake Nasser and generates electricity at its power station. The rising lake threatened the temples of Nubia, which prompted a UNESCO-led international campaign from 1960 to 1980 that saved Abu Simbel, Philae and other monuments. Today visitors come to see the dam, the lake and the lotus-shaped friendship memorial.
Good to know
- Construction of the High Dam began on 9 January 1960, and it was formally inaugurated in January 1971.
- The dam is about 111 m high and roughly 980 m wide at its base.
- Lake Nasser, one of the world's largest man-made lakes, formed behind it, and part of it reaches into Sudan.
- The UNESCO international campaign (1960 to 1980) saved the temples of Abu Simbel and Philae from the rising waters.
- An earlier dam built by the British in roughly the same area was inaugurated in 1902.
Visiting tips
A visit usually means stopping on the dam, looking over Lake Nasser and seeing the lotus-shaped Egyptian-Soviet Friendship Monument, and it is often combined with Philae Temple in one outing. Please check hours, ticket prices and photography rules before visiting, as they can change.