jjares reviewed Elephantine Island and Aswan: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Egyptian Sites on + 3278 more book reviews
Elephantine was an island that stood at the border between Egypt and Nubia. Elephantine began as a fort and marked the southern edge of Egypt. It started as an independent city and one of the oldest urban areas in Egypt. According to Egyptian religion, Khnum, the ram-headed god of cataracts, guarded and controlled the waters of the Nile from caves beneath the island.
Aswan, near Elephantine, was a strategic gateway to the south. It provided granite used for obelisks and sculptures. The exciting part of this book is the story about how Egypt (and others) moved temples and essential statuary before the construction of the second Aswan Dam began. I wasn't aware there were two dams. The Lower Dam was so successful that the government decided to make another, some distance from the first. The call went out worldwide to help Egypt save as many of its relics and temples as possible. UNESCO supervised the program. It is interesting to see what countries received relics because of their significant donations to the reclamation of Egyptian antiquities.
Unfortunately, I listened to this production instead of reading it. That is a problem when the photos and maps (in the visual copy) might have helped explain some complex ideas. I found the latter part of the program to be the more exciting section of the book. Overall score = 3.5 stars.
Aswan, near Elephantine, was a strategic gateway to the south. It provided granite used for obelisks and sculptures. The exciting part of this book is the story about how Egypt (and others) moved temples and essential statuary before the construction of the second Aswan Dam began. I wasn't aware there were two dams. The Lower Dam was so successful that the government decided to make another, some distance from the first. The call went out worldwide to help Egypt save as many of its relics and temples as possible. UNESCO supervised the program. It is interesting to see what countries received relics because of their significant donations to the reclamation of Egyptian antiquities.
Unfortunately, I listened to this production instead of reading it. That is a problem when the photos and maps (in the visual copy) might have helped explain some complex ideas. I found the latter part of the program to be the more exciting section of the book. Overall score = 3.5 stars.
