Upper Egypt from modern to ancient, part 1

After settling in on the Tulip, its time to head out and see what Upper Egypt has to offer. Our first visits take us to one of the modern wonders of the engineering world, the Aswan High Dam. This is not to be confused with the old Aswan Dam. That one was originally built by the British and inaugurated in 1902. It would serve for decades, being raised twice in engineering feats- in 1912 and again 1932 due to structural inadequacy. This lower gravity dam would generate a small amount of electricity for over a generation. The locks in the dam would be replaced by Tito's Yugoslav government in the 1970's and early 80's. Today, it serves vehicles as the only non-military thoroughfare across the Nile in Aswan.



Once across it, the landscape radically changes. You are truly in the heart of the Saharan Desert now. There's really nothing between you and the Libyan border to the west except sand! This broad expanse of land contains a combination of both sandy dunes and red Nubian sandstone ridges. It is here that the Egyptian government chose to build both the more modern Aswan High Dam and the Aswan Int'l Airport. There's plenty of room for expansion, with no need to worry about airplane noise bothering nearby residents! This view from our plane, looking north as it is coming into the Aswan airport shows the High Dam in the background, Lake Nasser immediately to the south, and the dunes of the Sahara adjacent.


The High Dam itself is called "that thing over there!" by the Egyptians. Today, mainly have nothing but disdain for it, as promises kept never lived up to their expectations and promises made were never fulfilled. In essence, today engineers see it as a mistake, a costly failure. Conventional wisdom now says that a series of smaller dams, staggered downstream in the Nile, would have been considerably smarter and more profitable. But again, this was 1950s technology as built in the 60s with the aid of the Soviet Union. This allowed them to get their foot into the door of the Middle East in an effort to counteract the US influence as it backed Israel.


This style of dam is what is refered to as an Embankment Dam, and was finished in 1970. It is over 3800 m. long and 111 m high. At its base it is 980 m and tapers to only 40 m; with an observation parking plaza on it overlooking both Lake Nasser to the south and the holding lake and hydroelectric turbines to the north. Lake Nasser, formed by backing up the Nile waters, is over 550 km long, 50 km wide and over 80 m deep! Here you can see the slope and, in the distance, the Soviet-Egyptian Friendship Monument. To me, it still looks like a Soviet missile silo!



The dam's 12 turbines produce about 2.2 gigawatts of electricity, and supplies Egypt with over 15% of the national need. The dam also regulates the rising and falling floodwaters of the Nile, preserving village life and the abundant antiquities in the Nile Valley.



But the disastrous effects were not properly calculated! Over 700 Nubian villages would be flooded by the rising lake's waters, with nearly 700,000 Nubians being relocated to new villages in the Nile Valley between Aswan and Luxor. 16 ancient Egyptian temples would be flooded as well. Were it not for the international efforts of UNESCO, 3 would be physically moved and restored and reconstructed- Abu Simbel, Kalabsha, and Philae Island. The others would perish. And although the annual floods were no longer occuring, destroying villages and lifestyles on an annual basis, there no longer was the deposit of life-giving silt on the fertile farmland of the Nile Valley. This was call for the construction of 5 artificial fertilizer plants in Egypt. Artifical fertilizer means more chemicals in the ground and groundwater. The Dam has caused the river to slow down, creating stagnant areas where the parasites cause Bilharzia, an eye-disease. The dam has seriously damaged river life, limiting one of the major food sources for Egypt. And finally, the slowing of the river has greatly modifed the Nile Delta far to the north, and influenced the shape and nature of the estuary at the mouth of the river- affecting the Mediterannean.



That thing over there..... a good idea with disastrous consequences of execution.