Famine Stela — Attraction in Aswan

Rocky area full of ancient egyptian carvings on the rocks, located in the rarely visited Sehel Island. To reach the island, you need to walk awhile, then you get a local boat to the island dock, then 5 minutes walk to the archeological site "Famine Stela." The Famine Stela is an inscription written in Egyptian hieroglyphs located on Sehel Island in the Nile near Aswan in Egypt, which tells of a seven-year period of drought and famine during the reign of pharaoh Djoser of the Third Dynasty. It is thought that the stele was inscribed during the Ptolemaic Kingdom, which ruled from 332 to 31 BC. The Famine Stela was inscribed into a natural granite block whose surface was cut into the rectangular shape of a stela. The inscription is written in hieroglyphs and contains 32 columns. The top part of the stele depicts three Egyptian deities: Khnum, Satis, and Anuket. In front of them, Djoser faces them, carrying offerings in his outstretched hands. A broad fissure, which already existed at the time of creating the stela, runs horizontally through the middle of the rock. Some sections of the stela are damaged, making a few passages of the...

If you're an archaeology need like me, take plenty of water, hire a falluca boat and make your way up to this hidden gem. It's peaceful, off the main tourist trail, and has stunning views when you clamber up to the top of the island where the stele is located. The first km or so is paved road; an easy walk, which I'd recommend over hiring a tuk tuk, as if you look left and right you'll see new kingdom carvings on the rocks behind the fences. The entry fee is now 60 pounds (and the guide will want a tip of course!) and the climb is moderately steep in places. There are plenty of new kingdom inscriptions on the rock opposite the ticket hut and all the way up to the famine stele. I noticed Ramses II and Merenptah, but there were plenty of others. (There are none on the way back.) The stele itself is a fascinating piece; it tells a story about Djoser (3rd dynasty king who built the step pyramid in Saqqara) ending a seven year famine by fixing up the neglected temple to the god who controlled the flooding of the river. It was written in about 200 bc, so 2,400 years or so later. That would be like us dedicating a mural to...

It’s a remote location on the top of a rocky hill over the island, the scripts tells of a seven-year period of drought and famine during the reign of pharaoh Djoser of the Third Dynasty. It is thought that the stele was inscribed during the Ptolemaic Kingdom, which ruled from 332 to 31 BC. However the place is has no services and it’s almost deserted except of couple of old guides and few women selling some hand...