FAMINE STELE ("LOHIT EL MAGA'A")
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At the top of this hill of granite blocks where hieroglyphics and pharaonic drawings can still be seen very clearly, a stele tells of a particularly difficult episode in the reign of Djeser (3rd dynasty) in the year 19. On this rock, recognizable by the fault that crosses it in the middle from left to right, about 40 lines of hieroglyphs evoke the terrible drought that had been raging for seven years to the despair of the king and the population. Here is an excerpt: "I was in sorrow on my throne.... My heart was in such great sorrow because the Nile had not come in time for seven years. The grain was scarce, the seeds were dried up, all we had to eat was in meager quantity. "The priests believe that the angry god Khnum, who is holding back the waters of the Nile, is responsible. To appease him, Djeser is seen making offerings to the god. The scriptures detail the dream of the most important priest of the kingdom in which the deity appears and promises the return of the water. The next day, the king passes a decree to renovate the temple of Khnum on Elephantine Island and to furnish it more regularly with offerings.
Panorama of the old dam. Climbing on this rocky hill (forget the flip-flops, by the way) also gives a better understanding of what the Nile and Nubia looked like before the Aswan dam wanted by Nasser. The first flat island just in front of it was then under water.
