Sehel Island Sehel Island Sehel Island is located in the Nile, about southwest of Aswan in southern Egypt. It is a large island, and is roughly halfway between the city and the upstream Aswan Low Dam. Sehel Island, spanning 3/4 the width of the Nile, is the primary large island below the Nile's First Cataract and the Aswan Low Dam (1902). Following downriver, the next major islands after Sehel are: Saluga, Ambunarti, Elephantine, and then Kitchener's Island. There are a dozen smaller islands scattered around them. The island was known in ancient tiles as "Setet", and there are many archaeological sites, including
Aswan Dam to fund construction of the High Dam. When the Suez War broke out, the United Kingdom, France, and Israel seized the canal and the Sinai, but pressure from the U.S. and the USSR at the United Nations and elsewhere forced them to withdraw. In 1958, the USSR went ahead in providing support for the High Dam project. In the 1950s, archaeologists began raising concerns that several major historical sites, including the famous temple of Abu Simbel were about to be under water. A rescue operation began in 1960 under UNESCO (for details see below under Effects). The Soviets also provided