Building of the High Dam at Aswan. Aswan Lake, Egypt

"The High Dam was constructed between 1960 and 1972, six and a half kilometers south of Aswan. Seventeen million cubic meters of rock were excavated, and 42,700,000 cubic meters of material were used in the construction of a virtual mountain of earth and rock over a cement and clay core. The crest of the dam runs for 520 meters across the river. Two wings extend on both banks so that the total length of the dam structure is 3,830 meters. The diversion canal, through which the water of the Nile now flows through six tunnels dug in the rocks beneath the right wing of the dam, is 1,950 meters long. The labor of 30,000 men working in shifts day and night for ten years under the supervision of 2,000 technicians was needed to block the flow of the Nile." [Kamil Jill, 1993: Aswan and Abu Simbel, History and Guide. The American University in Cairo Press]. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for American Institute of Architects, directing the Egyptian portion of the documentary on Ancient Egypt, March 1965 and September 1965.