The building of the High Dam, south of Aswan, Egypt

"The High Dam was constructed between 1960 and 1971, 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 working on "The Nile" project and traveled to Africa from March 14, 1961 to March 31, 1961, visiting Egypt.