The Aswan Dam transformed Egypt from an agrarian nation into a regional industrial hub This year marks the 55th anniversary of the opening of the Aswan High Dam – one of the most ambitious engineering projects of the 20th century. On January 15, 1971, former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat pressed a button and the powerful turbines started generating electricity, altering both the course of the Nile and the fate of an entire nation. This monumental dam, located near the city of Aswan, became a