Kalabsha Temple

Kalabsha was built in the reign of Augustus for the Nubian god Mandulis on a site fifty kilometres upriver, and it is the largest freestanding temple of Lower Nubia, with a pylon, courtyard, hypostyle hall and sanctuary in a plan that follows the Egyptian model closely. It was dismantled into some thirteen thousand blocks in the 1960s and rebuilt on an island near the High Dam, where three other rescued monuments now stand with it: the delicate kiosk of Qertassi with its Hathor columns, the rock-cut temple of Beit el-Wali carved for Ramesses II with painted battle reliefs, and a group of relocated rock inscriptions. The island receives very few visitors because it needs a separate boat, which makes it one of the quieter Nubian sites.

History

The temple of Mandulis, a Lower Nubian sun god, was built around 30 BC in the reign of Augustus over an earlier sanctuary of Amenhotep II at Bab al-Kalabsha, about 50 kilometres south of Aswan, and was never finished; its walls carry an inscription of the Roman governor Aurelius Besarion of AD 250 forbidding pigs in the temple and one of the 5th-century Nubian king Silko recording his victory over the Blemmyes, and in Christian times it served as a church. When the Aswan High Dam threatened to flood Lower Nubia, West Germany chose to fund and organise the move of Kalabsha itself after UNESCO launched its campaign on 8 March 1960, and the work, carried out by Hochtief with German archaeologists, took two years; the temple was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1979 with Abu Simbel and the other Nubian monuments (Wikipedia, Temple of Kalabsha).

The main sights

• The temple of Mandulis - the largest freestanding temple of Lower Nubia.
• Beit el-Wali - Ramesses II's rock-cut temple with painted reliefs.
• The kiosk of Qertassi - a small columned pavilion with Hathor capitals.
• The relocation itself - thirteen thousand numbered blocks rebuilt.

When to go

October to April. Two hours including the crossing. Mornings for the light and the cooler stone. It is almost always empty because it is skipped by most itineraries.

Before you go

Reaching it means hiring a boat at the landing near the dam and negotiating a price and a wait, which puts many people off. There is no shade on the island. Beit el-Wali is small and dim. Signage is minimal.

Nearby

The High Dam is immediately north; Philae temple lies between the two dams.

Key facts