Qasr Ibrim

Qasr Ibrim stood on a high bluff above the Nile and was therefore the one major site in Lower Nubia that the rising lake did not drown, so it was never moved, and as the water came up it became an island. That makes it the only Nubian monument still on its original ground. The site has an extraordinarily long occupation, from around the eighth century BC through Kushite, Roman, Christian and Islamic phases into the nineteenth century, with a cathedral of the eighth century, temples, fortifications and houses. Because the ground was always dry, organic material survived in quantity: textiles, leather, basketry and manuscripts in several languages. Excavation continues, and public landing is not permitted, so cruise boats slow and pass close for the view.

History

Qasr Ibrim was occupied from as early as the eighth century BC until AD 1813, when its last occupants were driven out by artillery fire. The earliest inscription found here is a stela from the reign of Amenhotep I, later reused in a crypt of the cathedral and now in the British Museum. The site was partly rebuilt under the prefect Gaius Petronius in the reign of Augustus, and the Romans held its strong fortress until about AD 100 or later. It remained one of the last bastions of paganism, its six temples turning to Christianity two centuries after the rest of Egypt, and it became a Christian centre after joining the kingdom of Makuria in the early 8th century; the Taharqa Church was most likely built between 542 and 580, and the cathedral is thought to date from the first half of the eighth century. In the Middle Ages it was the seat of the Eparch of Nobatia, and it has yielded the largest collection of Old Nubian documents ever found. Timothy, the last known Nubian bishop of Faras, lived and was buried here around 1375, and in the 16th century a unit of Bosnian soldiers of the Ottoman army occupied the site, married into the Nubian community and used part of the cathedral as a mosque. Excavation began in 1911 under David Randall-MacIver and Leonard Woolley and was taken up by the Egypt Exploration Society in 1963, and the dry climate has preserved textiles, leather, plant remains and documents in rare quantity; the island is now closed to all but archaeologists (Wikipedia, Qasr Ibrim).

What's there

• A site never relocated - the only Nubian monument still where it was built.
• The Christian cathedral - eighth-century walls on the bluff.
• Layered fortifications - Kushite through Ottoman defences on one hill.
• An island created by the lake - the bluff surrounded by water.

When to go

October to April, as part of a Lake Nasser cruise. Boats pass in the morning or late afternoon depending on the itinerary. One hour of viewing from the water; there is no landing.

Good to know

You cannot go ashore: the site is an active excavation and closed to visitors, so this is a distant view from a boat. Detail is limited without binoculars. Some itineraries pass at speed. It is a place to understand rather than to visit.

Nearby

Abu Simbel is further south; Amada lies north along the lake.

Key facts