Kalabsha Temple Near Aswan

The Temple of Kalabsha is of Nubian origins and was completely relocated in order to save it from being flooded. 

Location:

Not far from Aswan and located near to the High dam next to Lake Nasser, it can be easily accessed by road and also by Lake Nasser Cruise Boats. 

History:

The hulking Temple of Kalabsha broods beside Lake Nasser near the western end of the High Dam, marooned on an island or strung out on a promontory,depending on the water level. Between the site and the dam lies a graveyard of boats and fishy remains, enhancing its mood of desolation. The main Temple originally came from Talmis (later known as Kalabsha), 50 km to the south of Aswan; in a German-financed operation, it was cut into 13,000 blocks and reassembled here in 1970, together with other monuments from Nubia. Strictly speaking, “Kalabsha” refers to the original site rather than the temple itself, which is named after the god Mandulis, and has no historic connection with two smaller monuments in the vicinity, relocated here from other sites in Nubia.

The ancient Egyptian temple of Kalabsha is the largest free-standing temple of Lower Egyptian Nubia located about 50 km south of Aswan and built of sandstone masonry.

While the temple was constructed in Augustus’s reign, it was never finished. The temple dates back to the Roman Emperor Augustus, 30 BC. It was originally constructed over an earlier sanctuary of Amenhotep II. The temple was dedicated to the Nubian fertility and solar deity known as Mandulis.

The design of the temple is classical for the Ptolemaic period, with a pylon, courtyard, hypostyle hall and a three-room sanctuary. On the edge of the river is a cult terrace or quay, from which a paved causeway leads to the 34 m broad pylon, which is slightly at an angle to the axis of the temple. The pylon gateway gives entrance to an open court, which is surrounded by colonnades along three of its sides. Beyond this court lies the pronaos, in which eight columns are placed. Behind the pronaos follows the naos, consisting of the Hall of the Ennead, the Offering Hall and the Sanctuary.

The pylon is offset, which creates a trapezoid in the courtyard beyond. The original overall height of the pylon was probably 16.25m. The courtyard just inside the pylon once had columns on three sides. At either end is a staircase that leads to the upper stories of the pylon. The gateway of the temple is 9.70 meters high, on top of which there are inscriptions of the disk of the sun as well as scenes of the king giving sacrifices and praying. The small rooms in the surrounding wall were used for storage. There is also a nilometer, which was used to collect sacred water for the gods.

Several historical records were inscribed on the temple walls of Kalabsha such as a long inscription carved by the Roman Governor Aurelius Besarion in AD 250, forbidding pigs in the temple as well as an inscription of the Nubian king Silko, carved during the 5th century AD and recording his victory over the Blemmyes and a picture of him dressed as a Roman soldier on horseback. Silko was the Christian king of the Nubian kingdom of Nobatia. When Christianity was introduced to Egypt, the temple was finally used as a church.

 The historical sites have actually faced the threats of drowning under the water of the River Nile three times before the contraction of the High Dam. This was back in the years 1902, 1912, and 1932. However, after the construction of the High Dam, it became clear that the level of the water would be increasing largely. This was why Egypt had the initiative to call UNESCO to have an international call to rescue these monuments. UNESCO has commissioned a number of international experts to prepare a report concerning the feasibility of relocating the monument of Nubia. In 1960, UNESCO announced an important call to all the countries in the world, for the first time in history, to participate in this huge project that faced many obstacles and hardships.