Kalabsha Temple — Attraction in Aswan

Kalabsha Temple, also known as the Temple of Kalabsha, is an ancient Egyptian temple located on the western shore of Lake Nasser, near Aswan. It was originally situated at the site of Talmis in Lower Nubia but was relocated in the 1960s to its current location to save it from submersion due to the construction of the Aswan High Dam.

Key features of Kalabsha Temple include:

Dedication to Mandulis: The temple is primarily dedicated to the Nubian sun god Mandulis. Mandulis is often represented as a combination of a human and a lion.

Construction Period: Kalabsha Temple was constructed during the reign of Roman Emperor Augustus (30 BCE - 14 CE) and continued under subsequent Roman emperors, including Tiberius and Nero. It represents a blend of Egyptian and Roman architectural styles.

Main Structures: The main structures of the temple include a large courtyard, a hypostyle hall with columns, and a sanctuary. The temple's pylons and reliefs depict scenes of various Roman emperors making offerings to the deities.

Relocation: As part of the UNESCO Nubia Campaign, Kalabsha Temple was dismantled and moved to its present location on the shores of Lake Nasser. This effort aimed to preserve important archaeological sites threatened by the rising waters caused by the construction of the Aswan High Dam.

Kalabsha Temple stands as a testament to the collaborative efforts to rescue and preserve ancient monuments during a significant period of modern development...

We loved this island. However be aware of the setup. The scam is effectively for a very expensive return boat trip. We drove into the place marked Kalabsha embarking area, parked, then walked down past the police box with a policeman that pointed us further down the path. At this point the scammer intercepted us and said we need a military permit. Initially he wanted 10usd per person. Fortunately a man turned up who had a boat who helped convince him to let us go for 5usd per person. We ended up paying 5 dollars per person for boat and 5 dollars for the bribe/permit) and encouraged the crook (dressed in fake military colr) to take the money. We paid 500 egp per person for the boat return which is 2 to 3 times as much as paid in previous years. Bribes for historical monuments is a sad state of affairs for Egypt but the site is really wonderful. Upon entry to the site, You pay (legimately) 240egp per person to enter the site once on the island as per online guide and is fair play. The tourism ministry told us to ring the tourist police on 126 but for 10 usd decided it was not worth it. To clarify - this permit absolutely is a scam. See if you can find another port or a guide with a boat. We saw one other guide here, and The steinberger...

We boarded our own boat, no one else around, and had the temple and island to ourselves and the guardians, who seemed delighted someone had remembered them!
The temple was moved from destruction by the building of the high dam and subsequent flooding of the valley to form Lake Nasser, an incredible feat in itself. The temple itself is small, and decor unfinished, in nubianstyle, but still fascinating to see. Walking the granite walkway to an adjoining island is the temple of Ramses II, a very small and compact temple with reliefs which still retain their colour but are quite rudimentary in style and ere are a couple of monuments around the temple which were saved at the same time which make interesting viewing, while the sun was hot there was a refreshingly cool breeze all around the island, and no humidity which draws the...