Kalabsha Temple in Aswan

Kalabsha Temple is the second-largest Nubian temple in Aswan. It was built to worship the Nubian sun god. It is considered one of the tourist attractions in Aswan that you can visit through the Nile cruises.

• 2021-06-05
• Mirna
• Egypt Tours Guide

Kalabsha Temple in Aswan

New Kalabsha or Kalabsha el-Gadida (also Kalabsha (h), Kalabshe (h), Kalabchah, Arabic: كلابشة الجديدة, Kalābscha al-ǧadīda) or New-Aswan or Aswan el-Gadida (Arabic: اسوان الجديدة, Aswān al-ǧadīda) is an island with an archaeological site near the western shore of Lake Nasser in Egypt, about 9 kilometers south of the Aswan High Dam. Here the temples of Kalābscha and Beit el-Wālī, the kiosk of Qirtāsī and the chapel of Dedun were rebuilt because they would have been flooded by the water of Lake Nasser in their original locations. The pharaonic monuments on Lake Nasser are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. experience now our Egypt day tours offers

By car and boat

New Kalabsha has no road access.

The visit to New Kalabsha / New Aswan can be combined with that of the Aswan High Dam, from which the Mandulis Temple is already visible. Take a taxi along the airport road over the high dam, past the 1 high dam monument and a 1 canned fish factory, to the 2 jetty to New Kalabsha / New Aswan. The island of New Kalābscha can be reached via the 3 landing stage and another 4 landing stages located to the south on the east side of the island.

There is a 5 parking lot north of the Hochdamm monument. Motorboats can be used to reach the archaeological site. Dealing with the skippers is difficult, is certainly sufficient for the crossing and a one-hour stay. One hour is sufficient for an overview visit. If you want to visit more, you should expect two to three hours.

By train

Third-class trains run from Aswan to Hochdamm every hour. The 6th final stop is southeast of the high dam near the ferry port to Wadi Halfa. From here you have to try to hitchhike to the boat dock, which shouldn't be easy.

Cruise

You can also visit New Kalabsha via a cruise on Lake Nasser. This also makes it possible to visit all the monuments along with Lake Nasser.

Mobility

The area is manageable, all sites are within walking distance.

Mandulis Temple of Kalabsha

The 2 temples of Kalābscha Temple of Kalābscha in the encyclopedia Wikipedia Temple of Kalābscha in the media directory Wikimedia Commons, MaÊ¿bad Kalābscha, is dedicated to the sub-Nubian sun and fertility god Mandulis (also Merul), the local god equated with Horus. The temple was originally located about 50 km south of Aswan on the west bank of the Nile in Kalābscha (Arabic: كلابشة, the ancient (Greek) Talmis (old-Äg. Termes). Today's temple is a new building from the time of the Roman Emperor Augustus, who built his temple on the foundations of a temple to Ptolemy VII, who in turn built his temple on the site of a sanctuary from the 18th Dynasty. The temple is one of the most beautiful and largest in Nubia, even if its decoration remains unfinished. you can also check Philae Temple in Aswan

The 72 × 36 m sandstone temple consists of an open courtyard, the temple vestibule and three consecutive sanctuary rooms. The temple, which is entered in the east via a 32 m long driveway, is surrounded by a stone wall. There is a nilometer in the southwest part of the gallery. To the northwest of the temple is a small chapel from the time of Ptolemy ’IX, which was dedicated to the triad of Elephantine, Khnum, Satis and Anukis.

As you walk through the pylon, you can see the emperor Augustus in front of Horus on the right. The 14 m high, barely decorated pylon, which can be climbed via a staircase in its southern half, forms the eastern end of the forecourt with its colonnades with plant-capital columns originally on three sides. There are numerous undecorated rooms on the back of the colonnades.

The temple front is formed by barrier walls with plant capital columns. On the left, you can see Augustus being ritually cleansed by Thoth and Horus. On the opposite side, you can see destroyed people in front of Mandulis and Isis. Several inscriptions adorn the right side, such as an inscription by the local strategist Aurelius Besarion, in which he urges the local swineherd to drive their cattle from the temple, two dedicatory inscriptions, a Meroitic inscription by the Blemmyae king Kharamadeya and an inscription by the Christian king of Napata, Silko, who here praises his victory over the Blemmyes in Greek, which is in need of improvement. At the far right end, you can see the graffiti of a Christian prince on horseback.

The pillared vestibule, which today has no ceiling, is only decorated on the back. Shown in three registers on the left, a Ptolemaic king makes sacrifices to various deities such as Horus of Edfu, Mandulis, Hathor, Harpocrates, Isis and Osiris; in the second register, the founder of the temple, Amenhotep II, sacrifices wine to Min-Re and Mandulis. The depiction of the 'Three Young Men in the Fiery Furnace' naturally comes from Christian times. Also on the right side, you can see the king performing numerous sacrifices before numerous gods, here also before Amun, Thoth and Chons, in the top register you can see the king during the defeat of the enemy in front of Horus, Shu and Tefnut. On the lintel of the door, you can see Emperor Trajan in a double scene, as he sacrifices to Mandulis, Osiris and Isis.

In the following two vestibules and the sanctuary, one recognizes the king in numerous sacrifices before the local and other gods. In addition, in the first room, you can see the representation of the gods on the lower wall areas. A staircase on the left in the first vestibule leads to the temple roof. In the rear sanctuary, you can see on the back wall how the emperor sacrifices lotus flowers to Isis and Harpocrates or Mandulis and Buto (Wadjet). Further acts of sacrifice can be found on the remaining walls.

With the exception of the outer rear wall, the outside of the temple is not decorated. In a double scene it shows the sacrificing king in front of Isis, Horus and Mandulis or in front of Osiris, Isis and Horus.

With German help, the temple was relocated between 1961 and 1963 and was the first of the relocated monuments to be opened to the public in 1975. An earlier temple, which was found in its foundations when the temple of Kalabsha was moved, was rebuilt on the island of Elephantine near Aswan. The Ptolemaic gate of the temple was given to the Federal Republic of Germany as a gift. It is now on display in the Berlin Egyptian Museum.

Temple of Ramses ’II of Beit el-WālÄ«

If you go north around the Mandulis Temple, you will reach the 5 rock temple Ramses' II al-Wālī, "governor's house"), originally located between Qirtāsī and Kalābscha. The temple, which you enter in the east, is possibly dedicated to Amun-Re and consists of an elongated, 6 m wide and 12.5 m long vestibule, the lower part of which was carved out of the rock and closed with an adobe vault, the transverse pillared vestibule and the Sanctuary (Holy of Holies). The barrel vault, which is missing today, reveals the most historically valuable representations in the vestibule.

On the post to the vestibule, you can see Ramses II performing the cleaning ceremony, the reveals carry the cartouches of Ramses ’II.

Ramses II had his campaigns against the Nubians (southern wall) and against the Syrians (northern wall) depicted in the vestibule. In the fight against the Nubians, one recognizes Ramses II with his two sons Amun-her-enemef and Cha’emwaset in separate chariots as they drive over Nubians and drive Nubians in front of them. 

In front of the chariot, you can see the Nubian village under palm trees with its inhabitants at work and the capture of Nubians. In another scene, Ramses II receives the tribute of the Nubians in a pavilion. Among them is a Nubian woman who carries her children in a basket.

The battle against the Syrians on the north wall is depicted in five scenes: in the presence of high officials, a prince Amun-her-wenemef brings prisoners in front of Ramses II in the pavilion, Ramses II knocks down a Syrian, Ramses II rolls over with his Chariots drive the Syrians and others before him, Ramses II conquers a Syrian fortress and knocks the Syrians down.

The transverse hall adjoining it in the west shows Ramses II in front of numerous sacrifices, suppression and ritual act in front of Horus, Atum, Amun-Re, Hathor, Isis, Khnum, Anukis and Satis. In many cases, the representations still have their original paintwork. In the outer rear corners, you can see a group of statues: on the left side Ramses II. Sits between Horus and Isis, on the right side between Khnum and Anukis. The columns and architraves bear inscriptions with the royal names and associated epithets.

Also in the sanctuary, one finds Ramses II performing sacrificial and ritual acts, including how the young Ramses II is suckled by Anukis or Isis. The statue niche on the back wall is destroyed: we would certainly have found a group comparable to the one in the Great Temple of Abu Simbel and you'll find many tours to Abu Simbel via Aswan day tours