Kalabsha Temple is one of the best things to see in Aswan; known as the most beautiful city on the Nile River because it has been everyone’s favorite place to spend winters since the 19th century.
Who built the Kalabsha temple?
The Kalabsha Temple was built by the Romans and was where the Nubian god Mandulis was worshiped. It was built during the reign of the Roman Emperor Augustus. Subsequent emperors, such as Caligula and Traian, also helped build it. It was built on a much older site, dating back to the 18th Dynasty and possibly to King Thutmose and Amenhotep II. People believe this temple is one of the most complete in Nubia.
Description of Kalabsha Temple:
Kalabsha is one of the most important temples in Aswan because of its history on its walls, inscriptions, and beautiful drawings in it. The Kalbsha temple consists of towers, a courtyard, a portico, three rooms, and an edifice, but it is far from the center, so the courtyard behind it looks like a trapezoid. It was built on the site of a building that Ptolemy IX had built before, as shown in the chapel. On the island of Elephantine in Kalabsha, there is also a chapel and a gate. Gate built by Augustus is preserved in the Egyptian Museum in West Berlin.
There were columns on three sides of the courtyard within the edifice. Each end has a set of stairs leading to the edifice’s upper floors, where you can get a good view of Lake Nassar. On the right is a covered wall separating the nave from the narthex. This is an engraving by Aurelius Bessarion, governor of Ompus and Elephantine, around 249 AD. He ordered all pigs to be removed from the city for religious reasons. King Kharamadoy’s text is written on a pillar here. It is one of the longest Meroitic inscriptions found so far.
On one of the end walls, people believe there is writing about the Nubian king Silko in the 5th century, who overcame the fierce Blemmyean Nubians. Several sittings were on the walls, including one with the king, Horus, and Thoth. At the back of the antechamber are scenes of the Ptolemaic king making offerings to Isis and Mandulis. Amenhotep II, who built the original temple (1450-1425 BC) on which this temple was built, also served Min wine and mandolin. If you go to Aswan, don’t miss the Kalabsha Temple.