Temple of Kalabsha Features:
The imposing temple of Kalabsha was built under Emperor Augustus in the 1st century AD on the site of earlier buildings by Amenhotep II and Ptolemy IX.
Dedicated to the fertility god Marul (known as Mandulis by the Greeks), it was moved 50 km (31 miles) north of its original location in 1970 in a German-funded rescue operation following the flooding of Nubia.
The temple now dominates a stretch of Lake Nasser’s shore, just west of the High Dam.
The land here often forms an island due to the changing water levels.
From the water’s edge, an imposing causeway leads to the temple’s first pylon, beyond which there is a colonnaded court. The roofless hypostyle hall is noted for its ornate column capitals and its reliefs, which include Amenhotep offering wine to Marul.
Moved at the same time as Kalabsha Temple, the battered remains of the Roman Kiosk of Qertassi lie to the northwest. Two Hathor-headed columns mark the entrance to this small kiosk, which commands fine views of Lake Nasser.
The nearby Temple of Beit al-Wali, also relocated from Nubia, was built during the reign of Ramses II. Its walls depict Ramses’s great battles, notably against the Nubians.
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