Private Tour: Kalabsha Temple on Lake Nasser

Aswan, Egypt

For two years from 1961, Kalabsha Temple was dismantled into 15,000 pieces and moved block by block to its current location on the banks of Lake Nasser. It was just one of 18 temples and monuments moved in order to preserve them from the rising Nile waters created by the construction of Aswan's High Dam. The temple which is dedicated to the Egyptian god Horus and the Nubian god Mandulis, was originally built just after the Ptolemy period, the era after Alexander the Great's death (323BC).

The facade of the temple is undecorated suggesting it was never finish by its original builder, the Roman emperor Octavius Augustus. Despite being unfinished, Kalabsha Temple is considered the most complete, and largest free-standing temple in Nubia. The inner walls feature Egyptian artwork including a carving of St George slaying a dragon and Coptic crosses, showing the influence of Christians who used the temple as a church during the Roman persecution. Another piece of artwork which is a feature of the temple is a carving declaring the prohibition of eating pork which is carved in Meroitic. This language remains a mystery to Egyptologists today, with its origin still unknown.

Your private tour from Aswan includes a qualified Egyptologist guide, entrance fees and transportation from your Aswan hotel.

Review by:   William Z,    July 2010
Great morning tour out on Lake Nasser. Kalabsha, plus other temples on the island, were a welcome addition to our journey and a great ending to our Egyptian adventure, showing us the Greco-Roman as well as Egyptian style in Nubia.

Review by:   William Z,    April 2009
Great morning tour out on Lake Nasser. Kalabsha, plus other temples on the island, were a welcome addition to our journey and a great ending to our Egyptian adventure, showing us the Greco-Roman as well as Egyptian style in Nubia.