The New Kalabasha is on a promontory -now an island- south
of the High Dam directly
on Lake Nasser.
The building of the High Dam endangered Nubian
temples in their original sites and if left unmoved, the monuments
would have been lost under the waters of the artificial reservoir.
As a result some of these monuments were relocated to this
site.
The main attraction of the site, the Kalabsha
temple, was moved to the current location overlooking
the Nasser Lake from its original place at Talmis (Kalabsha).
A then West-German expedition team carried out the saving
operation and the transference of the temple in the 1960s
to their new site following an appeal sent by Egypt through
UNESCO.
Also relocated were a temple of Ramesses
II, Beit El-Wali, by a Polish team and
the Kiosk
of Kertassi by an Egyptian government effort.
Most recently the temple of Gerf Hussein (See Image) was
rebuild after been lying unassembled for several decades.
It was a tough job that took over 20 months. The temple was
built by Ramesses II and was also called the House of Ptah .
Also reconstructed in the island is a chapel built by Thutmose
III dedicated to God Dedwen (See Image).
The temple was originally on the island of Uronarti between
the second and third cataracts
of the Nile.
In the island also is a stela
(See Image) that records an expedition of Psamtik
II to Nubia in 592 BC (north of Kalabsha temple) and another
stela (See Image) marking Seti
I's victories (southwest of Kalabsha temple at Dedwen
Chapel).
There are also several petroglyphs (rocks) with prehistoric
carving featuring elephants, giraffes and gazelles and other
animals (See Image).
The island was closed to visitors for several years and after
restoration it was opened to public in December 2002. The
temple now has a modern dock and new lighting system and a
granite path for movement between the attractions of the island.
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