Reopening, restoring Kalabsha Island temples
Egypt, Local, 4/15/2004

The temples of Kalabsha Island in Aswan will be opened next month for visitors following a comprehensive restoration that covered the archaeological site .

The temples and chapels on the island had not been restored since their transfer under the UNESCO campaign to rescue monuments from drowning in Lake Nasser .

The Minister of Culture Farouq Hosni said that the island is considered an open museum for monuments of different ages .

There are rock inscriptions of animals, boats and hunting scenes dating back to the Old Kingdom in addition to the two temples of Beit Al- Wali and Garf Hussein, pertaining to the New Kingdom, specifically to the age of Ramsis II .

Among the famous items on the island is the stele of King Ahmos II of the 26th dynasty, Kalabsha temple and Kartas chapel of the Ptolemaic age .

Hosni said that although the island is archaeologically rich and lies in the heart of Aswan and is only 750 meters from the High Dam, it witnesses low tourist attraction. He said that the growing tourist move to the High Dam has to be directed as well to Kalabsha. Cruisers moving between Aswan and Abu Simbel in Lake Nasser have to put Kalabsha on the tourist chart, said Hosni. He noted that the restoration "project included lighting land-marks to prepare, the island for night visits .

According to the doctrine of the ancient Egyptians, the temples on the island were completely dim. But owing to the change of function, the passages linking landmarks of the Island and the monuments themselves had to be lit in order to drive away birds and bats .

On the right side of the Kalabsha temple there used to be numerous rock items that were randomly accumulated, but under the upgrading process these items, which include scenes and inscriptions from the daily life of the Nubians, were sorted and displayed in attractive way .

The temple of Kalabsha, considered the largest of the lower Nubian provinces, is made of sandstone .

The temple as originally established at Kalabsha village 56 kilometers South of Aswan. But to avoid its drowning after the establishment of the High Dam the German government contributed to its dismantling and reinstallation .

A high rocky ground, 750' meters from Aswan, was chosen as the new site of the temple.

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