The main temple of Kalabsha, the Temple of Mandulis, is the largest free-standing temple of Lower Nubia. It dates back to Ptolemaic-Roman periods, and was completed sometime around year 0. Mandulis, or Marul, was a Nubian sun god. It is good that practically all visitors to Kalabsha these days have to arrive at the site by boat. That way they get the climb to the temple's main entrance first. The expectation this causes is unfortunately not completely fulfilled by the temple itself. There are both fine details and reliefs here, but most coming this way will have seen better further up the Nile. Mandulis appears over and over again on the walls, but there are other gods represented, like Osiris and Isis. If you can read the symbols, a rare example of a depiction of Imhotep is shown here too (low on the left wall of the naos).
