Amada Temples
๐ Location: East shore of Lake Nasser, ~180 km south of Aswan ย ยท ย ๐บ Period: 18th and 19th Dynasties ย ยท ย ๐๏ธ Tickets: Lake Nasser cruise / convoy access
The little Temple of Amada is the oldest surviving temple in Nubia โ begun by Thutmose III around 1450 BC and finished by Amenhotep II. It is also the best-preserved, with reliefs of astonishingly fresh colour because the building was buried in protective sand for most of its life. The dedication is to Amun-Ra and Re-Horakhty and the inner sanctuary still glows in deep reds and turquoise. A famous historical inscription on the back wall describes Amenhotep II's brutal Levantine campaign.
A short walk away on the same site sit two more relocated monuments saved from the rising waters of Lake Nasser:
- The Temple of Derr, a rock-cut sanctuary built by Ramses II, with painted scenes of his Nubian campaigns
- The Tomb of Pennut, a small but exquisite rock-cut tomb of a New Kingdom Nubian official
All three were moved in the 1960s using a remarkable engineering trick: the Amada temple was placed on rails and slid 2.6 km without being dismantled, to preserve the colour on its walls.
Highlights
- Temple of Amada โ earliest Nubian temple, vivid colour
- Temple of Derr โ Ramses II's rock-cut shrine
- Tomb of Pennut โ beautiful local-official tomb
- The Amada relocation story โ the temple that travelled in one piece
Visiting
- Opening hours: linked to Lake Nasser cruise schedules
- Tickets: included in cruise packages
- Best time: OctโApr cruise season
- Nearby: Wadi al-Sebua, Abu Simbel