Qasr Ibrim

Egypt’s Qasr Ibrim is a place of worship.

Qasr Ibrim is situated 235 kilometers south of Aswan and 60 kilometers north of Abu Simbel; the most notable of the three massifs that exist south of the town of Ibrim is the central massif, which is located south of the hamlet of Ibrim. The fort or castle of Qasr Ibrim was erected on pharaonic foundations, as shown by the many reused monuments from the New Empire that can be discovered on the site. The building of a temple at Taharqa and a stele of Amenhotep I are among the world’s oldest structures.

While previously a city located on the banks of the Nile, the water caused by the Aswan Dam has transformed it into an island, with just the portion of the temple that was the highest remaining to be preserved. Because it is the only archaeological site in Lower Nubia that has survived the floods of the Nile, Qasr Ibrim has become a valuable study site for archaeologists and archaeologists.

It was during the reign of Augustus that a portion of the stronghold’s physical construction was constructed, and it was during this period that the fortress was still in use many centuries later. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the viceroys of Kush carved shrines and chapels into the rock, which were dedicated to the ruling pharaoh and numerous gods, and which were the work of the pharaoh and gods of the time.

During the construction of the Aswan Dam, the reliefs were dismantled and relocated to a location in El-Sebuah, Egypt. South of the castle, the large stone stele of Sethy I and the reigning viceroy of Kush at that time, known as Amenemope, was discovered and relocated to the neighborhood of Kalabsha Temple, which is now located south of the fortification.

Even though it was built between 920 and 800 BC, the citadel of Qasr Ibrim is still visible on the shores of Lake Nasser; excavations have revealed that it was constructed following the Egyptian retreat and the Nubians’ need to construct a fortress to protect themselves; it was one of the most important periods in the history of Qasr Ibrim.

The excavations also uncovered the remnants of the temple of Taharqa, which belonged to the 25th dynasty, as well as other defenses; the citadel is surrounded by Roman walls, and at its northern end are the remains of a stronghold from the same time.