Temple of Debod

The Temple of Debod is   an Egyptian temple installed in the Parque del Cuartel de la Montaña . The temple was donated to Spain by the Egyptian government in gratitude for the help given in rescuing the temples of Abu Simbel.

The construction of the temple began at the beginning of the 2nd century BC. C. when the king of Meroe Adijalamani ordered to build a chapel to the deities Amón and Isis. The chapel is decorated with reliefs. Successive kings of the Ptolemaic dynasty built new halls and chapels around the original core. After the conquest of Egypt by the Roman Empire, the emperors Augustus and Tiberius completed the construction and decoration of the building.

In the 6th century, after the conversion of Nubia to Christianity, the temple was closed and abandoned. Already in the 20th century, on the occasion of the construction of the Aswan High Dam, the temple was dismantled and donated to the Spanish people. Finally, it was rebuilt in Madrid and opened to the public in its current location in 1972. The reconstruction carried out in Madrid has maintained the original orientation and completed the missing parts. To better understand the building, its history and its religious function, the museography includes models, interactives and audiovisual projections on the walls.