The temple of Kalabsha is one of the loveliest and best preserved temple in Egypt. Kalabsha was the ancient Taimis, the most important city of the Dodekaschoinus ('land of the twelve leagues', equal to 360 stadi) and was about 40 Milometers south of its present site. The temple is another Nubian temple which was part of the rescue operation for monuments threatened by the rising waters of Lake Nasser.
The god Mandulis - wearing a complicated diadem - was worshipped here and the ancient Egyptians identified him with Horus. The sanctuary dedicated to this local god was second in size and importance only to Abu Simbel. Defined by the English writer Amelia Edwards as the "Karnak of Nubia", it is over 71 meters long and 35 wide, and is of the so-called "inner sanctuary" type. The temple was built over a preexisting structure of the time of Amenophis 11.