Temple of Debod

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The sun is about to set and there is a perfect place to witness sunset in Madrid. We take a short drive but convoluted route to Parque del Oeste due to many one way streets. After finding a street parking space at the bottom of hill, we hike up to Temple of Debod. This temple, which originally was located not too far south of Aswan in southern Egypt, was dissembled piece by piece, transported extra carefully to this very spot via a ship to Valencia and a train to Madrid. Here it was reassembled to its original state. The construction of the great dam of Aswan was the reason for the move. The whole process to deconstruct, transport, and reconstruct took about four years.

Moving a master piece like Temple of Debod requires a very careful planning, packing, transportation, and unpacking. Dedicated and capable teams must collaborate closely to prevent delays and undesired incidents. Each detail plan must be rechecked by different teams to ensure proper hand-off and collaboration before the master plan is executed.

Going back to Temple of Debod, this small chapel dated back to 2nd century BC was dedicated to the God Amun. Reflection pools were added to this temple’s new home flanking the two tall and narrow stone gateways leading to the chapel. The reflection of the blood orange sun on the pools accentuates the temple’s dark brown stone, the hieroglyphics on the wall, and the deep blue sky above. It is a mystical view indeed......@driving-vacation

More pictures...

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