Egyptian ruins in Madrid, Spain, Temple of Debod

Hi Friends.

There are some interesting ruins in Madrid, Spain. No, not from the Spanish Inquisition or from a medieval castle, but from Ancient Egypt! The Temple of Debod is a small, but intriguing Egyptian ruin located in the middle of Madrid. It’s a quick stop on your sightseeing tour of the city, and is definitely worth a look.

Had you told me that I would visit an ancient Egyptian ruin in Madrid, I would have given you a curious look, but here I was.

Located a short distance from the Plaza Mayor, The Temple of Debod is located in the in Parque de la Montaña. It was originally built next to Aswan in Nubia. However, in the 1960s, Egypt was building a big old dam, and that was at risk of flooding the original location of this temple. Spain stepped up to help preserve the temple and in 1968, the Egyptian state donated the Temple of Debod to Spain.

Talk about a bit of strange history and moving parts around.

All of these facts were not known to me when I visited the temple. In fact, I was under the false impression that some mad Egyptian ruler, built this temple here long, long ago. So… When I visited, I was filled with wonder… I am still a little, but after researching the facts, the initial wonder is… just… a little less…

Let’s open up this temple and explore it together in today’s post.

Temple of Debod

Locations: C. de Ferraz, 1, 28008 Madrid
Google Map link : https://goo.gl/maps/v6AsFwRmxELYiKLU9

When you walk up to this location, you enter walk through a great park. The Park its self, is well worth the walk, and you have a fantastic view on the North side (See photo later on in post). The temple, does look mysterious.

In the summer months, that rocky bit in the middle is filled with water. I think that it adds a lot to the over – all impact of the location. However, in the winter, it is dry. I tried to walk over to the temple, but a guard yelled a me.

I was not sure how to get in, so I walked around the building.

On the North side, you do see a stunning view of the park, and of the once former palace of the king.

I went back to the temple, and that is when I realized you have to wait in line to get into the Temple of Debod. At this point, had I know what I know now, I would have passed on the experence.. but not knowing, I waited and waited.

They were letting in groups of 3 or 4 people at a time, so it took a good 30 – 45 min of waiting before I got to the gate.

When I entered, I was thinking a lot about who was the last care taker of this location, who was the last priest who tended the Temple of Debod, why did the stop tending it… but that is before learning that it was a gift to Spain, and this was not its orginal lcation. hahaha.

Inside, however, it was warm. There were hieroglyphs on the walls that looked interesting. I took my time and read most of them, not the hieroglyphs, but the translations of the hieroglyphs.

A lot of the writing was old. Wow, think about carving that.

The main walkway was short, and a lot of the side rooms were closed off to visiting. I am not sure if that is allways, or just now due to covid.

This is standing and looking out towards the main door into the tomb.

This was the main chamber, I am not sure what was housed in that space. I would think some kinds of Egyptian effigy or mystical object.

The side rooms were neat, they had a feeling of quite…

Some designs on the pillars were ornate as well, like this one.

This was my ticket into see the sights. For the price (FREE), it was worth it.

They did have a second floor. This was up a narrow set of stairs from the main room. They only let up a few people at a time, so I waited again, and then got to go up.

Up ontop, they had a display of what the temple looked like in its glory days. Wow, it does look fancy.

Also, they featured other ruins from the area.

And this scale model of the temple in its original location. This really confused me at the time, as I thought this was the original location. Hahaha… I was thinking, WOW, a river up this high? HAHAHA… Good times.

Outside, I got a few more photos of the location and the structure. It was nice…

The Temple of Debod is a beautiful and unique Egyptian ruin that has been painstakingly reconstructed in Madrid, Spain. It’s well worth a visit if you’re in the area!

That being said, would I go out of my way to visit this location if I had limited time? I think No. It’s pleasant, its interesting, but it’s not something that you can can’t see in a museum. Some projectors inside the temple did not work, the wait was long, and the experience, 5/10.

These are just my thoughts, You may experience it differently and love it. Also, in the summer, it may look better with the surrounding water.

Thanks for joining me today, I hope you enjoyed this article.

Cheers

If you enjoyed this article, here is nother article called : The Good Luck Frog of Madrid, Spain. A Must See!