Nadura Temple is an archaeological temple located in the Kharga Oasis in the New Valley Governorate. It was a meeting place for all the commercial caravans that came through the Darb Al-Arba’een in the Paris Oasis, starting from Darfur in Sudan to Assiut Governorate.
Location of the Nadura Temple
The ruins of the Temple of Nadura, located in the Kharga Oasis just north of the city of Kharga, can be seen perched strategically on the top of a hill. While this temple was newer than some other well-known temples, it has not been exceptionally well-preserved. The result is that today only ruins remain.
Etymology
It is not yet known what it was called in the past, but the oases people called it Al-Nadura, which is derived from the word Al-Nadr, a place for viewing and following the area around it, as it is located on a high hill.
Current situation
The temple was built in the Roman era to be a fulcrum and control point and to protect the oases in the past from invasions and from the attacks of thieves who were changing from time to time on the people of the oases.
Nowadays, the temple has become a hill of bricks and sand, and its walls have collapsed due to a lack of interest in it and the lack of tourist delegations to the place, which has become neglected. The surroundings of the temple were turned into heaps of debris.
History of Nadura Temple
Located on a hill to the right of the main road when heading north from Al Kharga town, the Temple of An Nadura has strategic views of the area and once doubled as a fortified lookout. It was built by Roman emperor Antoninus Pius (AD 138–61) to protect the oasis. Now severely ruined, the superb vistas here are ideal for sunset adulation.
The Nadura Temple is known by a couple of different names, including the Temple of Nadura or simply Nadura. This temple was built sometime in the 2nd century and was built during the Roman Rule of Egypt.
The Temple of Nadura was not treated very well after it was no longer being used, and no restoration work has ever taken place. Instead, the temple was essentially left to die, and all that remains of the Temple of Nadura today are some of its outer walls.
There are conflicting stories about why the temple was built. The most widely accepted belief is that this temple was built in honour of the god Amon. However, paintings on the remaining walls seem to indicate something different.
The paintings include musicians playing and dancing and are reminiscent of paintings typically featured in temples built in honour of Egyptian goddesses during that era. It is tough to determine just why this temple was built.
