Temple of Debod, a photo from Madrid, Madrid

Photographer's Note

Temple of Debod is probably THE spot in Madrid for blue hour photography. Sadly, as I elaborated under another photo from Madrid, I did not have a chance to be there at the blue hour. There are plenty of spectacular photos of this amazing place on TE. Manuel has photographed it with all possible sky colors. I am so jealous. In a way my picture is quite original, showing average weather day with uninteresting light... I am still proud that I had a chance to visit it.

Years ago I had the pleasure to visit Egyptian Temples in Abu Simbel. When the Aswan Dam was built it was clear that some of the precious ancient temples will be lost under the artificial lake which will be created. Abu Simbel, being probably the most precious, was cut into pieces and moved to another safe location. This incredible task was sponsored by Egyptian government and UNESCO. International Committee of Experts for Rescue of the Abu Simbel Temple was directed by late Polish archaeologist Kazimierz Michałowski. His contribution was recognized by a memorial bust which was placed in Egyptian Museum in Cairo (2007). I guess contribution of Spanish archaeologists must have been substantially bigger. Instead of a little bust they have received as a thank you gift the remains of Temple of Debod (in this photo).

Temple of Debod (Spanish: Templo de Debod) is an ancient Egyptian temple which was dismantled and rebuilt in Madrid, Spain.
The temple was built originally 15 kilometres south of Aswan in southern Egypt very close to the first cataract of the Nile and to the great religious center dedicated to the goddess Isis, in Philae. In the early 2nd century BC, Adikhalamani (Tabriqo), the Kushite king of Mero�, started its construction by building a small single room chapel dedicated to the god Amun. It was built and decorated on a similar design to the later Meroitic chapel on which the Temple of Dakka is based.
In 1960, due to the construction of the Aswan High Dam and the consequent threat posed by its reservoir to numerous monuments and archeological sites, UNESCO made an international call to save this rich historical legacy. As a sign of gratitude for the help provided by Spain in saving the temples of Abu Simbel, the Egyptian state donated the temple of Debod to Spain in 1968.
The temple was rebuilt in one of Madrid's parks, the Parque del Oeste, near the Royal Palace of Madrid, and opened to the public in 1972. The reassembled gateways appear to have been placed in a different order than when originally erected. Compared to a photo of the original site, the gateway topped by a serpent flanked sun appears not to have been the closest gateway to the temple proper. It constitutes one of the few works of ancient Egyptian architecture which can be seen outside Egypt and the only one of its kind in Spain.

ikeharel, ikeharel, jhm, holmertz, cornejo, adramad, abmdsudi, Didi, adores, PaulVDV, PiotrF, ChrisJ, COSTANTINO has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

emka (158860) 2015-12-09 23:17

cześć Mariusz,

Jest i świątynia Debod :). Bardzo lubie to miejsce w Madrycie, ale ostatnim razem byłam za kr鏒ko. żeby tam p鎩ść. Ladny kadr z odbiciami.

Pozdrawiam

MAłgorzata

jemaflor (148260) 2015-12-09 23:26

Hi Mariusz,
Beautiful effect with these water reflections, interesting and original monument in Madrid. Yourphotoreminds me that when I was there, no water for me in the basin, pity for ma photo !

serp2000 (47063) 2015-12-09 23:39

Hi, Mariusz,
I was in Madrid, but I did not visit this place. Oh, yes. I have idea that this color of the stone reminds me some Egyptian places near Luxor. I am surpised with this fact. Thanks for so interesting report from Madrid.

Serghei

Royaldevon (86480) 2015-12-10 1:39

Hello Mariusz,

If ever I saw a well exposed and beautifully composed photograph, this is it!
Even without spectacular light, you have achieved a very beautiful photograph!
It looked good as a thumbnail, it looked superb full size!

Have a great day,
Bev :-)

dta (98848) 2015-12-10 2:35

Hello Mariusz ,
Of course we can see plenty of views of this stunning building in Madrid . But each of them can be interesting . I like this one for the perspective , the beautiful reflections and the soft tonalities .
regards

jhm (211738) 2015-12-10 4:51

Hello Mariusz,

A beautiful mirror picture with nice reflections in water
A nice architecture picture.
Sharpness and clarity are excellent.
An excellent picture, lovely presentation.
Very well done, TFS.

Best regards,
John

Silvio1953 (222959) 2015-12-10 5:58

Ciao Mariusz, nice see Egypt in Madrid, lovely composition with beautiful old temple, fascinating reflection, splendid light, excellent clarity and fantasrtic colors, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

williewhistler (16606) 2015-12-10 7:03

Hello Mariusz,
the fascinating history behind this incredible structure combines nicely with this well balanced image to provide a comprehensive insight into it`s unique appeal.
Best wishes Les.

Sergiom (117241) 2015-12-10 7:06

Bonjour Mariusz,

Un endroit charmant que l'on ne s'attend pas � voir � Madrid. Tu as trouv� un tr鋊 bon point de vue qui nous offre des reflets parfaits. Une tr鋊 belle nettet� de tous les d彋ails.

Amicalement

Serge

Nicou (193814) 2015-12-10 7:26

Hello

quelle vue de ce temple superbe quel reflet un vrai double et l'architecture tr鋊 int廨essante superbe vue et compo
Bravo et belle journ嶪
Nicou

holmertz (103642) 2015-12-10 7:56

Hello Mariusz,
A very interesting temple in an unexpected location. The reflections are fantastic and the light is honestly good enough for me. The visitors at the far end are more important to me than the blue hour light.
Kind regards,
Gert

pajaran (117077) 2015-12-10 9:08

Dobro vece.
Interesantan i dobar tekst o starom hramu, sa istorijom i opisom ...
Dobar rad i kompozicija, lepo pokazana stara arhitektura, dobar kontrast i perspektiva, lepo uhvacen trenutak sa refleksom na vodi i posetiocima.
Lep hram i refleks na vodi.
Prijatno vec i sve najbolje, srecno.
Paja.

Good evening.
Interesting and good text about the old temple, with a history and description ...
Good work and compositions, beautifully demonstrated the old architecture, good contrast and perspective, nicely captured the moment with the reflections on the water and visitors.
Beautiful temple and reflection on the water.
Pleasant, but also all the best, good luck.
Paja.

ikeharel (114629) 2015-12-10 9:11

A daylight photo is no-less impressive on this sight, Mariusz, a blue-hour shot on your next trip to Madrid.
Perfectly doubled the view of this modern temple, relatively speaking of course. Awesome sight collected and as you stated, the presence of people allow to appreciate the size of the location.
Good evening,
Ike

Cricri (176) 2015-12-10 9:42

Hi Mariusz
Excellent cadrage, perspective, les reflets, une tr鋊 belle r嶧lisation
belle soir嶪
cricri

Fis2 (171961) 2015-12-10 10:24

Czesc Mariusz!
Brak (blue hour) nic nie ujmuje Twojej pracy.
Znakomita kompozycja z odbiciem w wodzie.
Delikatna kolorystyka robi klimat.
Ciekawa jest ta swiatynia, robi wrazenie.
Dobry wieczor.
Krzysztof

npecanhuk (79329) 2015-12-10 10:32

Hi Mariusz!
Although I think that temple is a little out of place in Madrid, I really like it and I think it's an excellent subject for great pictures! That's the case here!
Sharpness, exposure, colors, horizontal format, chosen pov and composition with reflections are all excellent!
TFS - congrats,
Cheers,
Neyvan

cornejo (61504) 2015-12-10 11:15

Mariusz Witaj very good picture of this beautiful and interesting composition in this interesting place, very well captured in this beautiful image with good sharpness, light, color and quality. Great and interesting job perfectly done, congratulations my friend. Thanks for sharing this beautiful work.

Good evening and happy weekend.
Best wishes from the south of Spain.
Angel.

rychem (72187) 2015-12-11 8:48

To jest bardzo ciekawa świątynia i świetnie wykorzystałeś wszystkie elementy z wodą włącznie, żeby zrobić doskonałą kompozycję
pozdrawiam Ryszard

adramad (73452) 2015-12-11 13:02

Hello Mariusz.
Although not to the blue hour .... the end you get a wonderful image of the Temple of Debod, as fantastic reflexes are definitely the highlight of the set, along with a nice light.
People roam the background, give us the idea of its proportions.
Sharpness, lighting, color, and the magnificent composition; all factors are perfectly made, in this beautiful image.
Well done. I like a lot.
Have a good weekend.
Best wishes.
Luis.

P.D. I am glad that you like and surprise, photos of Mallorca is an island worth visiting, I hope you would confirm the next few photos, which I will upload the page.

abmdsudi (95869) 2015-12-13 15:16

Hi Mariusz
Your in-depth writing helps us alot here. This must be an amazing job taken stone by stone and then erected block by block transforming them to a real Egyptian temple in Madrid's city center. You have shown images of things as they really are - without increasing colour or brightening them up etc - because to me that is not what I set out to capture. I like reality whether it be pretty or gritty. Really like all the detail you have captured from the structures to the tiny visitors and the reflection along with touch of autumnal colours. Excellent viewpoint and composition. Congrats
Best wishes

Didi (61589) 2015-12-14 10:01

Hi Mariusz
Splendid temple
Interesting picture well framed
But as a half Egyptian I prefer it's place in Egypt
Well done
Best regards

adores (46979) 2015-12-14 15:34

Hi Mariusz!
This is a beautiful and very famous place. I like the vertical format and the good symmetry you got. The reflection is perfect and I like the soft light.

PaulVDV (63478) 2015-12-19 22:01

Hello Mariusz,
I've seen already lots of fantastic pictures of this Temple of Debod. You write that this is a photo taken with average weather. It still shows the reflections very clear and with some minor distortions.
When I visited this temple there were no reflections at all. I find the story of the Egyptian gift to Spain very special as well as the fact that this temple got a new place in the center of Madrid.
But I remember that I was very disappointed when seeing this temple and not only because of the absence of reflections. Perhaps the expectations should be tempered a lot with someone who has visited Egypt before. All in all, it was my only disappointment in Madrid.
You might think that you're able to estimate the right dimensions on this picture by the inclusion of the many visitors. Yet, I was surprised that the Temple of Debod was so small. Because of the many pictures I had seen before, I was really surprised.
There's nothing wrong with this picture. On the contrary it does more honor to the temple.
Best regards, Paul

PiotrF (56042) 2015-12-28 14:57

Czesc Mariusz,
Ciekawe miejsce, warte niewatpliwie obejrzenia. Swietny kompozycyjnie kadr, doskonala jakosc i ciekawa notka.
Pomyslnosci w Nowym Roku
pozdrawiam
Piotr

ChrisJ (172436) 2016-01-08 22:21

cześć Mariusz,

Missed this one. Good sharpness and nice symmetrical reflections of the Egyptian temple in the still and unrippled water. The people help to provide scale and I like the warm cold color contrast with the grey blue sky. Tfs!

COSTANTINO (117814) 2016-01-18 13:02

Hello dear friend and have a nice time
wonderful execution of this temple of Debod
the question here is which is the original
one?nobody can understand it because
all the details are very well composed
no more comments
regards
Costantino

berek (50518) 2016-01-18 20:59

Dear Mariusz,
A charming place. You have found a very good perspective that offers us the perfect reflections. A beautiful sharpness of every detail. take care.
All the best.
Burak Erek

ManuMay (36447) 2017-10-03 4:25

Cześć Mariusz,

You konw this is one of my favourite places in Madrid, that I扉e visited so many times...

A very beuatiful play by reflections and composition, showing its magnificient and elegant composition!!

Best regards...>>Manu