Templo de Debod

This dramatic structure situated beside the Royal Palace in Madrid's Parque del Oeste (Western Park), is one of the only existing monuments of Ancient Egyptian Architecture existing outside of Egypt. It is the only one existing in Spain. It was started in 200 BC by Adikhalamani (Tabriqo), a Kushite King, as a small chape; dedicated to the god Amun. It was eloborated and expended upon until finally the Roman emperors Augustus and Tiberius completed it to its current state. In 1968 the Egyptian state, as a demonstration of its gratitude for their helping to save the Abu Simbel temples, donated the Templo de Debod to Spain. The Templo de Debod had to be relocated from it's existing position just south of Aswan in Southern Egypt due to the construction of a dam.