Etchings of priests descending in the Temple of Edfu.
Our moving home Oberoi Zahra has departed Aswan, sailing downstream (north). The ship is quite steady, you would not know we were moving if you were in a completely enclosed space. The soft rumble of the engines is comforting and disappears when you are on the top deck, up there there is a nice breeze to accompany the changing panorama.
Heading north on the Oberoi Zahra.The shore is lined with many sights.Morning breakfast.Herder and his flock.Other Nile boats being assisted upstream.
Our next destination is the city of Edfu and the Temple of Edfu. Built in the Ptolemaic dynasty for worshiping the god Horus, it is one of the most intact temples discovered in Egypt. The temple took 180 years to complete, starting under Ptolemy III and being completed by Ptolemy XII. The pylons in the front are quite massive and are decorated with scenes of Ptolemy XII in battle and worshiping. The temple contains scenes of its honored god Horus and his battle with Seth, a bitter rival.
First pylon of Edfu Temple.The pylons show scenes of Ptolemy XII conquering his enemies and worshiping the egyptian gods.Our guide Mohamed approaching the first pylon of the temple.Tom, Kim and Horus.The forecourt of the temple.
Like other Egyptian temples it eventually was disused and later damaged by defacing the etchings and deliberately set fires. The complex eventually filled with mud and sand which helped in preservation. It remained buried until 1860 when archaeologist Auguste Mariette began the recovery process.
Temple columns.A view inside the temple. Note the fire damage on the roof inside.The sanctuary at the centre of the temple with a replica of the wooden barque (boat) in which Horus’ statue would be taken out of the temple during processions.Hallway inside the temple.Apparently ice cream and WiFi were available. In reality they represent a heart and ribs.Numbers in hieroglyphics. From the left the tadpoles are 100K, bent fingers 10K, coil of rope 100, upside down horsehoe (cattle) 10 and the square or single stroke 1. so 333,331.Carvings in EdfuThe outside wall of the temple.Scenes from the tales of Horus and Seth.Even in the narrowest of passages the walls were illustrated.
Over time other countries came to rule Egypt, Greece and Rome being the first two after the fall of the Pharaohs. Faced with having to rule this established civilization, the initial greek conquerors decided to embrace Egyptian customs and traditions winning the hearts and minds of the population. Egyptian priests continued the rituals, honoring the gods and, of course, collecting taxes. One areas where the outside influence was felt was in the the construction of new temples, a Greco-Roman style temples were now built for the Egyptian gods. Philae Temple which we visited yesterday is one and our next destination, Temple of Kom Ombo was another. Kom Ombo translates as “Hill Of Gold.”
Kom Ombo Temple
This temple is rather unique, built two honor two gods, the crocodile god Sobek, and the falcon god Haroeris (Horus the Elder) it has a symmetrical design with a set of halls and sanctuaries for each god. The temple has rather magnificent columns, lists of calendar events and how the ritual for each are to be performed and, towards the back, an early illustration of surgical instruments. Here I got my first understanding of how numbers appear in hieroglyphics.
Columns in Kom Ombo TempleCeiling details.The altar of Sobek’s side of the temple complex.The altar of Haroeris’s side of the temple complex.Carvings on Kom Ombo TempleFood items, the bottom one is meat offerings.Carvings of surgical instruments.A list of festival days and what. offering is to be provided. The right column represent day numbers, with the rectangle meaning one, upside horseshoe 10 and the circle day. So at the bottom is day 8, about it day 7.Back side of Kom Ombo Temple
Our guide Mohamed told us that in trying to improve Egypt Pasha Muhammad Ali wanted to build a sugar factory nearby and in need for construction materials parts of Kom Ombo temple were used. Too bad for the temple, however the factory effort succeeded and the nearby factory is one of the largest in the mid-east.
At the temple there is also a cistern that the priests used to monitor the Nile and help set the calendar for all Egypt. The water level would indicate what season is upon them so planting can begin and, very important to the priests, when to collect taxes.
Cistern where the Nile is monitored (L) plus a containment for a captured croc. (R).Well this is deep…The Nile river god Hapi who is both a man and a woman.This says “Long live the King!”Kom Ombo Temple
Next to the temple is a Crocodile Museum which displays mummies of Nile crocodiles. Our guide Mohamed told us while visiting the temple that in the Nile monitor cistern the priests would put bait to lure in crocodiles which they would capture and use as the physical representation of Sobek.
Mummies of Nile crocodiles in the Crocodile Museum.Displays in the Crocodile Museum.Displays in the Crocodile Museum.Displays in the Crocodile Museum. Look at those knuckles!A representation of Sobek in the museum.
Our moving home Oberoi Zahra took us to Kom Ombo and after the tour it returned to Aswan for one last night. While there we took a very pleasant felucca ride.
We said goodbye to our Sita rep Hamoudy as we boarded the felucca.Our felucca pilot AymanThe felucca sail.View of the Nile and a signal tower near Aswan.The Aswan Botanical GardenA singer hooked on to us for a short while.Ayman displayed goods made by his family during the sail. We purchased a few.A fellow felucca traveler.
