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Introduction
This gallery covers our land excursions to Edfu, Karnak and Kom Ombo Temples.
Edfu Temple
The Temple of Horus was apparently almost entirely covered by debris and houses on its roof until it was excavated during the 19th Century.
Constructed over a period of some 25 years from 237bc, although the decorations were apparently not completed for another 150 years, the local population it seemed participated in grand festivals at the temple, with food and wine in abundance - sounds good to me! The temple, situated by the existing town of Edfu on the west bank of the Nile, was understood to be built and dedicated by Horus after he defeated Seth in powerful combat for slaying Horus' father, Osiris.
Karnak Temple
This is a vast site, which I believe was called the precinct of Amun, contains a number of temples. In the time available to us, we could only rush round the part known as the Temple of Amum.
Giant columns form part of the main structure, which stands at over 80 feet high and at one time had been covered over and must have looked magnificent. The temple was added to by successive dynasties over a period of 1,300 years. The decorations are very impressive and some fine coloration can be seen in the carvings on the column overhangs. The main pylon is 43m high and provides an impressive entrance to the site.
Without a doubt, the most impressive of all temples we visited this holiday.
Kom Ombo Temple
The ptolemanic Temple of Sobek (crocodile god) and Haroersis (Horus) overlooks the Nile in a quiet location compared to other sites such as Luxor.
The twin temple is dedicated on the left hand side to the falcon headed Haroeris, the right hand side to Sobek. A mummified crocodile could be seen in one of the small chambers. The site contains many decorations including for the first time during our visit, depiction's of medical instrument and dental tools at a far earlier age than many of us might think.
Although the sanctuaries are somewhat ruined, what remains certainly gave some idea of the scale. Nearby was a well with internal stairway that was used to determine the water level of the Nile and hence a way of calculating the taxes to be recovered from the populous.
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