trips in Egypt

The Temple of Sobek and Haroeris in Kom Ombo (also known simply as Kom Ombo Temple) dates from about 180 BC during the Ptolemaic era, with additions made into Roman times. It stands right on the bank of the Nile between Edfu and Aswan, making it a convenient stop for river cruises.
History

In ancient times, Kom Ombo stood on an important crossroads between the caravan route from Nubia and trails from the gold mines in the eastern desert. During the reign of Ptolemy VI Philometor (180-145 BC), it became a training depot for African war elephants, which were used to fight the fierce pachyderms of the Seleucid empire.

The temple at Kom Ombo was also built at this time, under Ptolemy VI. Since this bend in the Nile was a favored spot for crocodiles to bask in the sun and threaten locals, it is natural that the temple would be dedicated to Sobek, the crocodile god. But it is unusual in having a double dedication: it also honors Haroeris, a form of the falcon-headed god Horus.

The hypostyle halls were added under Ptolemy XIII (51-47 BC); the Roman emperor Trajan (53-117 AD) added the forecourt and outer enclosure walls.

Today, Kom Ombo is home to many Nubians who were displaced from their ancestral homes by the rise of Lake Nasser caused by Aswan Dam. Tourism is not the only industry in Kom Ombo: sugar cane is harvested on the river banks and there are felucca-building yards here.
What to See

The Kom Ombo Temple is unusual in that it is a double temple, with one side dedicated to the god Haroesis and the other side to Sobek. The design is almost perfectly symmetrical, with two side-by-side sanctuaries and two parallel passageways leading through the outer parts of the temple.

The right side is dedicated to Sobek-Re (the crocodile god combined with the sun god Re), along with his wife (a form of Hathor) and their son Khonsu-Hor. Sobek is associated with Seth, the enemy of Horus. In the myth of Horus and Osiris, Seth and his followers changed themselves into crocodiles to escape. The ancient Egyptians believed that by honoring the fearsome crocodile as a god, they would be safe from attacks.

The left side is dedicated to Haroeris, the "Good Doctor" (a form of the falcon-headed god Horus the Elder) along with his consort Ta-Sent-Nefer, the "Good Sister" (another form of Hathor).

Entrance to the temple complex is via the Gate of Neos Dionysos, only half of which still stands. Its date is not certain, since scholars different on which Ptolemy should be identified with the title of Neos Dionysos. But the general consensus is that he is Ptolemy XII (81-50 BC), the father of Cleopatra.

Like other Egyptian temples, Kom Ombo had a great pylon, but this was washed away by the Nile long ago. Most of the forecourt is gone as well, with only low walls and stumps of pillars remaining. This section was added in the Roman era under Trajan.

The main sight at Kom Ombo is the beautiful Outer Hypostyle Hall, with 15 thick columns topped with floral capitals and a cornice decorated with carved winged sun-discs. The bases of the columns bear the heraldic lily of Upper Egypt and the papyrus symbol of the Nile Delta. Significant portions of the roof remain, which are decorated with flying vultures and astronomical imagery.

On the outer wall on the left, Neos Dionysos is shown being purified by Thoth and Horus; on the right a similar scene occurs in the presence of Sobek (whose face has been destroyed).

On the inner wall on the right (east) are especially fine carvings of Neos Dionysos being crowned before Haroeris, Sobek (patrons of the temple), Wadjet and Nekhbet (the goddess of the north and south).

The west side of the inner wall has Neos Dionysos appearing before Isis, Horus the Elder, and a lion-headed god. In the back of the hall, the king makes offerings to the same deities.

The Inner Hypostyle Hall is older and has 10 slender columns. There is a relief of Sobek in his snake form on the south wall between the portals; in the southwest corner, Ptolemy II receives the sword of victory (hps) from Haroeris in the presence of the king's wife and sister. Ptolemy II is also shown making offerings to various gods on the shafts of the columns, while his elder brother makes offerings to Haroeris a the back of the hall. Between the back doors is a hieroglyphic list of temple deities and festivals.

Beyond the hypostyle halls are three successive vestibules, rectangular and roofless, decorated by Ptolemy VI. The first vestibule contains reliefs showing the foundation of the temple with Sheshat (goddess of writing) making measurements (on the left back wall) and offerings and libations to Sobek (right back wall).

The second vestibule is the Hall of Offerings; only priests were admitted here. The chamber on the right was used to store vestments and sacred texts. Reliefs on the southern wall include offerings to Haroeris (east), a women giving birth (center) and a description of the temple and dedication to Sobek (west).

Through a wide single doorway from the Hall of Offerings are the doors to the parallel sanctuaries. On the wall in between the doors is a relief of Ptolemy, wearing a Macedonian cloak, and his wife being presented with a palm stalk with a sign representing the years of his reign. The gods present are Sobek's son Khonsu (wearing a blue crescent and red disc), Haroeris and Sobek.

Little remains of the sanctuaries themselves, but this allows a glimpse of the secret corridor between them. It is thought that the priest would speak for the gods from here. The corridor's entrance is through a underground crypt in the central shrine in the northern inner corridor.

The outer corridor between the Ptolemaic temple and the Roman enclosure wall bears reliefs including Marcus Aurelius offering a pectoral to Ta-Sent-Nefer, the Good Sister and wife of Haroeris (back left) and depictions of surgical tools (to the right of Aurelius), which are quite sophisticated for 2,000 years ago.

Worth visiting in the temple grounds is the Sacred Wall just west of the Outer Hypostyle Hall. This large round well has two stairways descending to its depths and was used as a Nilometer: priests would calculate taxes for the year by measuring the depth of the Nile.

A small pool nearby was used for raising sacred crocodiles. In the Chapel of Hathor near the entrance are three crocodile mummies, which were uncovered during nearby roadworks in the 1970s.

The Birth House of Ptolemy VII was mostly washed away by the Nile in the 19th century, but a doorway remains intact. See the Edfu Temple for an example of a surviving birth house, which was an element unique to Ptolemaic temples. A few faint reliefs can still be seen, including one showing Ptolemy IX and two gods in a papyrus thicket, observed by an ithyphallic Min-Amun-Re holding lettuce (symbolizing fertility).
Location Map

Location map and satellite view of the Temple of Kom Ombo. Using the buttons on the left, zoom in for a closer look or zoom out to get your bearings. Click and drag the map to move around.
Kom Ombo temple,The Temple of Sobek in Aswan

Edfu was one of several temples built during the Ptolemaic period, including Dendera, Esna, Kom Ombo and Philae. Its size reflects the relative prosperity of the time.[4] The present temple, which was begun "on 23 August 237 BCE, initially consisted of a pillared hall, two transverse halls, and a barque sanctuary surrounded by chapels."[5] The building was started during the reign of Ptolemy III and completed in 57 BCE under Ptolemy XII. It was built on the site of an earlier, smaller temple also dedicated to Horus, although the previous structure was oriented east-west rather than north-south as in the present site. A ruined pylon lies just to the east of the current temple; inscriptional evidence has been found indicating a building program under the New Kingdom rulers Ramesses I, Seti I and Ramesses II.
Inside the sanctuary at the centre of the temple.
Reliefs on the walls of the Temple of Edfu
Inside the Temple of Edfu.

A naos of Nectanebo II, a relic from an earlier building, is preserved in the inner sanctuary, which stands alone while the temple's barque sanctuary is surrounded by nine chapels.[6]

The temple of Edfu fell into disuse as a religious monument following Theodosius I's edict banning non-Christian worship within the Roman Empire in 391 CE. As elsewhere, many of the temple's carved reliefs were razed by followers of the Christian faith which came to dominate Egypt. The blackened ceiling of the hypostyle hall, visible today, is believed to be the result of arson intended to destroy religious imagery that was then considered pagan.

Over the centuries, the temple became buried to a depth of 12 metres (39 ft) beneath drifting desert sand and layers of river silt deposited by the Nile. Local inhabitants built homes directly over the former temple grounds. Only the upper reaches of the temple pylons were visible by 1798, when the temple was identified by a French expedition. In 1860 Auguste Mariette, a French Egyptologist, began the work of freeing Edfu temple from the sands.

The Temple of Edfu is nearly intact and a very good example of an ancient Egyptian temple.[7] The Temple of Edfu's archaeological significance and high state of preservation has made it a centre for tourism in Egypt and a frequent stop for the many riverboats that cruise the Nile. In 2005, access to the temple was revamped with the addition of a visitor center and paved carpark.[8] A sophisticated lighting system was added in late 2006 to allow night visits.[9]
Religious significance

The temple of Edfu is the largest temple dedicated to Horus and Hathor of Dendera.[10] It was the center of several festivals sacred to Horus. Each year, "Hathor travelled south from her temple at Denderah to visit Horus at Edfu, and this event marking their sacred marriage was the occasion of a great festival and pilgrimage."[11]
Influence on British Architecture

The Temple of Edfu provides the model for Temple Works in Holbeck, Leeds. The courtyard columns at Edfu are closely copied in the frontage of the leeds building.
Edfu Temple at Aswan, Egypt Tours

The Temple of Kalabsha (also Temple of Mandulis) is an Ancient Egyptian temple that was originally located at Bab al-Kalabsha (Gate of Kalabsha), approximately 50 kilometers south of Aswan.[1] The temple was situated on the west bank of the Nile River, in Nubia, and was originally built around 30 BC during the early Roman era. While the temple was constructed in Augustus's reign, it was never finished.[2] The temple was a tribute to Mandulis (Merul), a Lower Nubian sun god.[3] It was constructed over an earlier sanctuary of Amenhotep II.[4] The temple is 76 meters long and 22 meters wide in dimension.[5] While the structure dates to the Roman period, it features many fine reliefs such as "a fine carving of Horus emerging from reeds on the inner curtain wall" of the temple.[6] From Kalabsha's "sanctuary chambers, a staircase leads up to the roof of the temple" where one can see a splendid view of the temple itself and the sacred lake.[7] Several historical records were inscribed on the temple walls of Kalabsha such as "a long inscription carved by the Roman Governor Aurelius Besarion in AD 250, forbidding pigs in the temple" as well as an inscription of "the Nubian king Silko, carved during the 5th century and recording his victory over the Blemmyes and a picture of him dressed as a Roman soldier on horseback."[8] Silko was the Christian king of the Nubian kingdom of Nobatia.[9]
Kalabsha temple, Aswan, Egypt tours

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Drifting peacefully over the west Bank of Luxor,where you can see most of the monuments of Thebes.
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Air Balloon over Luxor Sightseeing, Valley of the Kings, Fly over Luxor temples

The temple of Karnak was known as Ipet-isut (Most select of places) by the ancient Egyptians. It is a city of temples built over 2000 years and dedicated to the Theben triad of Amun, Mut and Khonsu.

This derelict place is still capable of overshadowing many of the wonders of the modern world and in its day must have been awe inspiring.

For the largely uneducated ancient Egyptian population this could only have been the place of the gods. It is the mother of all religious buildings, the largest ever made and a place of pilgrimage for nearly 4,000 years. Although todays pilgrims are mainly tourists. It covers about 200 acres 1.5km by 0.8km Karnak ReconstructionThe area of the sacred enclosure of Amon alone is 61 acres and would hold ten average European cathedrals.The great temple at the heart of Karnak is so big, St Peter's, Milan and Notre Dame Cathedrals could be lost within its walls. The Hypostyle hall at 54,000 square feet with its 134 columns is still the largest room of any religious building in the world. In addition to the main sanctuary there are several smaller temples and a vast sacred lake.
Karnak is the home of the god Amun who was an insignificant local god until the 12th dynasty when Thebes became the capital of Egypt. He was represented in his original state as a goose and later as a ram, at the height of his power he was shown as a human with a head dress of feathers - all that remained of the goose.

In ancent times wars were not fought between countries but were considered as contests between gods. One deity subduing and replacing another, the victorious god and its people growing in strength. This is how Amon, with the help of Thutmose III and various other New Kingdom kings, rose to become the Eastern Gateway - oil paintingfirst supreme god of the known world and was hailed as God of gods. Little is know of him, unlike most other gods he has no legends or miracles to impress his worshippers and seems to be closer to an abstract idea of a godhead. His followers came from all the strata of society and he was known to some as 'Vizier of the poor.'

All Egyptian temples had a sacred lake, Karnak's is the largest. It was used during festivals when images of the gods would sail across it on golden barges. Karnak was also the home of a flock of geese dedicated to Amun.

The Eastern Gateway which once lead to a huge temple built by Akhenaten (the heretic king). In an attempt to obliterate his memory, Akenaten's enemies destroyed this shrine after his death.
Karnak temple, Luxor sightseeing, Luxor tours
The name Luxor represents both the present-day metropolis that was ancient Thebes, and the temple on the eastern bank which adjoins the town. "Luxor" derives from the Arabic al-uksur, meaning "fortifications". That name in addition was adapted from the Latin castrum which referred to the Roman fort built around the temple in the later third century AD. The temple of Luxor has, since its inception, always been a sacred site. After Egypt's pagan period, a Christian church and monastery was located here, and after that, a mosque (13th century Mosque of Abu el-Haggag) was built that continues to be used today.
In ancient Egypt the temple area now known as Luxor was called Ipt rsyt, the "southern sanctuary", referring to the holy of holies at the temple’s southern end, wherein the principal god, Amun "preeminent in his sanctuary", dwelt. His name was later shortened to Amenemope. This Amun was a fertility god, and his statue was modeled on that of the similarly Min of Coptos. He also has strong connections to both Karnak and West Thebes.

Known in ancient times as "the private sanctuary (Opet) of the south," the temple proper is located south of Karnak. The present temple is built on a rise that has never been excavated and which may conceal the original foundations. The early building may rest on a no longer visible older structure dating back to the 12th Dynasty. However, since neither the cult nor any part of the temple appears to predate the early 18th Dynasty; the few Middle Kingdom fragments found here more probably came from elsewhere and were transported to Luxor after the original buildings were dismantled.
The earliest reference to the temple comes from a pair of stelae left at Maasara quarry, in the hills east of Memphis, inscribed in regnal year 22 of the reign of Ahmose, c. 1550 BC. The text records the extraction of limestone for a number of temples including the "Mansion of Amun in the Southern Sanctuary." But structural evidence appears at Luxor only during the co-rule of Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis III c 1500 BC. These elements are now built into the triple shrine erected by Ramesses II, c 1280 BC, the most substantial remnant of Luxor temple’s Tuthmosid phase. The shrine was erected inside the first court, in the northwest corner, and reused elements from the original chapel dedicated by Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis III.. This small building had been the last of six barque stations built along the road that brought Amun and his entourage from Karnak to Luxor every year during the Opet Festival.
We also know that Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) built a sanctuary to the sun next to the Luxor Temple that was later destroyed by Horemheb.

The temple we see today was built essentially by two kings, Amenhotep III, (the inner part), and Ramesses II, (the outer part). The overall length of the temple between the pylon and rear wall measures about 189.89 by 55.17 meters (623 by 181 feet).

The original function of the temple of Luxor, apparently dedicated to the Theban Triad of Amun, Mut and their son Khonsu, appears uncertain. However, recent hypotheses suggest that the temple of Luxor, a collection of irregularly developed structures begun during the reign of Amenhotep III and then expanded, particularly by Ramesses II, and still further enlarged in later years, should be considered a sanctuary dedicated to the celebration of the royal ka.
Hence, Luxor Temple was the power base of the living divine king, and the foremost national shrine of the king’s cult. This doctrine of divine kingship separated the Egyptians from their neighbors in Mesopotamia and from the later medieval "divine selection and right of kings" of Europe.

Kingship was believed to be ordained by the gods at the beginning of time in accordance with ma’at., the well-ordered state, truth, justice, cosmic order. The reigning king was also the physical son of the Creator sun-god. This divine conception and birth was recorded on the walls of Luxor Temple, at Deir el-Bahari, and other royal cult temples throughout Egypt.
The king was also an incarnation of the dynastic god Horus, and when deceased, the king was identified with the father of Horus, Osiris. This living king was thus a unique entity, the living incarnation of deity, divinely chosen intermediary, who could act as priest for the entire nation, reciting the prayers, dedicating the sacrifices.

A road was built in the 18th Dynasty to link Karnak to the north with Luxor to the south. Although the position of this road must have coincided with the avenue seen in front of Luxor temple today, the latter, along with the sphinxes flanking it, date to the reign of Nectanebo I in the 30th Dynasty. However, we believe that Nectanebo I only refurbished the road and lined it with new sphinxes. The mudbrick ruins on either side of the road are all that remains of the town of Luxor during the later and post-Dynastic periods.
Two red granite obelisks originally stood in front of the first pylon at the rear of the forecourt, but only one, more than 25 meters (75 feet) high, now remains. The other was removed to Paris where it now stands in the center of the Place de la Concorde. These obelisks were not of the same height, and they were not on the ame alignment, probably to make up in perspective for this difference in height.

Six colossal statues of Ramesses II, two of them seated, flanked the entrance, though today only the two seated ones have survived. The one to the east was known as "Ruler of the Two Lands".

Although Amenhotep III built the temple proper, it is fronted by a 24 meter high pylon of Ramesses II. The pylon and the courtyard beyond, also built by Ramesses II, is oddly out of alignment with the axis established by the other pre-existent buildings. This non-alignment may have resulted from consideration for the small shrine built during the reigns of Tuthmosis III and Hatshepsut. Some scholars also think that the alignment may have been made so that the pylon would be on the same axis as the processional way leading to the Karnak Temple. Reliefs and texts on the outside of the first pylon relate the story, in sunk reliefs, of the battle of Qadesh against the Hittites. Other later kings, particularly those of the Nubian Dynasty, also recorded their military victories on these walls (Shabaka on the inner pylon walls). The pylon towers once supported four enormous cedar-wood flag masts from which pennants streamed.
Luxor temple, Luxor sightseeing, Luxor tours