Egypt, Edfu and Esna temples

The next day, we stopped in Edfu and Esna to tour temples dedicated to Horus (falcon headed god of the sky) and Khnum (ram headed god, source of the Nile). We traveled from the dock to the temple via horse and cart at Edfu.

Built between the 1st and 2nd centuries BC, Edfu was a local center of pagan worship until Christianity spread through Egypt in the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. Falling into disuse and swallowed up by time, it was eventually buried under almost 40 feet of sand. It wasn't until 1860 that a French Egyptologist began uncovering the temple. 

In the pic above, you can just see a white tent where archaeologists are still digging. The paved area where we were walking up to the temple was covered in those layers you see in this pic. It took decades to uncover the old debris and layers of housing on top of and surrounding the temple to view it in its entirety.

Above is a pic of our tour group members Alan and Susan perched on an ancient wall until the local attendant shooed them down.   

This temple had a very spacious forecourt lined with columns. Inside the temple,   its etchings and hieroglyphics were beautiful. And y'all know me - never met a column and ancient ruins I didn't love. You could still see a bit of old paint in a few places.

Ancient Egypt was an architectural and construction wonder, like my pic of the temple roof above. The design, detail and paint job are amazing. And they were able to accomplish this without power tools and modern scaffolding. In the pic below, you can see a couple birds hanging out amongst the hieroglyphics. You can also tell where the Coptic Christians left their calling card... see the defacing of the pagan images?

On the cart ride back to the boat, we heard one of the daily calls to prayer. No matter where we were in Egypt, city or town, there were always several minarets marking mosques if you just took a look around.

Our afternoon stop was at Khnum's temple in Esna, where the columns had really pretty lotus leaf capitals. In these first two pictures, you can see how far down they had to dig (15 centuries of sand/debris) to uncover the temple compared to modern day streets of the town surrounding it. 

This temple was in the process of a good cleaning, and their hard work was evident in the scaffolding and images they were uncovering on the temple walls and columns beneath layers of dirt and soot. This is thought to be a more modern temple, at least in terms of Ancient Egypt, since it is believed to have been constructed around the same time as Edfu. This temple is said to be a good example of the decline of Egyptian art and it has very distinctive Roman influences in both the quality and imagery/inscriptions. It's believed to be one of the last temples built by the ancient Egyptians.

I noticed the Christian piece above, just sitting on the ground outside the temple. Possibly some sort of alter piece or early baptismal fount? I also spied an interesting bird, seen below. He was busy scratching around in the dirt, looking for his next meal.

This same afternoon, we did a "sundowner" cruise on the top deck while going through the only set of locks on this part of the river south of Cairo (above). We were also treated to an Egyptian cooking lesson in the dining room and got a sample once it was finished.

Egypt, Kom Ombo temple

Kom Ombo translates to hill of gold, and the late afternoon light bathing the temple remains proved the name was apropos. We began our tour in the late afternoon and enjoyed a lovely sunset over the Nile with several river boats docked there in the background.

This Greco-Roman temple was dedicated to the falcon god Horus and crocodile god Sobek. The layout combines two temples, constructed side-by-side. Each had its own gateways and chapels. Unfortunately, it was only the priests that got to enjoy the bulk of the imagery of etchings and hieroglyphics. The hoi polloi were not allowed into most parts of the temple. But even if they were, they were illiterate and unable to read the hieroglyphic writings all over the walls. This reminded me of the peasants in Europe when the great cathedrals were being built. Mass was conducted in Latin, which they didn't understand. But at least they were all allowed inside to look at the pretty stained glass and iconography that told visual stories from the Bible.

Though exposed to the elements (see pic above and below), you can still see bits of the original paint that's over 2000 yrs old. 

Captive crocodiles were kept in the temple. Back when the temple was constructed during the Ptolemaic period (a couple centuries before Christ), crocodiles were present throughout the Nile since there was no dam in place to keep them contained. Crocodiles were also mummified onsite and there was a cemetery for them. Adjacent to the temple is a little museum that houses the mummified crocs uncovered during archaeological digs. 

I found this explanatory sign, in both English and Arabic. If you look in the upper left hand corner, you'll see the USA helped fund this historical/archaeological site.

Ahmed, our Egyptologist extraordinaire, used several folks in our tour group to act out one of the scenes portrayed on the temple wall. 

In the scene above, the pharaoh is making an offering (seen on the tray turned sideways so the viewer can tell what it is) to the crocodile god Sobek.

I can't remember the significance of the two pics above, but it's EARily intriguing. In the pic below, I do recall the story. It seems this was a "fundraiser" wall near the front columned section of the temple. Priests would lead locals coming to worship into this area. You'll see greater detail in the pic below, where each faceless and one-armed silhouette represents a defeated army. The one arm with a loop at the elbow area means that the defeated peoples have been tied up. Beneath each silhouette in the cartouche that looks as if it's surrounded by something like barbs is the name of the enemy they defeated. The pilgrims/worshippers paid money to pound the face of the enemy with a club to help support the temple and its priests. It went to keep the crocodile in captivity, an earthly incarnation of Sobek, in good eats until it died and was mummified. 

I found it sad to realize that oftentimes years/decades of work and amazing craftsmanship were poured into these temples and yet so few were able to see and appreciate it all back in the day. I take heart that folks now come from all over the globe to see the majesty of ancient Egypt and pay fees to support ongoing discovery, reconstruction and preservation.