Late last night our cruise boat arrived in Edfu. 

The Temple of Edfu

Edfu is home to the falcon headed god, Horus, while his wife the goddess Hathor resides in Dendera.  Once a year the statue of Hathor was brought by boat along the Nile from Dendera to the temple at Edfu and a festival was held – called the festival of drunkeness, no need for any more explanations on that I think.  This was to celebrate the coming together of Hathor and Horus.

Probably my favourite part of this temple at Edfu is along the outer wall where the story of the ongoing battle between Horus and his uncle Seth.  Horus ultimately defeats Seth but instead of killing him just disables him and takes him prisoner.  During one of the battles Horus lost an eye and it was put back and healed by Thoth, the god of Wisdom, Words and Keeper of the Records.

Having seen the temple we returned to the boat in our designated horse and calesh to relax and have lunch.  The boat sailed onto Edfu and we headed off to Kom Ombo Temple after our 4pm tea

Kom Ombo – Temple of Light and Dark

Kom Ombo Temple is fairely divided between the two gods by Maat the goddess of Justice – depicted on the back wall.  This is also known as the Crocodile Temple – by the way an Irish girl found the descendants of these crocodiles (dna proved) a few years ago.

This was an Initiation Temple where the test was to face your fear of both the known and the unknown.  Here is one of the best preserved examples of a Nileometer, which was a well connected to the Nile.  The higher the water rose in the well, the higher the taxes to be paid because high flood meant a good crop in the fields.

Kom Ombo is famous for the clear depiction on the back wall of a complete array of surgical instruments which prove the ancient Egyptians know how to doctor everything from taking out a splinter to brain surgery.

 

On the way back to our cruise boat with Ahmed,  I stopped to buy a bottle of water.  The seller wanted 10le – I refused and gave him 5le.  Later, at dinner a thought suddenly came to me out of nowhere.   I said to Ahmed “Ahmed, what the hell am I doing?”  Did I actually argue with a water seller in the street for the sake of 25 cents?  Seriously?  25 cents!?  What’s 25 cents to me?  Nothing!  But to the water seller it’s the price of 3 eggs for his family.  I don’t know – I think that sometimes I don’t know what I do be doing!

Note:  Temples of Edfu and Kom Ombo can also be seen as part of overday trip from Luxor.

Tonight is our Gallabeya Party.  Tomorrow Abu Simbel for some of us, Nubian Village for others then we all go to Philae in the afternoon.

Diary of a Group Tour with Mara House Luxor.

 

I'm Mara - from Ireland, the author of all these articles and curator of this website. I invite you to escape the ordinary and explore Egypt with my amazing guides, from Alexandria to Cairo to Luxor to Aswan, we can cater for all your needs. Book now for an unforgettable experience in Egyptian and Irish hospitality. Mara House in Luxor and all your sightseeing needs in Egypt are only an email away, contact me now - maraegypt@gmail.com