Temple of Edfu

The Temple of Edfu was built between 237BC and 57BC, and is one of several temples built during the Ptolemaic Kingdom, including the Temple of Hathor at Dendera that we saw a few days ago.

As we left the boat we were given the choice of taking a van or a carriage. While the carriage certainly sounded appealing, the poor horses just looked too thin and tired to subject them to pulling us through the streets and so we elected to take the van.

The temple of Edfu fell into disuse as a religious monument around 391 and over the centuries, the temple became buried to a depth of 39 feet 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.

As you enter you’ll see the 20 foot tall figures etched into the stone on either side of the temple.

They tell the story of the beginning of the world, when it was still entirely covered by water. During the struggle between land and primeval water, the land managed to come close to the surface. Where this happened, reeds grew with the help of a falcon, which were strengthened by the gods The Far and The Large. The reeds were the germ cell for the temple of Edfu, and here Horus landed, as a falcon. A force approached, in the form of a bird, and fed Horus, the lord of Edfu; This ritual was the beginning of the cult of Edfu.

You can see inside that the temple is very reminiscent of Dendera with the columns firmly planted on either side of the walkway.

We were able to wander through the temple for an hour or so and then returned to our boat to continue sailing up the Nile.

Egypt is incredibly photogenic.