The Temple of Horus at Edfu is well known as the most impressive and the most preserved of all of the Egyptian temples along the way between Aswan and Luxor. It is a must visit stop by all of the Nile cruise ship lines that make the trip.
Edfu, which can also be written as Idfu and is called Behdet in the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, it is a small Egyptian town, located on the west bank of the Nile River between the ancient Thebes, Luxor nowadays and Aswan, with a population of about 60,000 inhabitants. Edfu is the site of the famous Ptolemaic Temple of Horus and has an ancient settlement that goes back as early as 3000 B.C, It was known back in the Hellenistic period as Koine Greek or the Biblical Greek, or in Latin as Apollonopolis Magna as the chief deity of the region, God Horus, was known in Latin as Apollo.
God Horus:
Horus of Behdet was the local god of Edfu according to the ancient Egyptian religion, and his wife was Hathor of Dendera, where a very famous temple for her known as Dendera Temple. Their annual ritual was one of the most important ceremonies of the Ptolemaic period. Later, this god was identified with Horus, the son of Osiris who was one of the ancient Egyptian gods associated with the underworld.
The winged sun disk associated with Horus of Edfu is the symbol of united Egypt. This motif was a traditional scene depicted on the temple doors and ceilings in order to commemorate Horus’ victory over his uncle, the evil Seth who killed his father when Isis collected his body organs that were scattered everywhere in Egypt in a very dramatic mythology known as the myth of Isis and Osiris.
Like at Esna, the temple of Edfu is one of the most important sites included within all Egypt Nile River Cruises and also among most of Egypt Travel Packages, Egypt Day Tours and Aswan day tours. It was constructed during the Greco-Roman era, but still retains its Egyptian style of architecture. As a result, a visit to Edfu allows you to see what all of the other ruined temples around Egypt might have been looked like.
The town is known for the great Ptolemaic-style temple, built between 237 and 57 B.C, during the reign of the famous Queen Cleopatra VII. Of all the temple remains in Egypt, the Temple of Horusat Edfu is the most extensively preserved. It was built out of sandstone blocks, the enormous Ptolemaic temple was constructed over the site of a smaller new kingdom temple facing the Nile. The later structure faces north to south and leaves the ruined remains of the older temple’s pylon to be observed on the east side of the 1st court.
Being located at the center of the Edfu town, by the 19th century, the village had been enlarged into the temple with some houses actually standing on the roof of the sand-buried temple. Now the buildings had been cleared away but the excavations are still taking place as surrounding buildings were part of the temple complex itself, only several meters below the modern ground level.
The temple is flawless and marvelous, with the pylon that was built by Cleopatra’s great father during the 1st century before Christ, which leads into a peristyle court and then a hypostyle hall that leads to the sanctuary of Horus, the greatest and most important part of the temple. The ruins of which can be seen at many other sites around Luxor and along the Nile Valley are almost the same style. The Temple of Horus at Edfu is by far the most complete example of this unique architectural style.
The Pyramid ruins
The ruins of one of the seven little local step pyramids built along the Nile Valley has been found about 5 km to the south of the current city of Edfu near the village of Naga El-Goneima. The pyramid is made out of the local red-colored sandstone and rises at 5.5 m high. The pyramid has been constructed most probably by King Huni of the third Dynasty. The main aim of those pyramids is incredibly strange and mysterious. Further excavations and a detailed survey are carried out by the Oriental Institute at Chicago University since 2010.
Would you like to live a journey through ancient Egyptian culture and mythology? you can make it happen and spend a day to visit Abydos, Giza, Luxor, Aswan to see the tombs of the Pharaohs adorned with very clear, detailed and beautifully painted scenes of the various deities of ancient Egypt as well as many other sites, cities, adventures and things to do in Cairo, you can try and book one of our range of Egypt tours and Egypt Travel Packages many privately guided groups of Cairo day tours from airport and Egypt day tours to explore the capital city of Egypt, Cairo you can check a lot of Egypt itineraries or go on one of our full Cairo day tours like:
Day tour to Giza pyramids & Sphinx, Memphis, Saqqara and Dahshur.
2 Days Safari to the white desert and bahariya oasis tour from Cairo.
Cairo Layover Tours to Giza Pyramids and Sphinx from Cairo airport.
Day tour to Giza Pyramids and Saqqara Necropolis from Cairo.
Cairo unusual tour to have breakfast in an Egyptian Village.
Unusual tour to Coptic Cairo and the Cave Church of Saint Simon.
Tour to Giza Pyramids, Islamic Cairo and Khan El Khalili Bazaar.
2 Days Cairo, Alexandria, The Nile Cruise and Hurghada Travel.
Egypt Luxury Tour 12 Days to Cairo Nile Cruise and The Red Sea.
12 Days Cairo, Nile Cruise and Lake Nasser Cruise Luxury Tour.
12 Days Cairo, Alexandria, The Nile Cruise and Hurghada Luxury Travel.
See Also:
Tourism in Egypt Siwa Oasis in Egypt Things to do in Cairo, Egypt The Oasis in Egypt Luxor and Aswan Ports of Egypt The White Desert The Hot Air Balloon in Luxor Mummification in Ancient Egypt How the Pyramids were built Akhenaten’s Rebellion Egypt Nile River Cruise and Lake Nasser Cruise Egypt During Easter Holidays The Nubian Museum in Aswan Red Sea Monasteries El Alamein (World War II cemetery) Kalabsha Temple Valley of the Lions Temple of Beit El Wali Amada Temple Tombs of the Nobles in Bahariya Oasis Temple of Alexander the Great in Bahariya Oasis Valley of Agabat Temple of Ain El Muftella Valley of El Haize Nubia Kitchener’s Island Elephantine island in Aswan The 10 best hotels in Egypt Top 5 things to do in Egypt Alexandria, A bright pearl in The Mediterranean 5 Amazing Desert Safari Destinations in Egypt Tipping Culture in Egypt Check also our things to do in Luxor:
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