Egypt Tour in January 2023

PART IV

Cruise to Kom Ombo and Edfu and journey to Luxor

The cruise from Aswan started for the first time on its move at 4 pm on 26th January and reached at about 6.45 pm Kom Ombo.   

Mr. Hany, the guide at Aswan, reached well ahead at Kom Ombo by road from Aswan, a distance of 40 kms and was waiting for the cruise to arrive.   The Kom Ombo temple is of walking distance and the temple was seen in lights as the darkness had set in.  

Kom Ombo means “The Hill Of Gold” as the word "Kom" means "Hill" in Arabic while the word "Ombo" means gold.   The temple is unique for its dedication to two different deities: the local crocodile-headed god Sobek, and the first "god of the Kingdom" together with his wife, in another form of the Goddess Hathor, the falcon-headed god Horus the Elder (also called Haroeris).    Kom Ombo Temple was started by Ptolemy VI Philometor (180-145 BC) at the beginning of his reign and added to by other Ptolemys, most notably Ptolemy XIII (51-47 BC), who built the inner and outer hypostyle halls. 

While much of Kom Ombo temple has been destroyed over the millennia, it has been reconstructed in part, and it is still home to a number of well-preserved and fascinating reliefs, including some intricately carved columns and friezes divided between the two gods. The layout of the complex - apart from being a double temple - is similar to that of the Temple of Edfu.

Until very recently, the River Nile was infested with crocodiles of which the Ancient Egyptians were naturally scared. However, there was an ancient belief that if they worshipped the animal, it wouldn't attack them, and at Kom Ombo there was also a small pool in which the reptiles were raised. One of the highlights of the visit to this temple is the Crocodile Museum, where some of the many hundreds of mummified crocodiles found in the area are exhibited along with intriguing explanations.

The main feature of Kom Ombo temple is the Outer hypostyle hall full with fifteen columns decorated with some lotus floral capitals and sun images, the bases of the columns are decorated with Lilly as a symbol for upper Egypt and papyrus which is a symbol for Nile delta, However, the roof is decorated with flying vultures.  The inner hypostyle hall has ten thin columns which has some engravings of Ptolemy II making offerings to the gods while his brother making some offerings to Haroeris (a form of Horus) at the back of the hall as well. the south wall shows paintings of Sobek , the southwest corner shows Ptolemy II receiving the victory sword from Haroeris in the presence of his wife and sister.  Sobek is identified as a close friend of Seth (Who killed Osiris and enemy of Horus) and some considered that Seth only had taken the form of Sobek.  Both ways he was representing evil.

Sobek, the crocodile headed God

Sobek and Horus, the falcon headed God

In the center of this Ptolemaic relief in the northern section of the Kom Ombo Temple, Egypt, is Horus wearing the pschent crown. As the falcon god and patron of lower Egypt, he embodied the sky, sun and moon. His eye was the symbol of protection, royal power and good health. On the left is Ta-Sent-Nefer, his companion. Her name meant “the good sister.” On the right is King Ptolemy VI, the son of Cleopatra. The temple was built from 180 to 47 BC.

All the scenes inside the two temples, show King Ptolemy with the offerings or chanting the prayers in front of Sobek the crocodile god or Horus the falcon headed God.

There is a well in the temple which was used for knowing the water level in the river Nile nearby and this is called Nilometer.

On the inner side, of the back wall of the Temple, is a very remarkable scene! It shows the first illustration of medical and surgery tools, which are being presented to a seated God. Here you will find depictions of: scalpels, suction caps, bone saws, and dental tools etc.,

Kom Ombo temple calendar

The calendar is the numerical representation that the Egyptians used to represent their days, months and years. Its discovery was very important to know the Egyptian calendar.  it is shown on the walls of the Kom Ombe temple and represented in Hieroglyphs.

 The calendar is divided into three seasons: Flood, sowing, and harvest. Each season has 4 months and each month 3 weeks of 10 days. The 30 weeks for 12 months add up to a total of 360 days. The 5 missing days until arriving at the 365 that the year has are called forgotten days that correspond to the 4 main gods, Isis, Osiris, Seth and Nephthys, and to the god Horus.

Thus the ancient Egyptians had a calendar for 365 days as early as 200 BC.   It should be noted that this scene in the temple of Kom Ombo served to understand what was their number system and hence its importance in the Egyptian world.

Adjoining the temple is the Crocodile museum and a collage of photos made by me on the museum is shown here.

In 1970, hundreds of crocodile mummies were discovered in the Hathor Chapel near the entrance to the temple during archaeological excavations.

Returned to the cruise at 08.15 pm and had dinner. 

Edfu Temple

The next morning, that is, 27th January, I was picked up at the Cruise Reception by Mr, Hany, the guide at 05.00 am and we proceeded to Edfu.  We were quite early to the place and there was fog in the morning.  Edfu temple is dedicated to the worship of the Egyptian god Horus, who was frequently merged with the Greek god Apollo. In fact, the city of Edfu was renamed Apollonopolis Magna during Greco-Roman rule in Egypt.  

 

The temple was built on the location where the battle for the future of ancient Egypt occurred between the god of protection and victory Horus and the god of the desert, war and chaos Set according to the tale of Osiris  as Horus seeked revenge for the murder of his father, Osiris.  The Temple of Edfu was buried under sand and silt until the nineteenth century, when French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette rediscovered the site in 1860.  The temple embodies the traditional architecture of ancient Egypt and is largely free of Hellenistic influence.

Inner hall showing the columns in the temple

 .It is guarded by two huge but splendid granite statues of Horus as a falcon. The walls are decorated with colossal reliefs of Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos, who is holdingies by their hair before Horus and is about to smash their skulls; this is the classic propaganda pose of the almighty pharaoh.  Beyond this pylon, the court of offerings is surrounded on three sides by 32 columns, each with different floral capitals. The walls are decorated with reliefs, including the ‘Feast of the Beautiful Meeting’ just inside the entrance, the meeting being that of Horus of Edfu and Hathor of Dendara, who visited each other’s tples each year and, after two weeks of great fertility celebrations, were magically united.   Inside the entrance of the outer hypostyle hall, to the left and right, are two small chambers: the one on the right was the temple library where the ritual texts were stored; the chamber on the left was the hall of consecrations, a vestry where freshly laundered robes and ritual vases were kept. The hall itself has 12 columns, and the walls are decorated with reliefs oftemple’s founng.   

The inner hypostyle hall also has 12 columns, and in the top left part of the hall is perhaps this temple’s most interesting room: the temple laboratory. Here, all the necessary perfumes and incense recipes were carefully brewed and stored, their ingredients listed on the walls.    

Exit the inner hypostyle hall through the large central doorway to enter the offering chamber, or first antechamber, which has an altar where daily offerings of fruit, flowers, wine, milk and other foods were left. On the west side, 242 steps lead up to the rooftop.  (The roof is closed to visitors.)

The second antechamber gives access to the sanctuary of Horus, which contains the polished-granite shrine that once housed the gold statue of Horus.  This temple too has a Nilometer.    Eye of Horus, in ancietnt Egypt, symbol representing protection, health, and restoration. According to Egyptian myth, Horus lost his left eye in a struggle with Seth. The eye was magically restored by Hathor, and this restoration came to symbolize the process of making whole and healing.    Returned from Edfu temple to the cruise for the breakfast and the guide Mr. Hany took leave of me from here said at Luxor, some other guide will meet me. 

Edfu to Luxor Cruise
The cruise again started around 11 am and we had to cross the Esna Gates and in fact, about 2 hours was spent at that place to cross the Lock.   With the cruise moving during day time and almost everyone came to the top deck to see the boat crossing Esna Gate and the boat to this place around 13 Hrs.  Finished Lunch in the cruise ad was waiting to see the process followed to cross the gate by the boat.  Meanwhile a no of local traders came on the boat to sell their products as we were nearing Esna Gate as well as at Esna Gate.  The traders in their small boats used to throw a rope around some point to the boat and follow us and shouting with the price of items, mostly clothing and decorative/printed items.  Bargain when settles from the ones who want to buy, both sides throw items purchased/money in plastic bags thrown by traders.   All boats are stationed on one side of Nile to help the ones given permission to pass through without hindrance and wait for their turn to be given permission and much to delight of the traders who throng this place.  It took a good 2 hrs time for the boat Jaz Crown Jewel to be given permission to cross and we went to the other side around 15 hours and reached Luxor around 18 hours.

The lock was first constructed in 1908 during the reign of Khedive Abbas Hilmi II and further this was renovated and opened on January 1996.  Filling the lock with water and emptying it is carried out through 4 automatic gates, while a control tower loads and opens the lock in about 6 minutes.   Esna Lock was built with an elevation difference of 8 meters, 17 meters wide, 221 meters long, and 14.6 meters deep. 

Photos taken during the cruise as it left Edfu and before it reached Luxor are shown below.  Besides a video at the starting point from Aswan and towards Luxor also is shown here.

                                                        Starting from Aswan to Luxor

Cruise Boat nearing Esna lock

ESNA lock across Nile River 

Traders in their small boat

There was no activity after 18 hours and took rest in the evening.   The people from the Hot Air Balloon company came and informed that they would come at 04.15 am on 28th January, to pick me up in the early morning, to take hot air balloon ride, to see sun rise and some of the excavation sites of Luxor.  The charges for this was $ 140.  Further postings on tour at Luxor will be in Part V.

Egypt Tour in January 2023

PART V

LUXOR - HURGHADA - CAIRO

On 28th early morning at 4.15 am, the representative of the Hot Air Balloon co., was waiting to take me from the cruise boat.  He had to take some more people and all these were on the eastern bank of the Nile.  Then from the boat jetty, after a morning coffee provided in the boat, with a 20 min sail, we were taken to the western bank and from there by a van.    There was a wait of around 20 min where all the vans from different parts of Luxor assembled and then taken to the ground from where Hot air balloon had to start and reached this spot around 5.50 am.  No. of balloons were inflated and they were ready in a matter of 10 minutes and thus we were asked to get into the basket attached to the balloon approximately 15 persons.  We started to fly and the balloon was directed towards the earlier ruins now being excavated and also on the greener wheat sugarcane fields.  Sun rise was at 6.32 am and we had a good view from the basket and photographs were clicked.   

Approximately, we flew around an area of 1 km and at a highest was at an altitude of 400 metres.  Then we touched the ground and were taken back to the cruise at about 8.10 am.  I had to take a quick breakfast in the cruise boat and also vacate the same and took the luggage too in the vehicle for the tour of Luxor City and its attractions.   Mr. Abdul, the tour guide for Luxor, was waiting at the reception of the cruise.  

The name of Luxor City earlier was Thebes.

The first place to see was the Valley of the Kings.   The valley of the Kings at Luxor is a vast site with tombs of Kings, Queens and Nobles.     Ancient Egyptian civilization believed in an afterlife, and if all procedures were followed then the ones who deserved would enjoy eternal life. They believed that their belongings were necessary to enjoy the afterlife, so pharaohs and queens were buried with their treasures, clothing and basic necessities such as food and drinks.

The west bank of Luxor had been the site of royal burials since around 2100 BC, but it was the pharaohs of the New Kingdom period (1550–1069 BC) who chose this isolated valley dominated by the pyramid-shaped mountain peak of Al Qurn (The Horn).  It contains at least 63 tombs, beginning with Thutmose I (or possibly earlier, during the reign of Amenhotep I) and ending with Ramesses X or XI, although non-royal burials continued in usurped tombs.  Ramses XI was the last ruler of the 20th dynasty, was the last one in the valley.   The tombs have suffered greatly from treasure hunters.  

A tuf-tuf, battery truck ferries visitors between the visitors centre and the tombs.   The entry ticket gains access to three tombs, with extra tickets to see the tombs of Ay, Tutankhamun, Seti I and Ramses VI.  Some of the pictures from the valley of the Kings shown below.

While general photography by tourists is banned within the tombs, Czech journalist and photographer, Jakub Kyncl, was granted special permission to capture the interior of the tombs, and his picture of Ramses VI tomb is worth noting to see how it would in various tombs in valley of the Kings.   Pic shown below.

The Valley of the Queens is at a distance of 1.7 kms from the Valley of the Kings.

The strategy applied at the Valley of the Queens was similar to the one they applied in the construction of the Valley of the Kings; the intent here was to hide the entrances of the tombs, therefore, making them a non-target. However, the builders in the Valley of the Queens failed to succeed in protecting the treasures and the queen’s belongings. None of the tombs were found intact, even though some of the decorations remained impressively preserved, the treasures and belongings were all gone once the tombs were discovered by Schiaparelli in 1904.

The most impressive of all tombs in the Valley of the Queens is the Tomb of Queen Nefertari, the favorite wife of Ramesses II.  

In total, there are roughly 90 tombs in the greater vicinity of the Valley of the Queens.

Hatshepsut's Mortuary temple
The temple is located not too far from the Valley of the Kings, under the cliffs of Deir el-Bahari. She is the only woman Pharoah and in fact, she had to take reigns because there was no male member as heir to take the throne. Her father King Thutmose I had no male child. Hatshepsut was the fifth pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt. 

She has been depicted always with false beard in the various paintings and also statues.  She was a very successful ruler and remained in power for a long time along with her son.  

Thutmose II was married to Hatshepsut and they had a son, who was Thutmose III.   When

Thutmose II died,  Thutmose III was still a child and so Hatshepsut became regent, controlling the affairs of state until he came of age. In the seventh year of her regency, though, she broke with tradition and had herself crowned pharaoh of Egypt.

Her reign was one of the most prosperous and peaceful in Egypt's history. There is evidence that she commissioned military expeditions early on and she certainly kept the army at peak efficiency but, for the most part, her time as pharaoh is characterized by successful trade, a booming economy, and her many public works projects which employed labourers from across the nation.

Hatshepsut, an admirer of Mentuhotep II's (6th Ruler of the 11th Dynasty) temple, had her own designed to mirror it but on a much grander scale and just in case anyone should miss the comparison, ordered it built right next to the older temple. Hatshepsut was always keenly aware of ways in which to elevate her public image and immortalize her name; the mortuary temple achieved both ends.

At the second level of the temple, there are temples for Hathor and Anubis.   Amun-Ra, the composite creator/sun god, is featured prominently in the Solar Cult Chapel with Hatshepsut and her immediate family kneeling before him in honor - which is in the third level.

After Hatshepsut's death, her successor, Thutmose III, destroyed her statues to obliterate her memory.

 

After the visit to the Hatshepsut Mortuary temple, we headed to the Karnak temple.  Though most of the structures were built in honour of Amon-Ra, his consort Mut and son Khonsu, there were numerous shrines within the complex dedicated to Ptah of Memphis, Osiris of Abydos etc.     As successive pharaohs re-planned entrance pylons, erected colonnades and constructed temples, they often reused valuable blocks from earlier periods. In the core of the Third Pylon built by Amenhotep III, for example, there were blocks of no less than ten temples and shrines from earlier periods.

   
                                                              Entrance to Karnak temple

Passing through the first pylon, we enter the Great Court which spreads over an enormous area of 8,919 square metres and contains monuments spanning many Dynasties.  The following sketch gives the various locations within this complex.

                                                         Temple of Ramses III

The Great Hypostyle Hall, with its 134 columns arranged in sixteen rows, covers an area of 4,983 square metres.

Hypostyle Hall and Obelisk 

The Third Pylon was built by Amenhotep III and the fourth and fifth pylon by Thutmose I and his daughter Hatshepsut built two obelisks here.   

The sanctuary at Kanark temple with the pedastal in which God Amun Ra once rested, can be seen in the following picture.

Luxor Museum

The front portion of the Kanark temple entry point has a museum and the model of the Konark temple is kept here.   Also, the boat, Gold gilted, to carry the Gods in the Nile for various festivals is also an exhibit.

The Colossi of Memnon

Twin statues of Amenhotep III stand at the entrance to whatsas once his temple.  Amenhotep III (1386 – 1353 BC) is known to be the 9^th king of the 18^th dynasty and is known to be the son of Tuthmosis IV from his minor wife Mutemwiya, the husband of queen Tiye, the father of king Akhenaten, and the grandfather of Tutankhamun.

The Colossi of Memnon still rise 60 feet high, and even with nothing to guard they are impressive in their enormity.    A legend that has lost some popularity says one of the Memnon would “sing” around dawn each day, making a sound described as the string of a lyre breaking or a whistle. The sound has not been reliably heard in centuries, but it was said that those who heard it would be given good luck.  

The three figures on the statues of Amenhotep III, his wife Tiye, and his mother Mutemwiya are all symbols of rebirth.

LUXOR TEMPLE

One of the main functions of the temple focused on the annual Opet festival, an event in which statues of Mut, Khonsu, and Amun would travel from Karnak to the temple. Unlike many other ancient constructions in Thebes, Luxor Temple still stands and is visited to this day. It is also still used as a place of worship.   Part of the Luxor Temple was converted to a church by the Romans in 395 AD, and then to a mosque in 640, which is more than 3,400 years of continuous religious worship.

Arched Cavity from which ancient egyptian gods removed by later Romans/Christians

As the programme was very tight, as I had planned to move to Hurghada after visiting the sites in Luxor and wanted to leave atleast at 4pm.   We completed all programmes in Luxor and biding Goodbye to the guide, I proceeded to Hurghada by road in the van at 04.30 pm.   I reached Hurghada at 8.45 pm and one of the representatives of Travco met me and put me in the Hotel there for stay on 28th night, 29th and upto 30th Morning.  A few photographs of Red Sea in Hurghada.

Though the organisers wanted me to proceed to Cairo from Hurghada in the blue bus, it did not serve me well, as the bus started at 4 pm and nothing could be seen in the darkness during the travel and not only that, the time it reached October 6 bus station of Egypt was around 0.30 hours, midnight.  By the time, I reached the Hotel and settled in bed it was 01.30 hours.

The next day, I did some shopping in Egypt and vacated the hotel and proceeded to airport and flight was at 9 pm.  Reached Bangalore next day morning.