After cruising the Nile for a few hours, we made a stop in Edfu, a small city about 60km (37 miles) north of Aswan.
The temple at Edfu is dedicated to Horus since the area was believed to have been the site of the great battle between Horus & Set. Do you remember who Set was?
He killed Osiris, Horus' father out of jealousy. Osiris, Isis, and Set were brothers and sisters. Osiris married Isis - sibling marriages were a common occurrence during ancient times. Once Set killed Osiris, Isis found Osiris' corpse and used it to give birth to Horus. Set & Horus have a long history of being at odds with one another.
Horus' temple is the second largest in Egypt and is considered to be one of Egypt's most beautiful and best preserved temples. Near the entrance there is an impressive granite statue of Horus. It's quite grand. Seeing me next to the statue gives you a better prospective on its size.
For centuries the temple was submerged (12 meters -39 feet) under sand and layers of river silt deposited by the Nile which helped in its preservation.
The temple's pylon is considered the highest among Egypt's surviving temples. It's 37 meters (121 ft) high and decorated with battle scenes. Nearly every surface is covered with carvings and hieroglyphics. The details are incredible.
The open courtyard with beautiful columns is where people gave offerings. I love the lotus flower designs at the top of the columns. If you look closely, you can see some traces of the original paint.
Inside the temple there are a number of small chapels that surround the sanctuary - each one dedicated to other Egyptian gods.
Below is the 'barque chapel' where a reproduction of the god's processional barque is displayed mounted on a sled.
According to Mohammad the original can be found at the Louvre in Paris.
By the entrance, there were walls inscribed with the Ankh symbol - key of life.
As we left the temple, I mentioned to Mohammad how I wished we could walk around the neighborhoods so I could capture some photos of everyday life.
The streets we passed to arrive at the temple were full of life and I would have loved to wander through the streets. Unfortunately, we didn't have much time but Mohammad was sweet enough to ask our driver to drive slowly so I could take a few photos.
My photos from this drive aren't very good - they're blurry & out of focus. But I have to remind myself that getting the perfect shot isn't what's important... For me these images capture the moment and the vibe of the city and that's all I need to bring me back to that very moment.
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