Temple of Kom Ombo

    Kom Ombo A site south of EDFU on the Nile that served as the cultic center for the deities HORUS the Elder and SOBEK, Kom Ombo was also a major center of Egyptian  TRADE with  the  Red  Sea  and  Nubian  (modern Sudanese)  cultures.  Eighteenth  Dynasty  (1550–1307B.C.E.) structures made Kom Ombo important, but there were also settlements from the Paleolithic Period in the area.

 

Temple of Sobek and Horus at Kom Ombo

From

Bunson (M. R.), Encyclopedia of ancient Egypt, New York, 2002.

 

Temple of Kom Ombo 

 

Papyrus shaped columns at Kom Ombo temple 

 

The gate to access to the sanctuary of Sobek

 

Column details at Kom Ombo 

 

Relief stone outside the temple

 

Nilometer outside the temple

    The temple of Haroeris (HORUS) and SOBEK was a double structure, with identical sections, the northern one for Haroeris and the southern one for Sobek. There was also a shrine to HATHOR on the site. The complex was dedicated as well to KHONS (1). Tasenetnofret, an obscure goddess called “the Good Sister,” and Pnebtawy, called“the Lord of the Two Lands,” were honored as well at Kom Ombo.

    A double entrance is in the southwest, leading to a courtyard. Two HYPOSTYLE HALLS, offering halls, twin sanctuaries, magazines, vestibules, wells, and birth houses, called MAMMISI, compose the elements of the temple. The main temple is Ptolemaic in its  present  form, with a gate fashioned by PTOLEMY XII Auletes (r. 80–58, 55–51 B.C.E.). Niches and crypts were also included, and mummies  of  CROCODILES were  found,  wearing  golden earrings,  manicures,  and  gilded  nails.  A  NILOMETER was installed at Kom Ombo, and CALENDARS and portraits of the Ptolemys adorned the walls.

Karnak

   The temples at Karnak are the largest ancient complex in Egypt. Begun in 1970 BC by Sesostris I, construction continued through the reign of Ramses III in 1166 BC. Each Pharaoh of those 800 years wanted to leave something of himself here – a new temple, chapel, or carvings of himself superimposed over older carvings.

   The Great Hypostyle Hall, comprised of the huge columns seen to the right, is one of the greatest achievements of Ancient Egypt, considered as difficult to achieve as the Great Pyramid at Giza.

Karnak Temples

 

Gate of Karnak

 

statues of Ram at Karnak

 

Pillars of the Great Hypostyle Hall

 

The Sacred Lake

 From karnak temple

 

 

 

Abu Simbel Sun Festival

For most of the year, the inner sanctum of the main temple at Abu Simbel is shrouded in darkness. On two specific days, traditionally the anniversary of the birthday and coronation of pharaoh Ramses II, a shaft of sunlight pierces the gloom, illuminating statues of gods and the king in the temple’s inner sanctum.

 

Temple of Abu Simbel

On February 22, a day celebrating the king’s birthday and again on October 22, a day celebrating his coronation, sunlight illuminates seated statues of the sun gods Re-Horakhte and Amon-Re, as well as a statue of king Ramses II. The statues sit in the company of the Theban god of darkness, Ptah (who remains in the shadows all year).

 

Abu Simbel Sun Festival

The sun illuminating Abu Simbel is considered to be one of the oldest Egyptian Sun Festivals, it dates back to the pharaonic era and has endured more than 3,200 years of Egyptian history. It draws thousands of tourists to Abu Simbel to watch this ancient tribute to a pharaoh whose name is still known up and down the Nile Valley and the world over for his military exploits and monumental building projects. Nowadays, it became a touristic attraction due to the high dam and the moving of the temple.

During the spectacle, people stand in two rows to let the sun rays reach the statues in the shrine.