Edfu Temple in a few simplistic words is: Horus mania. Horus is the falcon god and the son of Osiris and Isis. The story of Horus, his plight and his reign can be seen all over the temple e.g. his battle with evil Uncle Seth (also a pig/dog/hippo), his union with Hathor.
Edfu Temple is the second largest temple in Egypt after Karnak and probably the best preserved. It was built in the Ptolemaic period between 237 and 57 BC, and took 140 years to finish. Over time, the temple became buried under of 12 meters of sand and layers of river silt deposited by the Nile. It took workers 40 years to excavate and free the temple of the sand.
Interestingly, the Christians in its quest for world religion domination during the Roman Empire attempted to deface and destroy the temple by scraping the carved reliefs and burning the ceilings. The deep cuts across the wall facades and blackened ceilings are both visible.
We are now sailing down the Nile towards Kom Ombo. The buffet style breakfasts, lunches and dinners is contributing to a healthy waist line. Feel so sorry for the donkeys.
That falcon is cool. looks like a griffin. are you getting sea sick on the boat?
ReplyDeleteYou need to find a fat donkey then !!!
ReplyDelete