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The area of Egypt we now call Nubia follows the River Nile from Aswan, 350km south to the town of Dabba, near the Fourth Cataract and the Sudanese border. It is thought that the name Nubia may be derived from the ancient Egyptian word for gold, ‘nbu’, as it was from this land that Egypt obtained most of its rich source of gold and Nubia was the passage from ancient Egypt to the exotic African lands farther south. Many pharaohs built small temples and fortresses along the banks of the Nile in Nubia and exported ebony, ivory, incense and precious metals and minerals back to Egypt, as well as Nubian slaves. Throughout Egyptian history Nubia has been alternatively an enemy or a conquered race, apart from a brief period in Dynasty XXV, when the Nubian (or Kushite) kings rose to rule Egypt as pharaohs.
Archaeologists have found close cultural ties between Egypt and Nubia from Prehistoric times and there is much evidence of this from the Egyptian objects found in Nubian graves. Scholars generally divide the history of Nubia into different cultural groups, assigning letters to each group: A, B, C, D etc. A-Group and B-Group cultures are loosely tied to the Early Dynastic Period and the Old Kingdom in Egypt. C-Group culture arose towards the end of the Old Kingdom and stretched into the Early New Kingdom, whilst the Third Intermediate Period is represented by the Kushite Kings and the Persian, Late and Ptolemaic Periods in Egypt were contemporary with the Meroitic Period in Nubia. At the peak of the Meroitic Period, around the 1st century AD, Egypt became a Roman province. Nubian culture went into a decline after this time and was dominated by different groups of desert tribes until the 6th century AD – a period assigned to X-Group culture. In 380AD, the Byzantine Emperor Theodisius I declared Christianity the official state religion in Egypt and ten years later banned all pagan religions in all parts of his empire, ordering the closure of temples in all parts of Egypt and Nubia, including the Temple of Isis at Philae in Aswan. The Nubians resisted and Isis continued to be worshipped for another two centuries, although by this time the new religion had found its way into the hearts of the Nubian people and many Coptic monasteries and churches had been built. By the 8-9th centuries, the Arabs had also established their presence in Nubia.
This is perhaps an over-simplified history of the Nubian culture, but it is this rich and varied heritage which is represented by the new Nubian Museum in Aswan. The new museum is definitely a product of the 21st century and supplements the old Aswan Museum which is situated on the southern end of Elephantine Island. Many treasures have been brought from other museums in Egypt to enhance the collection.
1 Statue of a lion, from Qasr Ibrim, Meroitic Period
2 Statue of Harwa, steward of Divine Adoratrice Amenirdis I, Dynasty XXV
3 Ankhnesneferibre, ‘God’s Wife of Amun’, Dynasty XXVI, from Karnak
4 Silver crown studded with carnelian stones, 3rd-6th centuries AD, from Ballana
The new Nubian Museum was opened in 1997 and the beautiful lines of its architecture alone is worth seeing. Nestled into the hillside, it covers 50,000 square metres of landscaped gardens and buildings which are divided up into different sections. It is partly an open-air museum where the visitor can wander the paths, meandering between a prehistoric cave with painted rock-art, ancient Egyptian statues, obelisks and columns, Roman frescoes and even a complete Nubian house.
How to get there
The new Nubian Museum is situated east of the Old Cataract Hotel, at the southern entrance to the town and about half an hour’s walk from the town centre. You should allow yourself at least two hours for a quick tour if you want to see all the exhibits, but I have found several visits are necessary to take it all in properly. Entrance tickets to the Nubian Museum cost LE50

The monuments at Abu Simbel were practically unknown in the Egyptological world until Johan Ludwig Burckhardt visited the site in 1813 when he saw the upper part of a temple façade almost covered by sand. Giovanni Battista Belzoni visited the site shortly afterwards in 1817 and discovered the entrance door. Since that time many adventurers have been struck by the awe-inspiring façade of the temple built by Rameses II around 3000 years ago with its giant colossal statues of the king sculpted from the mountain rock.
In the 1960s the new High Dam was built at Aswan which resulted in a build-up of water which threatened to engulf the monuments along its Nubian shores. In a dramatic race against time UNESCO began a US$40 million rescue operation in 1964, the like of which had never been seen before. In the incredible salvage operation the temples were dismantled and cut up into manageable-sized blocks, then painstakingly reconstructed 65m higher than the original site, away from the dangers of the encroaching water. Inside a specially constructed mountain, two gigantic reinforced concrete domes protect the rebuilt temples.
Visitors to the temples today are easily able to forget that they are not in their original position. Such great care was taken in the landscaping and orientation of the monuments and it is only the fact that one may enter the artificial dome to view its construction which reminds us that the site of Rameses’ temple has now vanished below the waters of the lake. Each evening there are three performances of a Sound and Light Show in seven different languages.
The Great Temple of Rameses II

The façade of the Temple of Rameses II is dominated by four colossal seated statues carved out of the cliff face, each 20m high and depicting the king, with Nubians carved in the base at his feet. The faces of the statues appear to show Rameses in different stages of his life, although it is thought that the temple was built quite early in his reign. The figures are immense when you are standing at their base looking up at them. Rameses the Great obviously did not want to be forgotten when he built this Nubian Temple.
His mother Tuya, his Chief Wife Nefertari and some of his many children can be seen in smaller scale at his feet. The monument is dedicated to the gods Re-Horakhty, Amun and Ptah, as well as the divine Rameses himself. There are later inscriptions carved on the statues. A Greek inscription by the soldiers of Psamtek II of Dynasty XXVI is carved on the most ruined of the colossi.

Above the entrance door the king worships the figure of the falcon-headed sun god Re-Horakhty who is also greeted by carved baboons on top of the wall. Inside, the temple is conventional in its design, with the floor level rising noticeably towards the sanctuary at the rear and in the first pillared hall there are eight Osiris pillars in two rows. On the left, the colossal statues depict Rameses wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt and on the right the king wears the double crown of the Two Lands. On the walls of this first hypostyle hall are scenes showing the king’s victories over his enemies, usually Libyans and Nubians. The north wall is painted with scenes of the battle of Kadesh, Rameses’ greatest victory, and on the other walls are various depictions of the king in single combat or being presented with prisoners from various lands. The goddess Nekhbet on the ‘vulture ceiling’ leads us inwards towards the Vestibule.

The Vestibule is a chamber with four square columns showing Rameses and Nefertari offering to the gods, and other religious scenes. There are various magazines and store rooms leading off to each side which would once have housed the temple’s cultic objects and treasures which may have included tribute from Nubia. Beyond the Vestibule, 65m in from the entrance to the temple, we come to the most sacred place, the Holy of Holies or Sanctuary. Four seated statues of Re-Horakhty, the deified Rameses II, Amun-re and Ptah are carved from the rock of the back wall. A pedestal still remains in the sanctuary on which the sacred barque would have stood. The temple was aligned so that twice a year, on February 22 and October 22, the sun’s rays penetrate the length of the temple and flood the sanctuary with light (which may or may not be significant!).
The decoration of the Great Temple of Rameses II at Abu Simbel serves to glorify the divine pharaoh Rameses, who is seen adoring and making offerings to his deified image. Perhaps it was also a monument intended to keep the wayward Nubian population in line by showing them the might of their great Egyptian ruler.
The Temple of Hathor

The second rock-cut temple at Abu Simbel lies close by to the north of the Great Temple and is similar in plan but on a smaller scale. It was built in honour of Rameses’ Great Wife and most favoured of his consorts, Nefertari. This smaller monument is dedicated to the goddess Hathor. The façade of the temple shows Nefertari on each side of the entrance standing between two colossal 10m statues of Rameses, again with smaller images of royal children at their feet. Never before had a queen been depicted alongside her husband and on the same scale, on the façade of a temple.
The temple interior is very simple and built on a much more human scale than the Great Temple. Scenes on the walls of the pillared hall depict Nefertari taking part in divine rituals with her husband before Hathor and Mut and in the same role as the king. They also show the consecration of Nefertari as divine queen. There are traditional scenes of the pharaoh Rameses II in his warrior role of slaying captives. Six square pillars set in two rows and crowned with Hathor heads give a very gentle and feminine feel to the monument.
In the sanctuary at the rear of the temple a statue in high relief seems to grow out of the rock wall, showing Hathor as the sacred cow-goddess emerging from the Western Mountain.
Chambers open to the north and south of the Vestibule with colourful scenes showing Hathor on her sacred barque. The side chambers have a cave-like feel, being carved from the mountain rock.


Nearby monuments

If the visitor has time, there are also other monuments to be seen at the Abu Simbel site. A number of carved stones documenting Nubian officials have been set into the base of the cliff. There is also the remains of a sun-court to be seen to the north of the Great Temple and nearby is the famous ‘Marriage Stela’ which tells of the marriage alliance between Rameses II and a daughter of a Hittite king.

On the east bank of the Nile 23km north of Edfu is one of the oldest settlements of Upper Egypt. The ancient town of Nekheb was called Eleithyiaspolis in classical times and comprises of monuments spanning periods of Egyptian history from Predynastic through to Ptolemaic. El-Kab and its sister site of Hierakonpolis on the west bank of the river were the home of Nekbet, the vulture goddess of Upper Egypt.
Tomb of Ahmose Pennekhbet (EK2)
Ahmose Pennekhbet was ‘Overseer of the Seal’ in early Dynasty XVIII. Biographical texts and portrayals of Ahmose with his son and other relatives can be seen around the door jambs.
Tomb of Paheri (EK3)
Paheri was a Mayor of Nekheb during Dynasty XVIII. The well-preserved paintings in his tomb show scenes of offerings at his funeral procession and agricultural scenes of daily life. In a niche in the rear wall is a statue of Paheri with his wife and mother.
Tomb of Setau (EK4)
Setau was a priest in the service of Nekhbet during the reign of Rameses III. On the outside wall of his tomb is a stela showing Setau and his wife adoring Re-Horakhty and Khepri. The paintings inside show the tomb-owner with his relatives in various offering scenes and a depiction of the Barque of Nekhbet with jubilee texts of Rameses III on the west wall.
Tomb of Ahmose, son of Ibana (EK5)
Ahmose in his biographical texts is described as ‘Captain of Sailors’ and was prominent in the wars of liberation against the Hyksos rulers when the southern princes laid siege to the town of Avaris in the Delta. The text tells of the favours Ahmose was granted for his part, including the award of the ‘gold of honour’ and tells that he was given four slaves by His Majesty from the booty he carried off. He was the Grandfather of Paheri (EK3) who is seen offering to him in the tomb. A separate burial chamber opens off to the east.
Tomb of Renni (EK7)
A mayor of Nekheb during the reign of Amenhotep I, Renni’s tomb depicts the usual agricultural scenes, banquet scenes and funeral procession. The remains of a statue of the tomb-owner flanked by two jackals can be see in a niche in the rear wall. The ceiling of this tomb is beautifully painted to represent the cloth roof of a tent or canopy.
There are also Middle Kingdom tombs at El-Kab which are presently inaccessible.
If you have time (and permission) to drive down the Wadi Hellal road which runs 4km west towards the desert, there are many other sites to visit. You will need to collect a guard with the keys to the monuments at the resthouse. At the entrance to the valley is a Ptolemaic rock-sanctuary dedicated to Seshmetet. Just to the southeast higher up the hillside, is a temple of Nekhbet consisting of two halls with Hathor columns and a rock-cut sanctuary. This was built by Rameses II, restored by Ptolemies VIII-X and has a stela of Rameses II cut into the façade. The reliefs inside the temple are not well-preserved, but the steps leading up to it and the courtyard have been recently restored. Back towards the road is a structure called locally el-Hammam (the bath), a square single roomed chapel dedicated to local gods and to the deified Rameses II by his Viceroy of Nubia, Setau (a different person to the owner of tomb EK4).
Further along the valley road is ‘Vulture Rock’, so-called because its shape seen at a certain angle (and with imagination) resembles the shape of a vulture. The faces of the rock are covered with petroglyphs and Old Kingdom inscriptions probably made by pilgrims passing this way on the ancient desert road. Several Old Kingdom kings are named on smooth panels cut into the rock, the earliest cartouche is that of Snofru. There are also Late Period primitive rock-carvings.
A little further on is a small temple dedicated to Hathor and Nekhbet, built by Tuthmose IV and Amenhotep III. The single chamber was apparently a way-station for the barque of Nekhbet when the statue of the goddess was brought to her desert valley. Quite a lot of colour still remains on the wall reliefs inside the temple, depicting Tuthmose IV and his son Amenhotep III. The building was restored in late antiquity and brightly painted scenes of rituals as well as the vulture goddess still can be seen. On the chapel façade is a text by Prince Khaemwaset, the son of Rameses II, announcing his father’s jubilee in year 42, as well as graffiti by other passing travellers.
In December 2000 news was announced that Belgian archaeologists have discovered a small and mostly intact cemetery at El-Kab which has been dated to Dynasty II. The 35 graves, mostly belonging to infants, are reported to be circular stone structures sometimes arranged around natural boulders and 18-20m in diameter. This type of tomb has not been seen before in Egypt and they have been compared to Neolithic burial mounds in Europe. Although there is no evidence of wrapping or mummification, the largest tomb contained fragments of a pottery coffin. It is suggested that the new cemetery represents a ‘missing link’ between the Late Predynastic and Early Dynastic burial ground found within Elkab’s town walls and a recently discovered Third Dynasty mastaba.
During 2003 a team of conservators led by Vivian Davies of the British Museum, began work on the Dynasty XVII tomb of Sobeknakht, a governor of Nekheb. The cleaning process revealed an inscription of a previously unknown attack on Egypt by the Kingdom of Kush and their allies from Punt. The biographical text tells of the Kushite raid and subsequent counter-attack by the Egyptians. Egyptologists are regarding the text as one of the most significant inscriptions about Dynasty XVII military history found to date. Evidence corroborating these events have also recently been found in Sudan, where archaeologists discovered a vessel that was once in Sobeknakht’s tomb.

Gebel Silsila is the name given to a rocky gorge between Kom Ombo and Edfu where the River Nile narrows and high sandstone cliffs come right down to the water’s edge. There was probably a series of rapids here in ancient times, dangerous to navigate, which naturally formed a frontier between the regions of Elephantine (Aswan) and Edfu. In Pharaonic times the river here was known as Khennui, the ‘place of rowing’. On the West bank there is a tall column of rock which has been dubbed ‘The Capstan’ because of a local legend which claims there was once a chain (Silsila in Arabic) which ran from the East to the West Banks. Arthur Weigall in his ‘Antiquities of Egypt’ states that the name Silsileh, is a Roman corruption of the original Egyptian name for the town, Khol-Khol, meaning a barrier or frontier.
It is hardly surprising that by Dynasty XVIII, travellers had developed the custom of carving small shrines into the cliffs here, dedicating them to a variety of Nile gods and to the river itself. Smaller shrines were cut by Tuthmose I, Hatshepsut and Tuthmose III, before Horemheb constructed his rock-cut temple here, then many of the Dynasty XIX or later kings left their mark in some way. Gebel Silsila became an important cult centre and each year at the beginning of the season of inundation offerings and sacrifices were made to the gods associated with the Nile to ensure the country’s wellbeing for the coming year.
On both banks of the Nile the massive quarries produced the sandstone needed for the prolific construction of monuments during Dynasty XVIII, at first in small quantities and as the skills of the workmen grew, the stone was more extensively quarried to build great monuments such as the colonnade of Amenhotep III at Luxor, the Karnak Temple of Amenhotep IV, the Ramesseum and Medinet Habu, to name but a few. By Ptolemaic times most of the Upper Egyptian temples contained monuments built from Gebel Silsila sandstone. Because of the sanctity of the site, the sandstone was considered to have an extra holiness.
Gebel Silsila West
The steep sandstone cliffs of the West Bank are cluttered with grafitti, shrines and stelae, including 33 rock chapels. Dynasty XVIII saw the construction of shrines by Tuthmose I, Hatshepsut, Tuthmose III and Horemheb and in Dynasty XIX, Rameses II, Merenptah, Siptah, Seti II, Rameses III and Rameses V had elaborate stelae carved on the rocks. Seti I left an inscribed Hymn to the Nile and inaugurated two festivals, which were continued to be endowed by Rameses II and Merenptah.
The most prominent deity depicted here appears to be Sobek the crocodile god, ‘Lord of Khennui’, who with Haroeris (Horus the Elder) is one of the twin gods of Kom Ombo. Hapi as god of the Nile also received a large share of offerings. The site’s proximity to Aswan meant that the Triad of Elephantine, Khnum, Satet and Anuket were worshipped here. Tauret the hippopotamus goddess is also featured at Gebel Silsila, especially in the Speos of Horemheb.

Towards the southern end of the west bank of the river, three shrines were constructed by Merenptah, Rameses II and Seti I (from north to south), with a quay in front of them, but Seti’s shrine and the quay were destroyed by an earthquake. These shrines are now most easily accessible by boat. To the north, sheer quarried rock faces that look like sliced blocks of cheese, contain mason’s marks, artisans’ drawings and other evidence of ancient workings. A rock-cut staircase leads hopefully up one side of these cliffs, only to vanish at the top leaving you almost stranded. There is, however a rough rocky path that leads past ‘The Capstan’ and on to the royal shrines.

The first monument here is a large rock stele at right-angles to the river, built by Rameses III and dated to Year VI of his reign. The first of the royal shines was built in the first year of Merenptah and like the other two was recessed deep into the rock behind two columns and a cornice. The king is seen worshipping a variety of gods and the inscription depicts a Hymn to the Nile. To the south is a small stele of Merenptah on which the king offers a figure of Ma’at to Amun-re. Behind him stands the Vizier Panahesy and another official. Sadly in June 2012, the lower part of this stele has been badly damaged by thieves attempting to remove it from the rock.
The second shrine belongs to the early reign of Rameses II and also shows the king worshipping several deities. Queen Nefertari is seen before a figure of the hippopotamus goddess Tauret who is dressed in a very unusual robe. To the south of the Rameses shrine is another small stele to Merenptah on which the King is joined by the High Priest of Amun, Roy. A small figure of King Amenhotep I stands beside this stele.

The third shrine and the earliest in the group was mostly destroyed by an earthquake. It was built for Seti I and seems to have been in a similar style to the other two royal shrines.

Further north, the visitor can see the majority of rock-shrines, some with elaborate chapels containing statues of the owners and with beautiful decorated ceilings. Many of these shrines have been damaged by quarrying or earthquakes and are now open to the elements, but they can be seen from the wide path that runs along the river bank. The shrines belong to high officials, priests, royal scribes and nobles of the time. There is also a Dynasty XVIII tomb belonging to Sennefer, a libation priest from Thebes who was buried here with his wife Hatshepsut. The tomb is now open to the sky, and the remains of five seated statues as well as hieroglyphic inscriptions can be seen, close to the water’s edge.

At the northern extent of the quarries there are three large rock-stelae carved for Rameses V, Shoshenq I and Rameses III (from north to south). The stele of Rameses V, one of his largest known monuments, contains an inscription dedicated to Amun-Re, Mut, Khons and Sobek-Re of Khennui. Shoshenq’s stela tells of how the king quarried here for his building works at Karnak in year 21 of his reign. On the stele of Rameses III, the king is seen offering a statue of ma’at to Amun-Re, Mut and Khons.
The Speos of Horemheb
Horemheb was the last king of Dynasty XVIII and he carved a much larger rock-chapel, or speos, out of the hillside at the northern end of the site. The chapel was dedicated to Amun-Re as well as other deities that were connected to the River Nile.

The monument consists of a façade of five doorways separated by pillars of differing widths, behind which is a long transverse hall with vaulted roof and a smaller oblong chamber, the sanctuary, to the rear. All the walls are covered in reliefs and inscriptions, in some places quite damaged, but in others there are some very fine high quality reliefs. Horemheb himself never finished the speos, and the decoration was later completed by subsequent kings and nobles who carved their own stelae and inscriptions on the walls.

The deities depicted on the walls, besides Amun-re, are Sobek in the form of a crocodile, the ram-headed god Khnum of the First Cataract, Satet of Elephantine, Anuket, goddess of Sehel, Tauret as a hippopotamus and Hapi, god of the Nile. As well as those of Horemheb, cartouches of Rameses II, Merenptah, Amenemesse, Seti II, Siptah and Rameses III appear in the reliefs.

On the southern end wall, the benevolent goddess Tauret is seen in rare human form, suckling the young King Horemheb. Behind her is a damaged figure of Khnum and to her left, Amun-Re and Sobek of Kennui.
The western wall depicts one of the most noted reliefs of Horemheb, the king’s ‘Triumphal Procession’ after his victory in Nubia. Horemheb is shown seated on a portable lion-chair which is carried by twelve soldiers wearing plumes of feathers. At the front and back of the king are his fan-bearers, protecting Pharaoh from the sun. His entourage include rows of priests, soldiers, a trumpeter and several groups of captured prisoners, all depicted in a very natural style, almost echoing some of the Amarna Period reliefs. The inscription above the king extols his victory over the people of Kush.

Another important relief here depicts a list of four Heb-sed festivals of Rameses II in the 30th, 34th, 37th and 40th years of his reign, which were supervised by his eldest son, Prince Khaemwaset. This prince, renowned for his priestly wisdom as well as his restoration works, appears in several places in the chapel, along with his mother Queen Asetnefert and Princess Bentanta, as well as other favoured officials of the reign. Khaemwaset presumably died before the 42nd jubilee of Rameses II was celebrated at Gebel Silsila as this was conducted by the Vizier Khay, who also has a presence in the speos. Merenptah, the son and successor of Rameses II is depicted on a stele with his wife Asetnefert and his Vizier Panehesy adoring Amun-Re and Mut.
On the northern end wall there is a niche with six figures cut in high relief, depicting (from west to east) the Vizier Panehesy, the goddess Ma’at, a male relation Amennakht, a female relation ‘Songstress of Hathor’, the god Ptah and finally Ra’y, a female relation with the title ‘Songstress of Re’. This is a rare relief where a private family is seen in the presence of the gods. Many other stelae and reliefs line the walls of the hall, giving the names of Dynasty XIX kings and their officials.

The sanctuary to the rear of the vaulted hall contains seven very damaged figures which are said to depict Sobek, Tauret, Mut, Amen-Re, Khons, Horemheb and Thoth. The side walls show a wide variety of gods and demi-gods, while the walls inside the doorway have reliefs of the Elephantine Triad, Khnum, Satet and Anuket as well as Osiris and the scorpion goddess Selkhet. Tauret presides over a symbolical representation of the union of Upper and Lower Egypt.
Gebel Silsila East
The east bank of the Nile contains the more spectacular quarries of Gebel Silsila which were most exploited during the New Kingdom, particularly under Rameses II, who employed three thousand workers to cut stone for the construction of the Ramesseum on the west bank at Thebes. Many shrines and stelae were cut into the rock here too and the names of kings who worked the quarries are attested by their officials who gave detailed accounts of their work.

The inscription on a large stele of Amenhotep III records the transport of stone for the construction of a temple of Ptah. His son Amenhotep IV, who later became Akhenaten, also has a stele here on which he worships Amun and records that he quarried stone for an obelisk to be erected in his Temple of the Sun at Karnak. Stelae of Seti I and King Apries can also be seen. Among the grottos and shelves of quarried sandstone, several unfinished sphinxes remain, of both the ram and human-headed variety, forever rooted to the bedrock. At the foot of the hills, there are a number of small rock-cut tombs. Rameses II built a temple at Gebel Silsila East, but this has now been destroyed.

Unfortunately, the east bank quarries are now officially closed to visitors without special permission.

The town of Edfu, on the west bank of the Nile 56km south of Esna and 105km north of Aswan, is today an important centre for sugar production and pottery-making. The modern town derives its name from the ancient Egyptian Djeba which was established on a mound on the east bank. The site of Edfu Tell was known as Wetjeset-hor (classical name Apollinopolis Magna), the place where the god Horus was worshipped and where the battle between Horus and his traditional enemy Seth in ancient mythology took place. The main monument at Edfu is the Ptolemaic Temple of Horus of Behdet on the edge of the town. Even though it was well covered by desert sand and human settlement debris, Edfu temple was visited by many early travellers. The sand has helped to preserve the building which was found to be almost completely intact when it was first cleared and excavated by Auguste Mariette in the 1860s.
The Temple of Horus
Of all the temple remains in Egypt, the Temple of Horus at Edfu is the most well-preserved and the only one we know to have been completed. Built from sandstone blocks the huge Ptolemaic temple was constructed over the site of a smaller earlier temple, oriented east to west, towards the river. The later structure faces north to south and leaves the ruined remains of the older temple pylon to be seen on the east side of the first court. Little is known about the first temple of Horus at Edfu, but there is inscriptional evidence that New Kingdom rulers Seti I, Rameses II and III did building work there. From building texts inside the later Ptolemaic temple which survives today, we know that this was begun by Ptolemy III Euergetes I in 237 BC, but was not completed until 57 BC.
Until recently, visitors approached the temple past its massive enclosure wall on the western side, carved with figures of the Ptolemaic kings offering to various deities. There is now a newly constructed coach park, cafeteria and open-air museum which leads directly to the front of the temple. The first structure we come to, at the south-west corner before the great temple pylon, is a rectangular colonnaded building peculiar to Graeco-Roman temples, known as a mammisi or birth-house, built to celebrate the divine birth of Horus. The Roman mammisi at Dendera was modelled on this structure. Reliefs show the god Bes, birth scenes and the infant son of Horus and Hathor, Ihi (Harsomptus), nursed by Hathor in the marshes.
Carvings on the massive twin towers of the 36m high entrance pylon are almost mirror images of each other with the traditional scenes of the king smiting his enemies before Horus. We can also clearly see the mast grooves for the flags which would have fluttered at the entrance. Two statues of the Horus falcon stand before the main gateway. Inside the entrance is a paved courtyard flanked by colonnades on the east and west and on the south which depicts relief carvings of the ‘Feast of the Beautiful Meeting’. This was a long and important festival in which the cult statue of Hathor of Dendera was brought to Edfu on a barge with much elaborate ritual and celebration, to meet her consort Horus for their annual reunion. Other ceremonies of the festival can be seen around the walls of the courtyard.
Ahead is the main temple façade in front of which stands the famous colossal black granite statue of Horus as a falcon, wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. The façade has screen walls with engaged columns in the usual style of Late Period and Ptolemaic temples.
Inside, the first thing which strikes the visitor is the almost deafening twittering of birds up in the roof. This is the outer hypostyle hall or pronaos, with 18 tall carved columns to support a ceiling decorated with astronomical figures representing the sky. The usual offering scenes decorate the walls but there are also well-preserved reliefs from the temple foundation ceremony. In the south wall there are two small chambers: a robing room (House of the Morning) on the west and the library (House of Books) on the east.
The inner chambers of Edfu temple are similar to Dendera. The second hypostyle hall, the naos or Great Court, is older and smaller than the pronaos. The ceiling is supported by 12 slender columns. This hypostyle has a number of chambers leading off to each side, including two ‘Chambers of Offerings’ and a laboratory with texts describing recipes for incense, ointments and other temple necessities. On the opposite (eastern) side of the second hypostyle is the treasury where gold, silver and precious stones would have been stored along with protective amulets and valuable ritual implements.
Beyond is a small transverse hall leading to the eastern and western staircases giving access the roof, which still provides wonderful views of the temple site. A procession of priests carrying ritual implements and standards is carved on the walls of both staircases. Nearby is an open-air offering court where there is a kiosk-like shrine, ‘The Pure Place’, which is echoed at Dendera Temple and which also has a ceiling depicting the sky-goddess Nut.
Next we come to the holy of holies, the sanctuary which was the most sacred area of the temple. The sanctuary contains the oldest object in the temple, a granite naos shrine which would have contained the cult statue, with cartouches of Nectanebo II of Dynasty XXX. This must have come from an earlier building. In a chapel behind the sanctuary there is a low pedestal, also from an earlier structure, on which stands a reproduction of the barque of Horus. There are a number of chambers surrounding the sanctuary dedicated to various gods and the daily rituals of the temple, some having hidden chambers within their walls. These rooms also contain the crypts, but they are undecorated and inaccessible to visitors.
Around the inner temple is an ambulatory or corridor carved with more foundation and building texts and also scenes from the Edfu Drama, the ‘Triumph of Horus’ that tells the story of Horus’s mythological triumph over Seth which was celebrated each year as a mystery play. On the inner face of the northern enclosure wall is a beautiful set of reliefs depicting another important ritual celebrated at Edfu. This was known as the ‘Installation of the Sacred Falcon’ in which a live falcon representing both the god Horus and the king, was crowned.
Since the first excavations many people have worked to understand Edfu temple. Serious ground-breaking studies have been undertaken in an attempt to clarify the complicated hieroglyphic texts which are now revealing so much about ancient Egyptian religion and mythology. The Ptolemaic carving on the stone walls of Edfu temple, unread for two millennia is now considered by Egyptologists to be a vast and highly important source of knowledge of temple ritual and Egyptian history.
Nearby monuments
To the west of the temple is the huge mound of the ancient town site, Tell Edfu, which has been excavated periodically since the 1920s. It is currently being excavated by Dr Nadine Moeller’s team. This is a settlement site which includes walls and building remains from the Old Kingdom through to the Late and Ptolemaic Periods. One of the earliest walls found in situ dates to the First Intermediate Period, confirmed by red pottery bowls of the period. During recent excavation seasons several large granaries have been found within the mound as well as a courtyard and a possible columned hall which may have been an important dwelling or administrative building. Seal impressions are thought to date the building to Dynasty XIII.
The oldest cemeteries within Tell Edfu are to the south-west of the Temple of Horus and contain several Old Kingdom mastabas, including the mastaba of Isi, a Dynasty VI provincial governor, as well as more recent burials. Several ostraca have been found in demotic and hieratic script, which give details of the administrative system of the town.
In the hills beyond the town are the tombs of the elite of Edfu but these are largely unexplored and not open to visitors.
A number of robbed oval graves have been found which are thought to be possibly from the Early Dynastic Period.
The remains of one of seven small provincial step pyramids built along the Nile Valley, is situated about 5km north of Edfu near the west bank village of Naga el-Goneima. The structure was built from rough reddish sandstone and rises to a present height of 5.5m. The pyramid has been loosely attributed to King Huni of Dynasty III. The purpose of these pyramids is not known.
How to get there

Kom Ombo is an industrial town 45km north of Aswan. Its classical name was Ombos, its ancient name, Nebet, and it was strategically placed between Edfu and Aswan as a garrison town on an important trading route. The Ptolemaic temple and ancient town site is a few kilometres from the modern town on a promontory on the east bank of the Nile.
The temple is very unusual. It was dedicated to two triads of deities, each with their own associated chambers and sanctuaries. On the eastern side of the temple, the crocodile god Sobek (Suchos/Seth), is honoured with his wife who is here named as Hathor and their son Khonsu. On the west side, Haroeris or ‘Horus the Elder’ (Harwer) is accompanied by his wife Hathor-ta-sent-nefert and their son Panebtawy (Lord of the Two Lands). It is likely that there were also two separate priesthoods who tended the deities.
The main entrance pylon has now been destroyed, but entering through a portal at the southeast the visitor comes into a large court with remains of a Roman columned portico which still has good colour in some places on the walls. In the centre of the court stands the base of an altar with granite basins on either side which may have been used to catch ritual libations.
The main part of the temple was probably begun by Ptolemy VI Philometor, as his is the earliest name recorded. The first hypostyle hall, behind typical Ptolemaic pillars and screen walls, has ornate floral columns with well-preserved ritual scenes on the walls. Ptolemy VIII Neos Dionysos, is shown on the right hand side making offerings to four mythical beasts. It was Ptolemy VII Auletes and Ptolemy VIII who completed the decoration of the hypostyle halls. Other Ptolemies and Romans also contributed to various parts of the temple. In the second hypostyle there is a Greek inscription which records details of troops stationed in the area during the time of Ptolemy VII and his queen Cleopatra II.
Three antechambers behind the second hypostyle are almost destroyed, but led to the twin sanctuaries of Sobek and Haroeris, with their associated cult chambers on either side. Between the two sanctuaries was a hidden chamber thought to be where the priest acting as the ‘Oracle’ would be concealed. There are underground tunnels and crypts leading to this and other chambers. The sanctuaries themselves are in very poor condition, but the pedestals on which the gods’ sacred barques would have rested still remain.
A passageway runs around the outside of the main temple building similar to other temples of this period, with a staircase leading to the roof. On the inside of the enclosure wall at the rear of the temple is a famous relief depicting what many scholars have suggested are surgical instruments. Other suggestions are that they are veterinary instruments or ritual implements.
In the centre of the opposite wall is an unusual false door showing both Sobek and Haroeris with their cult sceptres. Sobek’s sign of power is a lion-headed wand, while Haroeris has a curious knife with legs. In the false door there is an oracle niche with ‘hearing ears’ and ‘sacred eyes’, through which the priests would deliver oracles to the people waiting outside the main part of the temple. Above them the winged goddess Ma’at, holds up the sky. Throughout the temple the two gods share cosmic power on an equal basis, each in their own side of the central axis.
Back in the forecourt to the right of the temple entrance is a small chapel of Hathor where those who are not too squeamish can see the stored remains of a mummified crocodile and some clay crocodile coffins, which were excavated from a nearby animal cemetery. Crocodiles, which were sacred to Sobek, were thought to be bred in a small pool on the western side of the temple. Here you can also see remains of a very deep well with a circular staircase and a nilometer. Remains of a birth-house is situated at the northwest corner beyond the wall of the court and a portal of Ptolemy VII is at the northeast corner.
There is now a very good crocodile museum in the precinct of Kom Ombo Temple.
Nearby monuments
There is an ancient mound or town site close to the temple at Kom Ombo.

The riverscape of Aswan is dominated by the sand-covered hills of the West Bank which is strewn with rock-cut tombs of high-status officials of the Old and Middle Kingdom. At the crest of the hill is the domed tomb of a Muslim prophet which gives the hill its local name, Qubbet el-Hawa or ‘Dome of the Winds’.
The ticket office is to the northern end of the tomb area and a steep climb up several flights of stone steps leads to the upper level of the cemetery where there are around 6 or 7 tombs open to visitors. The guide will usually begin at the southern end of the upper level where the most interesting tombs can be seen. These ancient tombs are roughly cut from the natural rock, and though they are not as well preserved as some of those to be visited in the Luxor or Cairo areas they are well worth seeing. Tombs of this period are usually fairly inaccessible in most places south of Cairo and these show fine examples of hieroglyphic texts detailing the careers of their owners as well as scenes of daily life in the earlier periods. Many of the tombs are linked together as family members added their own chambers.
Tombs 25/26: Sabni and Mekhu
The owners of these tombs were father and son, both Overseers of Upper Egypt in Dynasty VI during the reign of Pepy II. Reliefs on the walls of Mekhu’s tomb record his murder while on an expedition in Nubia and the revenge taken by Sabni, his son. He seems to have been buried with much ceremony. The tombs were roughly constructed in Old Kingdom style, with small obelisks at the entrance doorway and an offering table of Mekhu still in situ.
Tomb 31: Sarenput II
The next major tomb in the sequence is that of Sarenput II, Overseer of the Priests of Khnum and Commander of the Garrison at Elephantine, dated to the reign of Dynasty XII king, Amenemhet II. This is one of the best preserved tombs at Aswan. It consists of a large chamber with six perfectly symmetrical undecorated pillars and a gallery flanked by six niches each once containing mummiform statues of the deceased prince. The four pillars of a second chamber were decorated with images of Sarenput. Beyond this, a chapel cut deep into the rock is plastered and painted in vivid colours and depicts his wife, a Priestess of Hathor and other family members. In the niche at the back of the chapel Sarenput is named as ‘Hereditary Lord’. This biographical text is very colourful with well-depicted hieroglyphs and shows the cartouche of ‘Nebkaure’ – Amenemhet II as well as an unusual glyph of an elephant. The style of painting and the hieroglyphs are distinctly similar to the Old Kingdom tombs, leading some Egyptologists to suggest that the same artists decorated them and that the length of the 1st Intermediate Period was therefore very short.
Tomb 31: Khunes
This is a Dynasty VI tomb, its owner Khunes was a Lector Priest and Chancellor. A side chamber to the left of the entrance was re-used as a Coptic cell and another chamber on an upper level was a serdab. The tomb contains scenes of the deceased and his family in daily life.
Tomb 31: Harkhuf
Harkhuf was an Overseer of Foreign Troops during the reigns of Pepy I, Merenre and Pepy II in Dynasty VI. This tomb is famous for Harkhuf’s biographical text and a copy of a letter from Pepy II requesting that Harkhuf should hurry to bring the young king a dancing pigmy from an expedition into Africa.
Tomb 35: Pepynakht (also called Heqa-ib)
The owner of this tomb was another Overseer of Foreign Troops during the reign of Pepy II of Dynasty VI. The tomb has a columned façade, biographical texts and good reliefs showing hunting and bull-fighting scenes. Heqa-ib was the deified official whose cult chapel stood on Elephantine Island.
Tomb 36: Sarenput I
The last major tomb on the upper level dates from Dynasty XII and the reign of Senwosret I. Sarenput I was a Governor of Elephantine and Overseer of the Priests of Satis. A columned court has scenes on the rear walls of the deceased hunting and fishing with his dogs and his sandal-bearer. In a hall with four columns there are scenes of daily life, a boating scene and a biographical text with finely painted hieroglyphs. A chamber at the rear of the tomb has a ‘false door’.
Note the causeways which run down the hillside from the different cemetery levels. These would have been the original ‘paths’ to the tombs and coffins and burial goods would have been dragged up these steep inclines from the river. At night the whole cemetery area is floodlit and can be seen from all over Aswan.
The tombs are mostly quite deep in the hillside and therefore very dark. Photography is not usually allowed.

For over 50 years the Island of Philae and its monuments lay half-submerged in water built up by the Aswan Dam and barrages during annual inundations, until the UNESCO rescue operations for the Nubian monuments in the 1960s. The temples have now been completely dismantled and rebuilt to the original orientation on the nearby island of Agilika which rises higher from the water and has been reshaped and landscaped to resemble the original Philae. Metal pylons on the old island of Philae can still be seen rising from the water to the south of Agilika.
A short trip on a motor boat will bring the visitor suddenly upon a magnificent vista of the island before landing at the what would have been the ancient quay on the south side.
The earliest of the surviving monuments of Philae is the Kiosk of Nectanebo I, of Dynasty XXX, although there is evidence of building dating back to Dynasty XXV. Most of the other structures are Ptolemaic and Roman and were re-used by the early Christians when the temple was finally closed by the Emperor Justinian in 550AD. The main temple is dedicated to Isis and was the centre of the cult of Isis and Hathor during the Roman Period. It was the last pagan temple in use in Egypt.
There are many legends connected to Philae, but the most well known one tells the story of how Isis found the heart of Osiris here after his murder by his brother Seth. Each evening there is a Sound and Light Show which recounts the legends against the magnificent backdrop of the floodlit monuments – a truly magical experience.
Beginning at the south of the island, Nectanebo’s structure is a hall with screen walls linked by graceful columns. There are two colonnades on the east and west sides of the courtyard, leading to the first temple pylon. Each column has a different floral capital. The first pylon was built by Ptolemy XII and decorated in traditional Egyptian style with reliefs of the king subduing his enemies and worshipping the goddess Isis. There are two portals, the main one is an earlier doorway built by Nectanebo and if you look up on the east wall there are inscriptions by the French army who visited here in 1799. The other portal in the western tower leads to a birth-house where Isis is depicted suckling her son Horus in the marshes. On the eastern side of the inner court is another colonnade with a number of chambers behind. At the southern end of the colonnade is a granite altar of Taharqo – the oldest object on the island. In front of the second pylon the natural outcrop of rock on which it was built was smoothed to create a donation stela recording lands donated to the temple by Ptolemy VI.
The second pylon leads to the hypostyle hall and a staircase in the western tower leads to the roof. Here can be found a suite of Osiris chambers where the death and mourning of the god is depicted in reliefs similar to those in Osiris rooms in other Ptolemaic temples. Unfortunately visitors are no longer admitted to the roof.
The hypostyle hall is small and unassuming compared to some of the other temples from this period. A series of three vestibules lead to the central sanctuary and its chambers on either side have entrances to the crypts. The Isis sanctuary still contains a pedestal where the sacred barque used in the processions and festivals of the goddess would have rested.
Leaving the main temple by a doorway in the eastern side, you can visit the small Temple of Hathor built by Ptolemy VI and VIII, with its Ptolemaic papyrus columns and depictions of the god Bes and an ape playing a musical instrument. This is currently undergoing restoration.
Nearby is the Kiosk of Trajan, probably the most distinctive of Philae’s monuments and the focus of the second half of the Sound and Light show. Reliefs inside the rectangular structure of 14 columns with screen walls, depict the Emperor Trajan making offerings to Isis, Osiris and Horus. The roof is now gone and the kiosk which was at one time the main entrance to the temple from the river, is airy and open. You can get a magnificent view of the kiosk from the river on the return journey from the island.

Moving round the outside of the Isis Temple the exterior walls depict scenes carved by the Emperors Augustus and Tiberius. Mudbrick buildings on the east and northern sides (now destroyed) would have housed the Roman priests and temple staff. Also at the northern end of the island you can see a Roman quay and gateway built by Diocletian. On the western side of the island, near the Ptolemaic birth-house, a nilometer leads down to the river. These structures were used to measure the height of the annual inundation in ancient times in order to assess taxes for the coming harvest.
Nearby monuments
There are many islands near Agilika, but those most closely associated with Philae are the neighbouring islands of Biga and Konosso. A privately hired boat will take you to Biga Island where there were cult buildings dedicated to Osiris. Graeco-Roman legends state that part of the dismembered Osiris was buried there and a cavern beneath the island was the source of the Nile. Greek sources refer to Biga as the ‘Abaton’ or forbidden place. There is little to see today on Biga, which is very overgrown, but parts of a Ptolemaic gateway to the temple still remain. There are also graffito on Biga and Konosso recording visits by high officials during the New Kingdom.
On the Island of el-Heisa there are rock texts and a red granite naos of Ptolemy VII, as well as rock-cut tombs of the priests of Philae.