Edfu…. the city that is lost in time.
Edfu is a city of 500,000 people that is half way between Luxor and Aswan.
We have sailed through the afternoon and evening and wake up the next morning in Edfu. IT is another early start, mostly to avoid the hottest part of the day. Looking out the window of our cabin I see several old, dusty buggies parked with their equally dusty and tired looking horses. Slowly more buggies gather on the street outside the dock.
I realize this is the normal means of transportation here in Edfu, not merely a tourist attraction. The buildings along the street are rudimentary to say the best.
By the time we make our way out toward the street it is crowded with carriages, drivers jostling to pick up fares. Our guide arranges a carriage and we climb in. It is a b it of a gong show as drivers and buggies bump and push, some coming and some going, all trying to make sure they get a piece of this early morning business.
As we clip-clop through the narrow streets it is plain to see this is not a prosperous town. It actually looks older than it is. Edfu was settled in the 18th century when the remains of a beautiful temple was unearthed from the sand. It is the best preserved temple in Egypt.
The main industry in Edfu is agriculture, the growing of sugar cane. Along the streets farmers with donkey carts loaded with sugar cane mix with horse carriages and small trucks carrying produce. People dressed in traditional garb walk along the dusty streets in the burning heat.
As we arrive at the Temple we disembark from our buggy and make our way through a maze of pedlars, each trying to make sure you visit their stall. This makes Mexico look like amateurs!
Finally we make our way into the Temple. This temple was built around 237 BC by the Greek King Ptolemy III but was built in the Egyptian style and to honor the Egyptian gods Horus and Hathur. It depicts the battle between Horus and his uncle Seth. Horus and Seth both wanted Hathur but Hathur loved and chose Horus so Seth killed Horus and cut him into 14 pieces and buried him all over the country so the pieces could not be put back together again (ancient Egyptian myth).
Hathur and Horus had a son. Hathur searched for and eventually found her husbands remains and when her son was grown enlisted his to revenge his father's death and kill the uncle. Extremely detailed images are carved throughout the complex detailing the story.
Ptolemy was not Egyptian but wanted to rule Egypt so there are also many images of him with the two Gods, depicting him as first friend and them being accepted as Royal blood so that he could take over Egypt.
Come With Me.... On to Kom Ombo…..
Edfu is a city of 500,000 people that is half way between Luxor and Aswan.
We have sailed through the afternoon and evening and wake up the next morning in Edfu. IT is another early start, mostly to avoid the hottest part of the day. Looking out the window of our cabin I see several old, dusty buggies parked with their equally dusty and tired looking horses. Slowly more buggies gather on the street outside the dock.
I realize this is the normal means of transportation here in Edfu, not merely a tourist attraction. The buildings along the street are rudimentary to say the best.
By the time we make our way out toward the street it is crowded with carriages, drivers jostling to pick up fares. Our guide arranges a carriage and we climb in. It is a b it of a gong show as drivers and buggies bump and push, some coming and some going, all trying to make sure they get a piece of this early morning business.As we clip-clop through the narrow streets it is plain to see this is not a prosperous town. It actually looks older than it is. Edfu was settled in the 18th century when the remains of a beautiful temple was unearthed from the sand. It is the best preserved temple in Egypt.
The main industry in Edfu is agriculture, the growing of sugar cane. Along the streets farmers with donkey carts loaded with sugar cane mix with horse carriages and small trucks carrying produce. People dressed in traditional garb walk along the dusty streets in the burning heat.
As we arrive at the Temple we disembark from our buggy and make our way through a maze of pedlars, each trying to make sure you visit their stall. This makes Mexico look like amateurs!
Finally we make our way into the Temple. This temple was built around 237 BC by the Greek King Ptolemy III but was built in the Egyptian style and to honor the Egyptian gods Horus and Hathur. It depicts the battle between Horus and his uncle Seth. Horus and Seth both wanted Hathur but Hathur loved and chose Horus so Seth killed Horus and cut him into 14 pieces and buried him all over the country so the pieces could not be put back together again (ancient Egyptian myth).
Hathur and Horus had a son. Hathur searched for and eventually found her husbands remains and when her son was grown enlisted his to revenge his father's death and kill the uncle. Extremely detailed images are carved throughout the complex detailing the story.
Ptolemy was not Egyptian but wanted to rule Egypt so there are also many images of him with the two Gods, depicting him as first friend and them being accepted as Royal blood so that he could take over Egypt.
We finish our tour and head back to our carriage. The sun is relentless, now about 44 degrees. We head back to the air conditioned comfort of our cruise ship for another lazy afternoon on the Nile.
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