An adventure to the Middle East ( Part 6 ) Temple of Horus

Today we will be visiting the Temple of Horus in Edfu.

Of all of the temples in Egypt, the one in Edfu is the most complete and best preserved. The reason for this is that the Temple of Horus had been totally submerged under the desert except for the very top of the pylon entrance. A small amount of stone had been removed from the exposed part but when they excavated it was found to be in near perfect condition. The desert sand has helped in preserving the building which was found by Auguste Mariette in the 1860"s.

It was believed that the temple was built on the site of the great battle between Horus and Seth. It was built 237 BC and was finished in 57 BC.

The front of the temple showing the two statues of Horus

On the main archway into the temple are six sets of winged images. The temple is dedicated to Horus.


At the entrance to the temple stands a magnificent black granite statue of Horus, the falcon headed god. to whom this temple was dedicated to.

Here is a view of the first courtyard ( called " Court of Offerings " ) just inside the entrance.

The Hypostyle hall is both imposing and impressive because of its size and condition. An impressive feature of the temple is that nearly every surface is covered with carvings and hieroglyphics some of which were destroyed by the Christians as they considered these images to be pagan. The pylons of the main temple are about 118 feet high.

Even the chambers inside the temple were heavily covered with carvings. These hieroglyphics tells the story of Horus's mythological triumph over Seth.

In the center of this magnificent room is a model of the sacred boat of the falcon god Horus. This model is situated in front of a black granite shrine to Horus and both are surrounded by three walls with the most exquisite reliefs depicting offerings to the god.

The passageway between the inner and outer temple in deep shade showing the walls covered with hieroglyphics.

The Temple of Horus is another MUST SEE when you are in Egypt. Not only can you see clearly the hieroglyphics on the wall but also the colors they used to decorated these hieroglyphics. I was amazed that the colors survived for thousand of years.

We went back to our cruise ship for lunch. Our next scheduled temple visit ( Kom Ombo ) was in the afternoon.

SALAM ALEKUM HABIBIS !!!