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Crowning Pharaoh Ptolemaios XII
In a beautifully restored wall relief at the temple at Kom Ombo, Goddesses of
Lower and Upper Egypt, Wadjet and Nekhbet, crown Pharaoh Ptolemy XII while Horus (Haroeris) watches on.
Bad lighting and dancing shadows lend an eerie air of animation to the figures on the walls all around us. Intricately carved pillars and beautifully restored wall-reliefs contrast with uneven stones and rough scaffolding: it truly is surreal walking after dark through structures built over 2000 years ago.
My Nile river boat was rafted up against a larger boat in the small harbour at Kom Ombo, a small agricultural town in Egypt, about 45km (30 miles) north of Aswan.
I’d started my day at Edfu, after sailing up from Luxor the day before (see: Luxor Bazaar and the Mighty Nile). We’d spent the day chugging up-river, watching the banks with their rich farming lands and and small village slide past. It was already dark when we docked: our destination, the Temple of Sobek and Haroeris, was sitting on a small hill just above us, bathed enticingly in yellow lights.
Often referred to just as Kom Ombo Temple, this distinctive double-temple dates to the Ptolemaic dynasty (305 to 30 BC.), successor to the rule of Alexander the Great, and the last dynasty of Ancient Egypt.
The temple is unique in that it is dedicated to two Gods: Sobek (Sebek) the crocodile god, creator of the Nile River and responsible for fertility, and Horus (Haroeris, Hor, Har, Her, or Heru) the falcon-headed god of power and healing. Therefore, the temple – begun by Ptolemy VI Philometor (180–145 BC) at the beginning of his reign and added to by other Ptolemies – consists of two identical sections along a main axis, each with its own entry, courts, halls, sanctuaries and rooms. The northern section is dedicated to Horus, and the southern section to Sobek.
This temple was Sobek’s chief sanctuary. The ubiquitous Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus) had a reputation for eating anything in their path, and generated fear in the local communities. Legend has it that in ancient times, sacred crocodiles basked in the sun on the river banks near Kom Ombo, and as totem animals, a number were kept in captivity within the temple itself. This has lead to another unique feature at Kom Ombo: the discovery of three hundred mummified crocodiles – a few of which are on display in the chapel of Hathor, in “Egypt’s first ever crocodile museum”.
On a photographic technical note: the lighting in the temple was truly awful! Most of my shots are taken at the highest ISO settings available to me – 3200 and 6400 – so the quality is not what I would like. Also, only phone-cameras were allowed in the crocodile museum.
I hope you’ll agree that the content is sufficiently interesting to make up for any lack of quality.
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A Hazy Morning on the Nile
It’s barely 7:15 in the morning, but the sun is already high over the banks on the east side of the river. Our Nile riverboat, featuring a hamsa or khamsah – a hand with the fingers spread apart to ward off evil, is docked at Edfu on the west bank. (iPhone6)
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Tourist Boats at Edfu
It was low season, and operators said business had still not bounced back after the Arab Spring (2010-2012) – making me wonder how crowded it must be on this river in a good high season!
Nile Dahabiya Boat
Nile Boat and Kom Ombo Temple
After nightfall, we are tied up in the little harbour, looking across other tourist boats to the lovely Greco Roman temple perched atop a dune.
Kom Ombo Temple
It is a short walk to the base of the hill.
Temple Under Lights
We are not the only tourists walking around in clumps from one point of interest to the next with their guides.
Waves of Stone
Every surface tells a story; …
Explaining
… the guides point out the features to their groups.
Regal Relief
This story-board show King Ptolemy XIII in the centre, flanked by Thoth and Isis on the left and Sekhmet and Horus on the right. These reliefs have been painstakingly restored: between floods, subsidence, earthquakes, and the Copts who used the building as a church, the temple has experienced extensive damage.
Carved Column
The carved sections have withstood the tests of time far better.
Shadows across the Murals
The lighting is a real challenge! This intricate relief shows Thoth and Horus pouring sacred water over Pharaoh Ptolemy XII‘s head.
Two-Headed Nehebkau and Others
Nehebkau (Nehebu-Kau) was a funerary god associated with the afterlife.
Offerings
More Stories in Stone
While trying to get a few photos, I missed most of the stories our guide told us. I thought I could look them up easily on line afterwards: I was wrong! I don’t know what Hathor, Horus and the pharaoh are doing here.
Flat Walls and Round Columns
Columns and Courtyards
It was really hard to get a sense of the floor plan in the dark; …
Carved Columns
… carved with ankhs, the symbols of life, the columns seemed to go on forever.
Guide outside a Small Chamber
Tourist Dwarfed by the Columns
More Reliefs
Telling Stories
Guides give detailed descriptions of each panel to their customers. It amazes me how much is actually known about the Ancient Egyptians thanks to their extensive hieroglyphics and iconography.
Horus the Falcon God
I can’t keep up with the different forms the Gods take, and the complicated interrelations between them!
Mummified Crocodiles
I thought the mummified crocodiles, and the various statues to Sobek were as interesting and unique as the double-temple itself. (iPhone6)
It really is a fascinating place – and it would be worthwhile to see in daylight, but our boat was continuing up the river to Aswan, where more ancient wonders awaited.
Until next time,
Happy Travels!
Photos: 09October2019
[…] and my Nile riverboat had spent the last few days making it’s way south, up river (see: Kom Ombo Egypt). Our boat had rafting up against another one the evening before in the ancient city of Swenett, […]