Tour To Edfu And Kom Ombo Temples From Luxor

Edfu lies 110 kilometers south of Luxor. In Ancient Egypt, the town was known as Behdt. It was the cult center of the God Horus of Behdt (or Hr Bhdt). Horus was a protective God. He was depicted as a Falcon or a man with a Falcon’s head.

During the Greco-Roman era, the Temple of Horus in Edfu was built. The temple building took 180 years to complete. Construction began in 237 BC and finished in 57 BC. The temple is the most intact temple in Egypt. It was dedicated to one of god Horus’s most important festivals, called the “Beautiful Gathering”. During the festival Hathor, consort of Horus traveled to Edfu from her temple at Dendera to visit her husband Horus for a few days each year.

Kom Ombo is 45 Kilometers north of Aswan. For the Ancient Egyptians, it lies at a strategic place as the starting point of the desert route to the gold mines in the Eastern Desert. During the Greco-Roman era when the temple was built, it was known as Ombos. The temple was popular as a Sanatorium.

The temple here is unique because it is divided into two separate gods, the Falcon-headed god Horus and the Crocodile-headed god Sobek, as two temples. Each has its own portion.

In 2012 the Crocodile Museum was built to house 31 crocodile mummies. It is a small museum well worth exploring.