Between Aswan and Luxor is located the major Ptolemaic temple of Edfu – the best preserved major temple in Egypt. The temple is dedicated to the falcon god Horus and was built over a 180-year period from 237 BC to 57 BC.
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| The front of the temple of Horus at Edfu. Visitors approach from the rear of the temple and around the left side of the pylons or through the small corridor visible at ground level in the pylon on the left. |
Most visitors to the temple arrive by cruise boat and then take a horse-drawn carriage to the temple where vendors are ready to sell you all manner of souvenirs.
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| The pylons of Efdu Temple behind some of Edfu’s buildings. Seen from a cruise boat heading north to Luxor. |
Inside the temple’s pylons is a large courtyard. Just before the entrance to the first of two hypostyle halls is a welcoming statue of Horus. Inside the hypostyle halls are dominated by a forest of towering columns.
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| Statue of Horus, the falcon god, in the courtyard of the temple. |
Horus depicted on inside of the rear surrounding wall. |
The temple was excavated last century by Auguste Mariette. Its courtyard and surrounds were buried beneath sand and also houses built by local villagers. Deep within the temple is the sanctuary where a statue of Horus would have been cared for by priests.
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| The Sanctuary at Edfu Temple. The pedestal would have supported a barque, while the shrine or naos at the rear would have housed a statue of Horus. The naos dates from an earlier temple. |
An early 20th century replica of a barque of Horus that would have sat in the Sanctuary. The barque would have been joined briefly each year by the barque of the goddess Hathor brought from Dendara Temple. |