On Location - Egypt

Being situated on the western bank of Lake Nasser, about 300 km (190 mi) by road southwest of Aswan, the trip to Abu Simbel is no small undertaking. Its an early rise to take one of the many tours leaving Aswan at sunrise each morning and a long days drive to get there and back before sunset. The temples are an incredible site to behold; swarms of tourists come to pay homage just as the worshipers came over 3,000 years ago. Patience is a virtue here; its crowded and not nearly enough time is allocated by the tour companies to take in the majesty of the site. Don’t let that put you off though; its still a highlight of my trip!

Join me on a trip to the ancient and fascinating sites in and around Aswan in Upper Egypt.  The Elephantine Island Ruins, The Unfinished Obelisk, The High Dam, the Tombs of the Nobles, and Feluccas on the Nile were all highlights for me!

The Philae Temple Complex is around 2,500 years old and located on an island a short distance from Aswan in Upper Egypt. In the words of author Amelia B. Edwards:

“The approach by water is quite the most beautiful. Seen from the level of a small boat, the island, with its palms, its colonnades, its pylons, seems to rise out of the river like a mirage. Piled rocks frame it on either side, and the purple mountains close up the distance. As the boat glides nearer between glistening boulders, those sculptured towers rise higher and even higher against the sky. They show no sign of ruin or age. All looks solid, stately, perfect. One forgets for the moment that anything is changed. If a sound of antique chanting were to be borne along the quiet air–if a procession of white-robed priests bearing aloft the veiled ark of the God, were to come sweeping round between the palms and pylons–we should not think it strange”. — Amelia B. Edwards, A thousand miles up the Nile / by Amelia B. Edwards, 1831-1892, p. 207.

The Temple of Horus, also known as the Edfu Temple, is an Egyptian temple located on the west bank of the Nile in Edfu, Upper Egypt.  It is an incredibly well-preserved monument to one of Ancient Egypt’s most important deities, Horus.  Worshipped as the child of Isis and Osiris, Horus was depicted with the head – and often the body – of a falcon and was the ruler of the skies and the deity of the pharaohs.

After wandering around the temple, I took the time to wander some of the street in Edfu.  A lovely way to meet the locals and get an insight into their lives and culture.

Esna is a city of Egypt located on the west bank of the Nile some 55 km (34 mi) south of Luxor. From an archaeological perspective it is most well known for the Temple of Khnum which today sits in a 9m deep pit representing the 15 centuries of desert sand and debris that accumulated since it was abandoned during the Roman period. After visiting the temple I took the opportunity to wander around the local streets of Esna with an opportunity to meet and share time with the locals both young and old.

One of the most unusual temples of Ancient Egypt, Kom Ombo was mainly built during the Ptolemaic Dynasty from 180 - 47 BCE, although there is evidence that it is stood upon an earlier temple. 

The building is unique because its 'double' design meant that there were courts, halls, sanctuaries and rooms duplicated for two sets of gods. The southern half of the temple was dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek, god of fertility and creator of the world with Hathor and Khonsu. Meanwhile, the northern part of the temple was dedicated to the falcon god Haroeris ("Horus the Elder"), along "with Tasenetnofret (the Good Sister, a special form of Hathor or Tefnet/Tefnut) and Panebtawy (Lord of the Two Lands)." The temple is atypical because everything is perfectly symmetrical along the main axis.

This was my first time to experience a trip in a hot air balloon; absolutely fantastic and highly recommended. Its nothing short of magical to rise up into the skies and take in the sights of the Luxor West Bank (Hatshepsut, Valley of Kings, Valley of Queens, Tombs of the Nobles, etc.). Seeing the sun rise and the changing light across an ancient landscape along with the sense of peace and tranquillity are memories that I treasure dearly.

The sanctuary is a mortuary, or memorial, temple, constructed in honour of the pharaoh under which it was built. Despite being around 3500 years old, its long colonnaded terrace almost looks like contemporary architecture, and the elegant symmetry contrasts strikingly with the rugged cliff face of Deir el-Bahari that looms above it.

Also known as the Djeser-Djeseru, the "Holy of Holies" in Ancient Egyptian language, the temple was built for the 18th dynasty Pharaoh Hatshepsut, the longest reigning female pharaoh, regarded by historians as one of the most successful leaders of Ancient Egypt and as the "first great woman in history".

The Temple of Karnak is a vast sprawling complex located in Luxor. The highlight for me was undoubtably the Hypostyle hall, at 16,459 square meters, and featuring 134 massive columns arranged in 16 rows, is still the largest room of any religious building in the world. One hundred and twenty-two of these columns are 10 metres tall, and the other 12 are 21 metres tall with a diameter of over 3 metres. The architraves (beams) on top of these columns are estimated to weigh 70 tons. 

Having visited the Karnak Temple during the day I thought it would be interesting to visit Luxor Temple at night.   Whilst night adds atmosphere it provides a lot more challenges from a photography perspective; people and objects cast their shadows, differences in light colour creates colour casts, and consistency and placement in the of lights areas of blinding brightness next to other areas of deep shade etc.  All in all a very interesting place to visit.

In ancient times Madinat Habu was known as Djanet and according to ancient belief was the place were Amun first appeared. After Pharaoh Ramses III had taken the throne and began to rule, he started constructing the temple which was completed in 1156 BC. The temple was built to defend against neighbouring enemy tribes.

In the 3rd century BC., the Ptolemies completed the main facade of the Temple of Amun. Also, they made an ornament in the form of a winged solar disk. Ancient Egyptians obtained the funds for constructing the temple through the numerous campaigns of Ramses. He was considered an outstanding military leader who could create excellent strategies, thanks to which ancients built quickly enough Medinet Habu.

Join me on my wanderings around Luxor in Upper Egypt. Whilst the town is perhaps best known for its temples (Karnak and Luxor) and being the gateway to the tombs and temples of the surrounding area (Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, Tombs of the Nobles, Temple of Hatshepsut, etc.) it is a fascinating place to wander around. My bicycle was a great way to travel around the area and it was fun to get off the beaten track to meet people and get an insight into their lives.

A lovely way to spend an evening is to hire one of the local felucca's and sail the Nile to experience the splendour of sunset.

The Luxor Museum was inaugurated in 1975 as a location to house a modest range of high quality antiquities found in the local archaeological sites.  It's really worth a visit and does not take too long to wander around and admire the pieces on display.

Tombs of the Nobles are a collective term applied to tombs of workers, foremen, priests, soldiers, officials, viziers, princes etc. usually located in the area of a major ancient site in Egypt.  The Theban Necropolis is located on the west bank of the Nile, opposite Luxor, in Egypt. As well as the more famous royal tombs located in the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, there are numerous other tombs, more commonly referred to as Tombs of the Nobles (Luxor), the burial places of some of the powerful courtiers and persons of the ancient city.

The Valley of the Queens, is home to the tombs of the royal women of the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt. The wives of Pharaohs, princesses and even a handful of princes were buried here from the 18th through to the 20th dynasties. Known as "Ta-Set-Neferu" - "the place of beauty" - in ancient times, of the more than 75 tombs that we know of, only four are currently open to the public. Visitors can enter the burial places of Queen Titi, the Ramesside princes Khaemwaset and Amunherkhepshef, and the tomb considered to be the finest in Egypt: that of Nefertari.

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