Around the World in 180 Days with D and N: Kom Ombo and Edfu: Crocodile and Falcon Gods

After spending our first night docked at Aswan, we sailed north downstream to our first stop, Kom Ombo. Watching life along the banks of the Nile was interesting and relaxing - donkeys pulling carts of vegetables, fields of sugar cane, cows grazing, small homes and local citizens going about their daily lives.

After breakfast, we disembarked and walked up to the nearby Temple of Kom Ombo. The temple is unique in that it was dedicated to two gods, Sobek the Crocodile god and Horus the Elder. The dual nature is reflected in its composition of two symmetrical entrances, two parallel halls, and two sanctuaries. The dedication to the crocodile god was a result of the worshipers' desire to appease the crocs and stop their attacking. A sacred live croc was always kept on the grounds, and offered mummified crocodiles as offerings. The crocodile mummy museum is adjacent to the temple.

The Twin Temple at Ko Ombo

Our Guide, Achmed, Explaining Finer Points of a Relief

A Painted Archway in the Temple

School Kids Viewing the Nilemeter, a Cistern Into Which the River Flowed. Taxes Were Levied Depending on the Water Level in the Cistern. It May Also Have Been Used to House the Sacred Crocodile.

Mummified Crocodiles at the Museum

We left Kom Ombo and sailed on to Edfu, about 40 miles north, during lunch. Arriving at Edfu we took a carriage ride to the Temple of Horus.

The temple is built on high ground some distance from the Nile, and is the most completely preserved Egyptian temple since it escaped the flooding which impacted so many other temples. It was dedicated to Horus, the falcon god, and was the cult center for falcon worshipers. It was built over a period of 180 years, finally completed in 57 BC by Ptolemy XII, the father of Cleopatra VII (she of Mark Antony, the asp, and Liz Taylor fame), so is much newer than most of the other temples we visited.