A Trip Down The Nile – From Luxor to Aswan with Stops in Edfu and Kom Ombo

What better way to see Egypt, but from the river that birthed its civilization – the Nile! In this post we head down the Nile from Luxor (and the famous Valley of Kings) to the southern city of Aswan on the border of the land of Nubia, a typical itinerary for riverboats. In this post I detail the land in between these two major cities with a focus on Edfu and the Temple of Horus as well as Kom Ombo and the Temple of Sobek. For more information on the the above mentioned major centers check out the following links below:

For more information on the the capital of Upper Egypt, Luxor click here and for the exotic southern city of Aswan click here.

Table of Contents

• Before you Leave Luxor!
• A Guide to the Vessel
  • Boat Layout and Amenities
  • Teatime and Meals
  • Nile Pirates
• Sunset and the The Locks at Esna
• The Temple of Horus at Edfu
• Cruising the Nile and the Ramadi Ferry Crossing
• The Temple of Sobek at Kom Ombo
• Conclusion

Before you Leave Luxor!

If you are a drinker like me, or a budget traveller like me, you may want to make a quick run into town to pick up some cheap snacks and more importantly some liquor/wine/beer. Although meals are provided on the river boats, alcohol is not, but can be bought at a steep markup. There is an alcohol shop in Luxor right beside the train station were you can purchase Egyptian products. To get there you will have to push though harassing locals, especially if you are a woman. The prices do make it worth it though, it is much cheaper than on the boat.

If you are a beer drinker I recommend either Sakara Gold, Stela or the Meister brands. For wine the “Just Wine” brand – the Egyptian Chardonnay is much better than I would have given it credit for. From my recollection you should be able to find a handful of foreign liquor as well.

A Guide to the Vessel

Boat Layout and Amenities

The Nile riverboats are a tad antiquated and have not really evolved with the general changes in tourism, that being said most the fun is off the boat and as such it does not matter anyway. On the top deck you will typically find a poolside terrace and a bar where you can look out at the river. It can be easy enough to make friends if there are people within you age group, but unfortunately the demographics of people visiting Egypt do trend in the older age groups due to the country’s conservative nature. This can be a good or a bad thing depending on what you are looking for.

On the lower decks you will typically find the dining room where the evening buffet and morning breakfast is served. Sometimes with dinner a show such as Nubian dancing takes place, which for those who know me there is an infamous story to go with this.

One of my favorite things is that crew took the time to organize the towels in hilarious fashion, whenever a guest was out of their room on an excursion.

Teatime and Meals

Up the upper deck of the ship, tea is served with cookies twice a day! So sit back, kick up your feet and enjoy the view of the shoreline.

Nile Pirates

This affectionate nickname is reserved for the crafty sea merchants who pull up to the tourist boats and toss up nets filled with baubles, hoping to entice the naive tourist into purchasing their junk.

When one is interested in an object you send the money back down in the net.

Sunset and the The Locks at Esna

I spend my first day on the boat steaming ahead from Luxor to Edfu, via the locks at Esna. As I left Luxor the sun was setting, giving way to a beautiful sunset on the river.

Unfortunately for me the Temple of Khnum, a sight that the city is renewed for was not on my itinerary (next time!). It was dark as we passed through the historic city and I walked out on deck around midnight to see the massive Edfu dam and its lock system.

The Temple of Horus at Edfu

In the morning I arrive at Edfu, site of the ancient temple of Horus. The temple is located inland and to get there one must take a hose cab (what is essentially a rickshaw) or a mini taxi.

The horse cab will take you to a bus station like terminal at the base of the Temple of Horus. In the distance you will see the pilons of the Temple rising up.

Just to the west of the structure you will find what looks to be a giant earthen mound. This is the remains of Tell Edfu, the ancient Egyptian settlement of Edfu. Since the temple is mostly a Ptomalaic conception, most of what we know about the people of Edfu actually comes from the remains of this mound. In some ways its like an ancient garbage dump, a treasure trove of information.

The mound includes layers of history going back 3000 years. In ancient Egypt, Edfu was a provincial town that grew to be the capital of the Second Upper Egypt nome (Ps A nome is an ancient Egyptian territorial division). Just outside the structure you will find the ruins of a subtemple called the Mammisi, built by Ptolemy VIII, depicting Hathor and Horus.

The remains from this mound come from the end of the Old Kingdom until the Byzantine period, thus the mound has layers of history built upon it, thus explaining why it is over 20 meters higher than the ground around it at its maximum extent. The mound is still very much an active archaeological site.

Today, Edfu is a bustling provincial town but that is but a relatively newer development. During the Arab era and into the 20th century the ruins were but a small village with a mosque surrounded by agricultural fields. The population has exploded due to the sugar industry but outside of the temple there is very little for the average tourist to do in Edfu.

Finally, you will come across the great shrine of Horus, one of the best preserved temples in Egypt and an important remain of the Ptolamaic Period. The font pylon signalling the gate to the temple is a testament to this, standing 40 meters (130 feet) tall it depicts Ptolemy XII defeating his enemies. The holes in the wall may have been to hold flags. For those wondering who the Ptolemies were, they were the Greek decedents of one of Alexander the Great’s generals. After his death his empire split in three and they rule Egypt as Pharaohs combining Hellenic and Egyptian culture to make their rule more palatable to the indigenous Egyptians. It is thought that the temple was built over the remains of a previous temple structure that once stood here.

Passing though the gate, you will find the winged symbol of Amun-Ra, the patron sun god and head diety of the Egyptian religion, carved onto the ceiling. It is also flanked by two bird statues of Horus, that will again be repeated in the courtyard.

The Latin name of Edfu was Apollonopolis Magna and it was an important settlement. The temple was constructed from 237 and 57 BC, under several different rulers. It fell into disuse under Roman Emperor Theodosius I. This emperor was responsible for the persecution of pagans and the ban on non-Christian/pagan religion within the Roman Empire in 391 A.D. Once you cross the pilon you will be in the inner courtyard of the temple.

From the detritus around the temple it can be surmised that the temple needed to be excavated by archaeologists. This in fact is true. Over the centuries the Nile’s floods deposited tons of silt into it and the temple was filled with sand.

Before entering the sanctum it is important to understand who Horus is. The falcon god of the sky, Horus is the child of Osirus, the god of mummification/rebirth (among other things) and, Isis the godless of life. This temple is his domain and he is considered to be an important god in the ancient Egyptian religion and even in today’s culture. Like the ankh and the Eye of Ra the Eye of Horus is one of Egypt most recognizable symbols.

Inside the vestibule that leads to the Hypostyle Hall, you will find 12 columns topped with the lotus, the flower of Upper Egypt. If you look up you will see that the ceiling is pitch black, damage created by early Christians that tried to sabotage the ancient temple. Some of the hieroglyphics have similarly been defaced, this time by chiselling out the pagan figures.

As with many of these temples you will see that the Pharaoh has cleverly inserted himself into the stories of the gods. You can see Horus on the right below.

At the back of the temple you will find the sanctuary of the gods, where the replica of what would have been a granite shrine has been installed along with the replica of a wooden barque.

Not to be missed! From the Hypostle hall you may inter the Inner passageway runs around the back half of the temple, called the Passage of Victory. This giant hieroglyphic carved wall tells the story of Horus and his quest/battle against the Hippo god Seth (yes hippos are evil in ancient Egypt, they are a very dangerous animal!). Seth is the uncle of Horus and he killed his brother Osirus, as previously mentioned the father of Horus. In one of the scenes Horus is out on a boat hunting for the hippo seth.

You can also find a passage with a staircase heading down to see Edfu’s Nilometer but it is less impressive then that at Kom Ombo and the use of the Nilometer will be detailed later in this post.

Before leaving try imagining this place buried under 12 meters of sand with only the pilots sticking out. The temple had been here so long that the locals had built their home right on top and would not be freed from the sand until 1860, what a sight that would have been!

Cruising the Nile and the Ramadi Ferry Crossing

I love looking out the while out on the road driving, so enjoying a beer along one of the birthplaces of civilization was twice as as entertaining if not more! Here the mighty river and its many lush islands displays many scenes of daily Egyptian life.

I’ve always been amazed at how the two Egyptian biomes, the rocky desert plateaus and the well irrigated floodplain intersect almost as if there were an invisible line separating both.

From the boat you will get a view of many town and cities.

As well as abandoned cruise ships.

Industrial sites, probably sugar can prepossessing in this case!

You will also get to see the local people herding their animals and living their lives. Often you will see cows grazing on the Nile islands. Herders transport them here so they cant run away. Makes herding rather easy does it not!

One of the most interesting places along the Nile was that of mud brick ruins and a steel tower looming above the Nile at the Ramadi Ferry crossing. Built into a sandy hill they look out onto the river they immediately captivated my attention. Another major sight is that of the rock temples at the famous Silsileh quarrying site, just before Kom Ombo. Unfortunately I was not able to snap a photo.

The Temple of Sobek at Kom Ombo

One of favourite Egyptian temples is that of Kom Ombo, a place of worship renowned for its dual use as the place of worship for crocodile god Sobek as well as Haroeris, the Ptolemaic name for Horus. Due to the sites prominent location in a Nile bend it offered a commanding presence for boats returning from Nubia, cementing the Ptolemaic hold on the land.

The quiet country town of Kom Ombo sits in a large arable pain by the Nile river. This agricultural hub is known for its sugar cane harvest and as you pull into the temple you will see many sugar processing plants. It was once called Nubt, meaning City of Gold, but has long since vacated that title.

Unlike Esna or Edfu, this temple is located right by the river and so you can walk to it from town.

The waterfront temple was constructed during the reign of the Ptolemaic dynasty, from the year 180 to 47 BC. with some later additions being completed during the Roman period. It is composed of an outer wall and two inner sanctums. The temple itself was designed in a symmetrical fashion. There are two entrances and two Hypostle Halls as well as two sanctums/chapels.

On a block outside you can see a replica of the the wooden rods once used to bind the stones together.

Like Edfu, Kom ombo also suffered heavy damage from the Nile floods and was buried along with the old town of Kom Ombo under a heavy layer of sand and silt. Thus the temple also had to be liberated from its sandy tomb.

When you enter the temple you will be in the 10 column vestibule leading to the Hypostyle Hall, it is evident at what length the restoration work had to go to to restore the temple if somewhat of a level of order.

Again the Ptolemaic pharaohs have tried to insert themselves in with the gods. Many of the reliefs include the sacred crocodile of Ombos (Sobek) – hence the temple of Kom Ombo!

The view from inside the temple looking out at the Nile is particularly spectacular.

Once again you will find the wings of Amun-Ra on the ceiling of the hall.

For those less familiar with Egyptian mythology Sobek is an ally of Seth, the enemy of Horus. In the legend of Horus, Seth’s allies made their escape by changing themselves into crocodiles. Hence there are two gateways for the each of the gods.

What you see today is but a fraction of Kom Ombo temple. You can see by the scope of the ruins that a lot of the temple is missing, probably pilfered for building materials over the years. Like Edfu the temple was used by Coptic Christians, who have defaced some of the inscriptions.

You will also find passageways underground used for the priests to listen in on what the devout were leaving offering/praying for. The holy men of ancient Egypt were notorious tricksters as I learned on this trip and had many techniques to keep their followers in line.

Not to be missed – The Kom Ombo Temple has a strange claim to fame, on a back wall of the temple down a passageway (that is often filled to the brim with tourists), you will find the first representations of medical and surgical instruments in history. On this wall you will find a pictogram with the medical tools including scalpels, curettes, forceps, speculators, scissors, medicine bottles, and prescriptions. You will aso find two women sitting on birthing chairs. The ancient Egyptians were adepts in medicine for their time, so it should be no surprise that there are these kinds of representations.

Outside of the temple you will find an impressive circular pit down to the Nilometer. This ancient instrument was used to measure the level of the Nile floods before the construction of the Aswan High Dam. The level of flooding would indicate the extent of the river that could be harvested for crops, thus the Nilometer was an important taxation tool.

This temple is at its most beautiful at sunset with the reflection of the rays on the Nile illuminating the temple. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did!

Before heading back to your boat, stop by the Kom Ombo crocodile museum. This particular section of the Nile was once filled with the sharped toothed beasts before the construction of the Aswan dam during the later part of the 20th century.

On display inside are hundreds of mummified crocodile remains (this is the temple of Sobek after all!). Included in museums collection are many items and ate facts found on site over the years.

The dimly lit and climate controlled interior makes for a great respite from the harsh rays of the Egyptian sun but lets be real, you and I both know that your coming in the for the crocks! After all where else will you find these kinds of things.

After my visit to the museum, I left Kom Ombo temple with with nighttime falling quickly and by the time we pulled out of town it was pitch black. Looking at the temple standing on its rocky promontory above the Nile is stunning at night from the river, completely uplight it is the star of the show!

Conclusion

From the upper deck of the boat, a good book and some sunlight makes for a delightful afternoon. During my travels, I’m usually on the road hauling a big backpack around with me and sleeping in sometime uncomfortable hostel dorms, so three days on a boat was luxury to me. I hope to return to Egypt someday and do some of the less popular temples away from the crowds of gawking tourists. Until then I cherish my memories of the majestic Nile river.