Today we took a road trip north to visit Dendera and Abydos, and two temples dedicated to the ancient Egyptian goddess Hathor and god Osiris, respectively.  The drive to Abydos, our first stop, took a little over two hours providing a glimpse of the countryside.  The roads were generally in good shape, at least until we got to the village near the temple when pavement turned to packed dirt and lanes became suggestions.  We had to stop at numerous traffic police checkpoints along the route which was a bit surprising- apparently movement from one district (Luxor) to another (Qena, where the temples were located) is fairly standard but monitored nonetheless.  In each case the police examined the driver’s papers and took down information on our destination before being waved through.

The journey took us along canals designed to deliver water from the Nile to farms and villages creating green fields of sugar cane, wheat, corn and other crops in the barren, rocky desert.  Houses and buildings dotted the road, sometimes in clumps that defined small villages.  Along one stretch of road several large apartment buildings sprouted from the desert in the distance, the multi-story modern buildings looking out of place in the rustic setting.  Hossam informed me when I asked about the odd sight that the government was constructing housing adjacent to areas where factories or other major projects were situated (or being planned) to encourage people to move to the area.  I saw many homes that were still made the traditional way with mud bricks and some older structures sported traditional straw packed roofs.  The majority of the homes and buildings near the road, however, were three story and made with concrete and rebar, a typical construction I have seen in many countries.  In some cases the first floor of the building was a vendor stall, selling everything from fruits and vegetables to car parts.

There were a lot of tractors on the roads pulling wagons full of produce—garlic, sugar cane and other crops stacked precariously high– on there way to market somewhere.  In some cases several wagons were attached together behind the tractor forming a short “road train”.  Needless to say these vehicles were not moving very fast and cars, vans, buses and motorbikes constantly whizzed by.  There were many donkey carts on the side of the road, also serving as a means to transport crops.  Occasionally, men or boys on donkeys would trot by as well.  I saw a wonderfully diverse approach to transportation during the trip! It was the diversity that led to the lack of well-defined traffic lanes as we passed through the villages. It all worked because the speed bumps were numerous enough that regardless of the vehicle, there was plenty of time to maneuver around and avoid collisions.

Hall of columns in the Abydos temple. Shows the scale of the complex!

Eventually we arrived at Abydos to find there were only a handful of other people there.  Luckily for us, Abydos is too far north of Luxor to be a common stop for cruise ship excursions and many people do not bother to travel two hours by car to get to the temple.  Abydos is an important historical site and central to ancient Egyptian mythology, hosting the temple to Osiris.  The temple, started by Seti I in the 13th century BC and finished by his son Ramses II, was placed in Abydos because in the Osiris mythology, it was thought that Abydos was where his heart was found and where Isis, his wife, brought all of his other body parts together to try to resurrect him.  (Osiris was killed, then cut into 42 pieces, which were scattered through Egypt,  by his brother Set—go read the mythology if you are interested.)

One of the shrine rooms in the temple. Still retains a lot of original color!

The temple complex was huge and had multiple buildings, chambers and shrines.  Of special significance for archeologists was the “kings list” which listed the kings of Egypt from the unification of the north and south through Seti/Ramses.  Scenes on the walls depicted Seti and later, Ramses, with Osiris as well as the story of Osiris, some still very colorful.  We got good at sighting figures who represented gods and figures representing Pharos and even practiced identifying different cartouches (and whether they were the kings name or the birth name).  It would have taken a small army of priests to attend to the temple, but the mud-brick houses that they lived in are long gone.  Soot and smoke stains on the walls provide evidence that the temple served as shelter for many people over the centuries.

Remains on the temple grounds showing how extensive the complex was at one point.

The famous kings list. Note the long lines of cartouches- the list itself. A treasure trove for those who read hieroglyphics!

Leaving the temple, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant in the village before retracing our journey back south to Dendara to visit the Temple of Hathor.  The temple, reputed to be one of the best preserved temple complexes of ancient Egypt, has been utilized by the Egyptian Pharos starting with the Middle Kingdom and later the Greeks, Romans, and even the Christians.  Unlike the temple in Abydos, where the ceiling is covered by soot and ash, the ceiling of the Temple of Hathor has been restored and the brilliant blues are beautiful and striking.  Numerous shrines, dedicated to various gods of the Egyptian pantheon dot the complex but the main goddess of worship is Hathor- goddess of love, joy, and maternity.  As a matter of fact Hathor shows up in many scenes in many different temples and tombs all over Egypt, which fortunate because at the Temple of Hathor in Dendara someone at some time methodically went through and erased (chiseled out) all of the figures depicting gods and goddesses.

Temple of Hathor in Dendera.

There was a hidden chamber in the Temple of Hathor behind the wall, requiring a ladder to get to. Hidden in a narrow space was another shrine to Hathor.

Could it have been the early Christians who took refuge in such places to perform their worship when they were persecuted elsewhere? The remnants of a Coptic church sit near the entrance to the main complex.  Who know?  But it was really sad to see the damage— it’s an interesting question regarding the history—is the original walls more historical, or the fact that they were defaced also historically significant?  Either way, from an artistic viewpoint, the defacing is a tragedy!

Looking up at the restored ceiling in the hall of columns in the Temple of Hathor.

Close up of the ceiling showing the amazing blue color and some of the scenes depicted.