First published: 24/06/25.

Andrew_Kerr 1

Pharaonic temples in Upper Egypt

Pharaonic temples in Upper Egypt (On tentative list)

Pharaonic temples in Upper Egypt by Andrew_Kerr

The four Pharaonic temples of Dendera, Esna, Edfu and Kom Ombo make up the tentative nomination and I have been fortunate enough to visit Dendera and Kom Ombo.
I enjoyed The Temple of Hathor in Dendera (pictured) a lot, it is a very complete temple on account of its relatively young age of between 305 and 30 BEC, in fact it is one of the best preserved temple complexes in the whole of Egypt. The processional stairway leading to the roof of the temple is particularly impressive.
The Temple of Kom Ombo, by contrast is more akin to the ruins found in Luxor and Philae. Although the building is newer in comparison with Dendera, 180-47 BEC, it has suffered damage caused by earthquakes, the river Nile and people taking the stones for their own building projects. It is a rare double temple, two temples, identical but dedicated to different Gods.
What I found surprising at both Dendera and Kom Ombo, was that these hugely impressive temples were completely devoid of tourists except for me and my daughter.
Both locations are at least an hour's drive from the major tourist hub of Luxor, Dendera to the north and Kom Ombo to the south just after half way between Luxor and Aswan which may account for the lack of visitors. The Nile cruises probably stop here but not on the days I was there.
Egypt has such a wealth of ancient sites I guess it's easy to overlook some of them but I found them both well worth the trip by taxi from Luxor.
They will surely gain full UNESCO accreditation, it would be difficult to see any reason not to.

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