[ back ]
Temples of a Ram-Headed God & a Falcon GodEgypt, Part 5
(by Patti Day-Miller - June 28, 2010)
Many took advantage of the swimming pool on the sun deck, as we cruised that afternoon. I wanted no more sun, as it was in the mid-90s, but I enjoyed looking out the window of our room, as we moved along over the water, and had good views of village life along the Niles banks. It was fun seeing children frolic in the water, oftentimes with animals. (We saw a donkey and a cow in the water with children at one spot.) And I was enthralled with the number of palm trees, egrets and bulrushes along the shore.
Then we arrived at Esna, now a small, farming town. Long ago, it was an important city in this part of Egypt, because it was the Nile terminal for the Sudan caravan routes. Now people visit here to view the Temple of Khnum, the ram-headed god. The belief was that Khnum created mankind out of Nile clay using a potters wheel.
The temple was built around 181 BC by Ptolemy VI, on the site of an earlier temple built by Tuthmosis III, and was once much larger. Most of the temple is now hidden beneath the towns streets and houses, because the annual flooding of the Nile buried it under layers of silt and mud. Only the hypostyle hall, added in the 1st century by the Roman emperor Claudius, has been excavated. It is approached by a stairway, since the temple lies 33 ft. below street level. The temples roof is on the same level as the foundations of the surrounding houses.
The roof is supported by 24 columns with a variety of floral capitals—palm leaves, lotus buds, and papyrus fans—representing a real garden, and the facade of the hall is inscribed with the cartouches of various Roman emperors. The columns are inscribed with hieroglyphs and texts describing the sacred festivals of Esna and recording hymns to Khnum. On one wall is a scene showing the pharaoh catching fish with the gods. (Some of the royal enemies are trapped in the nets with the fish.) Though much of the color has faded, it is still possible to see the signs of the zodiac on the ceiling.
Back onboard our ship late afternoon, many headed back to the sun deck, as our ship got in line for the passage through the locks near Esna. And what a chaotic scene they found, as vendors in small boats circled the cruise ships remarkably tossing their wares four decks up to the sun decks of the various cruise ships, also in line to pass through the locks.
Later we had another fine buffet dinner, and then went on deck to watch the actual passing through the locks at night. It was a very interesting view with the lights from shore and on the other ships lighting up the darkness, as we finally went though the lock.
We returned to our room to find a monkey towel sculpture hanging in a doorway inside. A bit of a shock, but one that left us smiling. We would cruise on to Edfu, which is where wed awaken in the morning, leaving the ship at 8:30 a.m. to tour the temple there. (Wahoo, a sane morning with no wake-up call!)
Edfu is half-way between Luxor and Aswan and was an important sacred site to the Egyptians because of the ancient myth concerning Horus, Seth, Osiris, and Isis. Ill attempt a brief retelling of that myth. Osiris was a king who taught the Egyptians how to worship, live, and grow corn. He was murdered by his jealous brother Seth, who cut up the body and scattered it all over Egypt. Osiris loving wife Isis and her sister collected all the pieces and with the help of the gods, they put him back together. Isis used her magic to bring him back to life briefly, and at the same time conceived a son, Horus, who would later avenge his father by killing Seth at Edfu. After that Osiris went down to the underworld to be the lord and judge of the dead, and Horus was called the falcon god.
The Temple of Horus, whose construction began in 237BC, is the best preserved Ptolemaic temple in Egypt. It sits on higher ground than many of the temples along the Nile, thus was not inundated with annual flood waters. The temple did, however, sit under sand for 2000 years, which lead to its great state of preservation.
The first pylon is 118-ft. high, and is decorated with scenes of Ptolemy XII defeating his enemies in front of Horus and Hathor. Two gorgeous black granite statues of Horus are found here. Off of the hypostyle halls are chambers where gifts for the gods were stored. The staircase walls are beautifully decorated with scenes from the New Year Festival, a ritual celebrated all over Egypt. (On the first day of the year, in each temple, a procession of priests carried the statue of the temple god up to the roof to be revitalized by the sun.)
After Dave and I left the temple, we stopped in the bazaar to purchase our costumes for that nights Egyptian party, taking place after dinner on the sun deck. For Dave that would be a galabiyya, a full-length mans robe, which one sees men wearing all over Egypt, even in the larger cities. (Though in the cities, one also sees men wearing shirts/pants.) 
Purchasing an item, any item, in Egypt is not like purchasing one in the U.S. In Egypt it is a ritualistic affair, in which bargaining happens even in shops which appear to have fixed prices. Though many Americans find the bargaining distasteful, it is necessary in order not to pay an exorbitant price, since the vendor will start at a ridiculously high price. We were told to counter with a ridiculously low price, and then the dance begins. It is very time-consuming, but a necessity when shopping in Egypt.
Back on board our ship, we had lunch, and many enjoyed the pool on the sun deck, as we cruised to Kom Ombo to experience its temple, which is dedicated to two gods, one of whom is a crocodile god.
[ back ]
