Early in the morning, we start our Marsa Alam tours to the Edfu Temple and Kom Ombo with the pick-up from your accommodation in Marsa Alam. Enjoy the trip, in a small group and relaxing atmosphere, to the first attraction of our cultural excursion, the

Edfu Temple

dedicated to the Egyptian falcon god Horus was known all over Egypt as a special place of worship during the time of the pharaohs. Many religious battles took place that shaped the story of the temple complex.

The Edfu temple, one of the best-preserved temples in Egypt, is located on the East Bank of the Nile River. Thanks to the perfection of its builders, the temple appears in different colors depending on the sunlight. A Pylon, the biggest after the one in Karnak Temple, forms the actual entrance of the temple that is lined with 2 huge Horus images.

After entering the impressive collonaded courtyard, you will come across beautiful reliefs on the walls and columns.

Temple of Horus

The complete roofing of the Edfu Temple, preserved to this day, really is something special among Egyptian temples. The ceiling of the forecourt, supported by 12 columns, shows traces of soot that originate from the Coptic period in which the Temple of Horus served as a residence. This place is worth taking some photos of, so don’t forget your camera! In the hieroglyphic inscriptions, our Egyptologist can show you where the name Edfu comes from, here the falcon god Horus Behet is mentioned, Behet = Edfu.

Mammisi Temple Edfu

Before leaving the temple, we visit the Mammisi Temple Edfu, a cultic birth house where ceremonies around the birth of the god child were held. From there, we leave Edfu behind us and drive towards Kom Ombo and take a lunch break in a traditional restaurant. Rested you can visit the

Kom Ombo Temple

The famous Kom Ombo Temple, a little more than an hour by car away from Edfu, is a somewhat unusual, doppel temple Kom Ombo, dedicated to the Sobek crocodile god on the one side, and Haroeris Egyptian god on the other. The Egyptian temple became famous for its location, only 15 meters above the water level of the Nile River, which makes a bend here. From a Nile Cruise, you will have a great view of the higher-lying temple.

Until the 19th century, its mighty columns and ruins were still half-covered with sand and considered by many photographers and filmmakers as the backdrop of a submerged high culture until their exposure in the late 19th century. The Kom Ombo Temple, located directly on the bank of the Nile River, was surrounded by 3 walls, of which the outer wall, an adobe wall, is pretty much destroyed. All three walls, inside is a stone wall, served to shield the holy of holies inside the temple complex. The round arch with its two entrances, located between the walls, shows that this is a doppel temple Kom Ombo.

Entering the hypostyle hall, you will be rewarded, with well-preserved reliefs on the pillars that show sacrificial rituals of the king in front of the gods and an image of Cleopatra VII, known as one of Julius Caesar's liaisons.

Moving on to one of the most important meanings of the Kom Ombo Temple: In ancient Egypt crocodiles were feared and revered at the same time, and there were several crocodile sanctuaries in Egypt. The Sanctuary of Sobek crocodile god in Kom Ombo, with its many illustrations in the temple, is the most significant one.

Crocodile Museum

Only a few meters away from the entrance gates, we come across a small chapel dedicated to the goddess Hathor which today houses glass showcases in which crocodile mummies are exhibited, found in a nearby animal cemetery. We leave Kom Ombo with a lot of impressions of the high culture in ancient Egypt. From our Edfu Temple and Kom Ombo Temple with our Marsa Alam tours, we drive back to your accommodation in Marsa Alam.