November 15 - Abydos and Dendara

Abydos and Dendara need some sort of hired transportation to get to as they are some distance from Luxor, so I had a guide and driver.  These are two of the most important temples in Egypt, so well worth the trip.  My driver, a local boy, thought he could do rather better on the back agricultural roads than the four hours it takes to Abydos using the 'proper' road, which is the only road tourists are meant to use.

So, first step is to wend our way through various little villages until we get to a hilltop where he can see the back road for miles and make sure a police checkpoint hasn't popped up on it somewhere.  The coast was clear, so off we went.  Good paved roads in some areas, rutted tracks in others, and a fair bit of paddock bashing.  Once or twice we had to stop so the driver could haul men out of village coffee shops to move their motor bikes/donkeys/goats so we could pass by on the narrow tracks.  But he was right - we were there in about two and a half hours instead of four.  The driver did get an almighty telling off from the police at the entrance to Abydos, as they had seen us arriving via what seemed to be a disused brick yard, rather than coming up from the main road.  But they only bellowed for a bit, no waving of Kalishnakovs, so they weren't really that flapped about it.

The Temple at Abydos is one of the most important in Egypt, for a number of reasons.  Abydos is the most ancient and sacred holy place in Egypt, as legend has it that the head of Osiris was buried there after his brother chopped him up into 14 assorted pieces. 

The main Temple was built by Seti I, and has the most exquisite raised relief sculptures in all of Egypt.  Son Ramses added some bits, but they are nowhere near as fine.

Photographs don't do the Temple justice - the scale and sense of majesty that one feels in the place can't be captured by a camera.

There is one long hall, called the Hall of Kings, where the names of every Pharoah is recorde (except for Hatshepsut and Akhenaten).  This has been of enormous value to Egyptologists trying to sort out reigns and dynasties.

This is what the wall looks like, miles of these cartouches, floor to ceiling on both sides of the hall, and a rather charming relief of Seti instructing a young Prince Ramses on his predecessors.

These three salvaged heads, mounted near the exit state at us in eery uncomprehension.

Behind the main Temple is the most sacred spot in Egypt - the Osireon, where the the Head of Osiris is spposed to be buried. It is a small building, and a bit of a mystery as to what its layout and function really are.

Here it is, The water in it is permanently there, and there even quite large fish living in it.  It dates back to a very early time, so the construction is quite simple and lacking in the decoration that developed in later times.