EDFU

If Edfu is the first stop on your cruise’s itinerary (and for many cruises this will be the case), then you’re in for a real treat. If you’ve only seen pictures of ancient Egyptian monuments before, or perhaps the odd obelisk at the airport, then this is your first real taste of antiquity. Edfu will more wet your appetite; in fact, it will leave you begging for more!

The temple at Edfu is most famous for having the best preserved pylons of any ancient site. Pylons are essentially the large entrance walls to a temple and they are synonymous (to the point of being iconic) with most promotional literature for Egypt. The temple stands tall and was as fortune would have it, buried beneath sand (almost covering the massive pylons) across most of history. This is the reason so many of the carvings have stood the test of time. These carvings reveal the story of the God Osiris and his evil brother Seth, which the guides will explain in exciting detail, maybe even getting the group (if you’re a spirited bunch) to re-enact the story.

It seems unfortunate, but at the same time intriguing that many carvings and hieroglyphics (largely those exposed above the sand) have been defaced with chisels by the temple’s later inhabitants, who were frightened of the power these carvings still had. When you stand close to the walls and look up at the depictions of Gods, you can understand why they were so terrified. At three times the size of real humans and assuming powerful poses they are meant to be intimidating - the Kings that ordered the artists to create these visions knew what they were doing.

Inside the temple complex there is a large courtyard and an ornate stone statue of the falcon God Horus. Journeying further into the temple’s inner sanctum reveals many interconnecting rooms with depictions everywhere. At this point, you really start to feel as if you’re on an adventure and the difficulty lies with striking a balance between savoring what’s in front of you and your excitement at what’s round the next corner.

Edfu temple has a small information section and a theatre showing a documentary film about the temple. The documentary isn’t all that exciting to be honest, but it does at least provide shelter from the sun if you need it.

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