Saturday, March 17, 2012

Aswan Chronicles : Day Two “Edfu”

You can check my second Day Aswan chronicles earlier in Kom Ombo here.
This chronicle was written on February 9,2012 in Aswan.
Hours later we headed to the magnificent temple of Edfu in the city of Edfu, the biggest city in Aswan. 
You go to the temple in carts. The city is calm, clean and quiet as I can tell. 
The Muslim Brotherhood has got a headquarter in the heart of the city's market, the most active part in it.
A Horse Cart driver in Aswan's Edfu
A Horse Cart driver in Aswan's Edfu
The Edfu temple is the second biggest and most preserved temple in Egypt after the Karnack temple in Luxor, again it was built by the Ptolemaic in Egypt "check the crown at the top of its pillars, they are different than each other unlike in Egyptian temples.
Below over 100 photos for the amazing temple, I swear if I had had more time, I would have taken more pictures.
The Temple of Edfu "February 2012"

It is the second most preserved because it is away from the Nile, anyhow it was not that persevered from that group of radical early Christians who again removed the pictures of ancient Egyptian gods.
The Black ceiling in Egypt's Temple of Edfu
The Black ceiling in Egypt's Temple of Edfu
The ceiling of the temple is covered in black coz of two theories : (1) The early radical Christians tried to burn it or (2)The early Christians who lived in it for some time and used vegetable oil candles.
It is not also that preserved from pigeons' poop !! 
Fences in Egypt's Temple of Edfu in Aswan
Fences in Egypt's Temple of Edfu in Aswan
The pigeons' poop allegedly got dangerous dangerous effects on the temple and its buildings thus we have these fences to stop the pigeons from using the temple as their nests as much possible. 
Still, the temple still has it with all its rooms, stairs and even the colours in some areas.
The Colors of Egypt's Temple of Edfu in Aswan
The Colors of Egypt's Temple of Edfu in Aswan
The sanctuary at the temple is there and you can find the pedestal where there was that statue of Horus from thousands of years ago. 
The sanctuary of Egypt's Temple of Edfu in Aswan
The sanctuary of Egypt's Temple of Edfu in Aswan
There is a replica that goes back to the early 20th century representing a barque of Horus that would have sat in the sanctuary
The stairs in the temple are amazing with doubt.
The staircase in Egypt's Temple of Edfu Aswan
The staircase in Egypt's Temple of Edfu Aswan
Very few tourists mostly from Japan and more Egyptian tourists who are really amazed at their grand ancestors’ temple. 

The women employees in the temple are angry from their boss coz she wants them to work an extra hour " instead 1 pm they have to work to 2 pm !!" because they cannot find any means of transportation to the city at that time outside the temple.

The temple is beside the Edfu cemeteries.

I have been to Aswan and Edfu, aside from the ACAB graffiti in the city of Aswan nobody is interested in strikes but interested in restoring tourists.
The rest of the day will be on a board of a Nile cruise till we reach Isna lock channel to leave Aswan and head to Luxor in the North.

16 comments:

  1. No mention of the Nubians, the real ancestors and cultural beneficiaries of the remains that garner more attention than peoples and the injustices they face.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Why do not you want to understand that this is not a political or human rights post ?

      Delete
    2. You go to someone's house.
      You admire their furniture and you ignore them.
      Cultural recognition and intelligence is not related to politics or human rights...
      Your ignorance whether intentional or not is a case in point for the Nubians' cultural marginalisation.

      Delete
    3. Well dear Taharqa I am not visiting someone's house in this case , it is my house I am not a foreign visitor

      Delete
    4. It is the Nubians' house.

      You write about Sinai and refer to the Sinai Bedouins...

      Even when you visit your cousin's house in another city, I'm sure you were taught a certain code of conduct and to be courteous and respectful and sensitive to any differences.

      Or then again maybe you weren't taught those things.

      Delete
    5. Well I know manners very well more than you think my dear sir.
      Thank you for insulting me, already your comments showed a lot

      Delete
    6. I didn't insult you, I assumed you were taught those things, but since your coverage of your visit to Aswan didn't reflect them I said 'maybe' you weren't taught them, that's all.

      Delete
  2. Dear Zeinobia ,
    My deepest regards , following your article ( http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/2012/03/sorry-egypt-has-all-right-to-interfere.html#more) , a debate started on Sudanese/Egyptian historical relations ... You stopped publishing our replies ?!! Thought it was interesting to hear each other and know a different opinion...

    Sincerely yours ,

    khaled.ahmed@lycos.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Khaled , I apologize as as there was some problem in blogger comment moderation system , it is all fixed now

      Delete
    2. Dear Zeinobia ,
      Still comments are disabled !! i know that this is not after all a political debates blog ; but , it looks from our friend Taharqa ( Up here ) that it is becoming one:))
      Sorry , for being cought in the middle of this cross-fire.
      Deepest regards ,
      Khale.ahmed@lycos.com

      Delete
    3. Dear Zeinobia ,
      Still have a problem with the comments , Sorry for being annoying ..
      Regards,
      khaled.ahmed@lycos.com

      Delete
  3. U remind me with the best memories in a magical trip :))
    thank u
    are u in a trip too or it's your work?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. well it was a short trip in Aswan and Luxor :)

      Delete
  4. Beautiful pictures, thanks for posting them.

    Nice for you and your readers to take a step back and look at something other than political strife for a moment.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Political, cultural and social strife is what the peoples of Aswan, the Nubians are and have been going through.

      It might be nice to be superficial and selective in what we see, but it is by no means smart or useful.

      Delete

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