This is the third and final post about Edfu Temple in this series. It is a wonderfully preserved temple which must be seen when in this part of Egypt.
So lets look where it is located
Edfu Temple – Location Map
Where is Edfu Temple? Below is a location map and aerial view of Edfu Temple.
Edfu Temple – Our Experiences
The Temple of Horus at Edfu is very interesting – the colours in the roof areas of the Temple are far better preserved than in other Temples. The size of the Pylon is extremely large.
This was our third Temple and with the instruction of our Guide, we were really starting to get some of the basics of Egyptian Mythology.
The temperature when we visited Edfu was very warm so ensure you have a reasonable supply of water to drink – You can get dehydrated very quickly if you are not careful.
Take the time to explore the temple – there are many fascinating things to see. Lighting within the chambers was challenging for taking photos, but the other areas was good. It was by far the best preserved temple we visited in our time in Egypt.
As I have said in other posts, I suggest that it would be really good to learn more about the Egyptian mythology before visiting Egypt so the “head doesn’t spin as much”. When visiting places like this, the quality of your Guide is very important. Ours was very good and explained things well.
There are some things to be careful of though.
In the streets of Edfu with a Horse and Caleche
- A major source of income in the area is Tourism – hence there are some high-pressure tactics applied trying to sell their products. In this case, it was the calèche people. The horses were not in the best condition and the whip was over-used. There was considerable bickering between the drivers. Even though the drivers were paid, in our case it was part of the tour cost, considerable pressure was applied to pay extra money “for the horse”. Our guide, fortunately, told us about this before we left the cruise boat, so we were prepared.
- We still had a few issues with people selling their wares at the Temple gates, but if you do not want anything, it is a simple matter as ignoring them and keep walking. We were rushing a little to get back to our cruise – hence made it easier to do this when leaving.
- Be careful when taking photos around the Temple. There are a number of Egyptian people that will pose alongside various locations and will then pressure you to pay for the privilege of taking the photo with them in it. We had learnt previously and simply saying no and waiting for them to move from the picture resolved any arguments.
Edfu, in my opinion, is an excellent temple to visit – it is well preserved and gives a far better visualization of how the temples would have been.