Edfu was the second capital of Upper Egypt, an important regional center from the Old Kingdom, partly due to the large area of fertile land belonging to the town, partly to the fact that Edfu was situated near the frontier between Egypt and Nubia, though not as close as was Philae. Edfu was probably a starting point for desert routes leading to the Kharga Oasis in the west, and to the mines of the Eastern Desert and the Red Sea coast in the east, also according to the Egyptian myths it was the place where the falcon-headed god Horus avenged the murder of his father Osiris by killing Seth.
It is a religious and commercial center. Located about 33 miles south of Esna and 65 miles north of Aswan, this friendly town with approximately 274,500 inhabitants now produces sugar and pottery, It's a lively town offering you a chance to see Edfu Temple, which is considered to be the best preserved and is the second largest Temple built in Egypt.
The modern Arabic name of Edfu is derived from the ancient Egyptian name Djeba, or Etbo in Coptic. Djeba meant "Retribution Town", since the enemies of the god were brought to justice therein. The site of ancient Djeba was the traditional location of the mythological battle between the gods of Horus and Set, and its sandstone Ptolemaic temple, dedicated to Horus, is the most complete and best preserved of all the temples of Egypt. It was built on the site of a New Kingdom temple, which was oriented east to west, the Ptolemaic structure follows instead a north-south axis. In Graeco-Roman times Edfu was called Apollinopolis Magna, the Egyptian god Horus by then being identified with the Greek god Apollo.
The construction of the Edfu Temple this Ptolemaic temple begun in 237 BCE by Ptolemy 3, but finished 180 years later by the father of Cleopatra. This is not only the best preserved ancient temple in Egypt, but the second largest after Karnak. The temple has an abundance of inscriptions on every surface, and these show the religious ceremonies of the time, as well as the usual tales of bravery, wisdom and might of the Pharaoh. There are numerous relief's, including a depiction of the Feast of the Beautiful Meeting, the annual reunion between Horus and his wife Hathor, The relief's are mostly situated on the inside of the first pylon, and spiritually connect this temple with Hathor’s Temple at the Dendera complex, The facade of the first hypostyle hail has images honoring Horus and Hathor, and there is an immaculate ten foot tall colossi of Horus as the falcon god, Beyond the great hypostyle hail is a second, smaller
hypostyle hail which leads to a well called the Chamber of the Nile where the Priests obtained pure holy water. This is a similar arrangement as found at Dendera, beyond the second hypostyle hail is the offering hall, followed by the vestibule and finally the sanctuary, The sanctuary itself is surrounded by chapels and rooms towards resurrection. The front chapel on the east is the Chapel of the New Year, a sun court like that at Dendera, a depiction on the ceiling show the voyage of the solar Braque through the Twelve Hours of the day, with an image of the goddess, Nut.
It is amazing how the thrill doesn’t die when it comes to discovering the ancient worlds wonders, one should be grateful that these monuments tolerated all the diminishing factors of time and survived to let us know all about what those before us were able to achieve with a lot less probably no facilities than what we have now at our time, proving that when there is a will there is always a way, and that man is one of Gods greatest creations.
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Edfu, Egypt
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