Temple of Kom Ombo - Egypt

This is quite a late temple (as far as Egyptian history goes). It was constructed during the Ptolemaic dynasty, 180–47 BC with some later Roman period additions. It's about 30 miles (48 km) north of Aswan, on the bank of the Nile. Virtually every Nile cruise that sails near the area includes a visit to this temple.

Although today the temple that you see is from the Grecian - Roman period, the area had been inhabited since the pre-dynastic period of Egyptian history. It was constructed on the ruins of a much older temple called "Ber Sobek", or the house of the god Sobek. Ber Sobek was built by King Tuthmosis III and Queen Hatshepsut in the 18th dynasty. Queen Hatshepsut is famous for that amazing mortuary  temple on the West Bank of Luxor.

The temple is unusual in that it is dedicated to two gods.
The southern half of the temple was dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek, god of fertility and creator of the world with his wife Hathor, and their son Khonsu.
Meanwhile, the northern part of the temple was dedicated to the falcon god Haroeris ("Horus the Elder"), his wife Tasenetnofret, and their son Panebtawy.

Above is the crocodile god Solbek.

Kom Ombo means "the hill of the gold".
"Kom" (in Arabic) means the small hill.
"Ombo" (in Hieroglyphic) means "the gold".

above we have a Ptolemaic king making an offering to the the falcon god Haroeris ("Horus the Elder")
and the crocodile god Solbek (behind).

The temple’s double dedication is reflected in its symmetry. It has twin entrances, two connected halls twin chambers, and twin sanctuaries, etc, etc.

These wonderful wall carvings depict the Ptolemaic kings presenting the offerings to the gods.

This relief depicts a running lion biting a slaves hand.

The Nilometre... used to record the annual level of the Nile river.

This particular Nilometer was constructed during the Roman period and is connected to a smaller water well by the bank of the Nile

Snake charmer. Our guide said he was one of the many Nubians who were displaced when the Nile flooded their hometowns after the construction of the Nasser Lake.

Preserved papyrus shaped column

winged solar disk and two cobras.

 Coptic cross ???

There is much graffiti. Coptic ??? This temple was once a Coptic church.

Mummified crocodile.

Captive crocodiles were kept within the temple and many mummified crocodiles can be seen in today's temple museum.

The stone capital of these columns have the shape of the lotus flower. This is one of the most important and sacred plants in ancient Egypt.

Above are medical and surgical tools..... must have been gruesome back in those days... scalpels, saws, dental forceps... some things really haven't changed much in 2000 years.

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