Trip to Egypt, April 2005

Edfu, Notes on the Visit

Carriages lined up on the quai.

Of all the wonderful places and all the marvellous experiences we had in Egypt, this was the least so, which I am sad to say. Why? Because...:

Why, oh why do all cruiseships have to let their cargo, i.e. tourists, go visit the temple at the same time??

Why can´t there be 'some' sort of schedule for the rounds in the temple so that not all of them want to see the same hall, same courtyard, same naos, same relief at the same time??

Why can´t agencies refuse to use the carriages pulled by starving horses to handle the transport between ships and temple until - until the owners actually feed the poor animals a little bit better?? Sofar I´m only aware of one agency which did that, and that was our own Imaginative Traveller who used minibuses instead. On our way back from the temple, we saw a horse falling dead in the street in front of his carriage. They drive them horribly hard in the hot sun - no mercy! And yet it is their livelihood, you would think they would care more.

Stoved into our minibuses we were taken along the streets of Edfu among these carriages with tourists whose drivers actually raced along to get to the temple first. I have no idea why they did this. Then they would wait outside the temple precinct until the visit was over, many of them directly under the hot morning sun, with no sunshield on animal or man. Well, the driver at least had the benefit of sitting in the carriage under what scant shadow its hood could provide.

The Bazaar.

From where the transports let you off, you have to walk through a market, to come to the ticket office. There is no other way but the peddlers aren´t too bad, really. From a little way off, you see the pylons reaching high up. The temple had been buried below the town of Edfu for nearly 2000 years when excavations began in the 19th Century. At that time it was used as stables and places for storage and it was partially covered with mudbrick houses where people lived and who had to move out of there because of the excavations.

Approaching the temple

The temple is the best preserved of all in Egypt and has a variety of interesting reliefs and functional rooms, plus a replica of a wooden barque of Horus. However, you could not really get more than a cursory look at it for all the people who were in the way or pressing on you to move on. When everyone crowds through the fairly narrow corridors, it not only gets unbearably hot for lack of oxygen but you don´t see much, other than people´s backs.

Outside the hypostyle hall, people are queuing to have their photos taken while standing beside the great Heru-statue. I got very tired of waiting as they just kept on and on so I had to ask them to give us a chance to get a photo free of people. Several others than myself seemed to agree and grabbed the opportunity as people in the queue paused for a little while.

And as several times before during our journey, I get the impression that most people don´t really understand or appreciate the marvel of it all. Or even bother very much. The grandness, the beauty of it evaporates off them as butter on a hot potatoe. And myself - even if I have studied the subject somewhat, it seems I cannot appreciate it enough. I would love to come back there if ever there is a chance of seeing it all with somewhat less people around.

A crowded passage behind the naos, a ray of light pours down along the wall.

Yet, all too quickly the visit is over and with the feeling of having to leave far too much unseen behind, we are taken through town back to the blessed, cool ship where we can sit peacefully on the aft deck and enjoy an Egyptian refreshing karkade, the red juice made from hibiscus plants.


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