The Nile cruise continues

Kom Ombo

On day 2 of our Nile cruise we woke up in Kom Ombo and proceeded to the Graeco-Roman Temple shared by two gods: Horus, the falcon-headed god, and Sobek, the crocodile god.  Yup, a crocodile.  The ancient Egyptians worshipped Sobek as a protection from the dangerous crocodiles that once infested the area. The building has two sides,  symmetrically built with matching courts, halls, and sanctuaries.  You wouldn’t want to show favoritism! Built circa 180–47 BC and damaged by floods and earthquakes, what remains is quite impressive with lots of the carvings still intact. Every surface has some form of symbolic decoration to tell a story or honor a deity. There is an on-site museum with several of the hundreds of mummified crocodiles (!) that were discovered in the area. Continue reading →