Egypt, Ever a Wonder! (Part 6): Aswan - Where Gods and Civilizations Come "As One"

- April 3, 2026, Friday.

- Egypt does not seem to run out of important temples to visit. This Friday in particular was dedicated to visiting some of these temples in Aswan. Aswan, which is a two- to three-hour drive south of Luxor, makes the perfect day trip for one who wants to see Egypt beyond ancient Thebes (the old name of Luxor).

- The first temple we visited was Edfu Temple, around an hour and a half from Luxor. Built in the 3rd century BCE, this temple was the largest one dedicated to the falcon-headed god Horus. Horus was the god of the sky and healing, among other functions. It is also one of the most best preserved ancient temples in the Egypt.

Temple entrance.

Inner courtyard.

Reverse of the gate. Look closely at the carvings - they're huge!

Pillars.

Inside the procession hall.

At the sanctuary.

I really wanted to touch the walls but I was told it was best if I didn't, so it took so much self control to pretend touching the walls, with barely a few centimeters to spare haha. (So in short, I am not touching the walls, it just looks like I am.)

There were so many bats!

Inside one of the halls.

Papyrus pillars.

- From Edfu we made our way further south to the Kom Ombo Temple. They started building the temple in the 2nd century BCE with additions in the years the followed. This temple is unique since it was dedicated to two gods: Horus and Sobek. I already mentioned Horus above; Sobek is the crocodile-headed god and is the god of fertility and protection (he is one of the many, many gods connected to fertility.) This temple is also a perfect example of Greco-Roman architecture.

The temple has two main entrances; other temples just have one.

Rows of pillars once more.

Sobek.

Horus.

- There are a couple of reasons why this temple was dedicated to two gods. First, the mythological reason explains that Horus and Sobek are opposing gods, and creating a temple dedicated to them both will please both gods. The other reason, which is more socio-political, is that many pharaohs are connected to worshipping Horus, while many locals worship Sobek.   

Walking through corridors.

I can just imagine how flashy this whole temple looked back in the day. Just look at the colorful details!

Sobek and Horus (leftmost is Khonsu I think.)

Columns with both Horus and Sobek.

Sideview.

It does partly remind me of ancient structures in Greece and Rome.


You'll notice that this slab has both Horus and Sobek once more.

- A couple of minutes away from Kom Ombo Temple is the Crocodile Museum. At first I thought it was just a museum about crocodiles as animals (biodiversity and all), but boy was I wrong! Although small in size, this museum was not only about the crocodiles that live in the Nile waters, but the museum also had a collection of crocodile mummies found inside Kom Ombo Temple. I think this was the first time I saw mummified crocodile in my life. These mummies range from baby crocodiles to adult ones.

Museum entrance.

Plenty of crocodiles.

Closer.

Croc mummies.

- Our last stop for the day was Philae Temple, in the heart of Aswan City. It was built in the 7th century BCE, in honor of the goddess Isis, the goddess of fertility and magic. Going to the temple itself was an adventures: the temple is located on an island, so boats need to be hired to go to and from the temple. The whole temple was also moved to Agilkia Island from Philae Island in the 1970s due to constant flooding of the original location, and changes in water levels after the Aswan Dam was built. The monumental effort to move the whole temple to another location (and a higher one), was carried out to preserve the temple. As another example of Egypt's Greco-Roman Period, the temple not only has influences from these cultures, but it also bears remnants of it being used as churches and chapels.

Choose one.

At the temple.

Isis, Horus, and Osiris.

A Roman-era cross, carved when the temple was used as a church.

Ancient graffiti.

You see both Egyptian gods and a Roman cross carved on top of them.

Isis sanctuary.

More carvings of Isis.

Hadrian'S Gate. Constructed during Emperor Hadrian's reign in 2nd century CE, it was where the entry/exit point for rituals related to Isis.

Photo at the entrance.

Trajan's Kiosk.

The kiosk was possibly built during King Trajan's rule in the 2nd century CE, but also possibly earlier.

Again, it was one of those buildings that felt both Roman and Egyptian.

Back to the mainland, from Philae Temple.

- To celebrate a wonderful tour, we had a local Egyptian lunch in Aswan before riding the car back to our hotel in Luxor. At some point, the temples of Egypt may look the same, but their magnificence never tires me. To think, these were just three of the many temples in Aswan. Now I understand why some people decide to go directly to Aswan and spend more time there, rather than Luxor. Anyway, I still learned so much just by visiting these three Greco-Roman Egyptian temple - what more had I stayed longer!