Idfu Things to Do

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Ornate reliefs cover the entire external walls of the temple, depicting gods in various poses. This wall is in fact the rear wall from the main entrance to the temple, but the modern-day box-office is itself to the rear of the Temple. Consequently, these brilliant reliefs are the first things you see. The detail (and size) is deeply impressive, especially considering this is the back wall.

(On a lot of Nile trip schedules out of Luxor, Idfu is the first stop - therefore this wall is the first experience for those fresh off the plane/train).

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Extraordinary.

Horus was originally the sky-god of the Nile Valley whose eyes were the sun and the moon: he became the falcon deity and the mythical first pharoah of Egypt and the son of Osiris and Isis.

The Temple of Horus was started in 237 BC and completed in 57BC and was covered by the desert sands until the 1860s, revealing the best preserved pylon and enclosure walls in the Upper Nile.

The Temple of Horus is one of the most completely preserved Egyptian temples. It is dedicated to the falcon god Horus.

When you visit you enter the grounds from the rear of the temple - our guide told us to walk looking down until we got around to the front and only then to turn and look up at the entrance to the temple.

What an impressive sight it is - the entrance is through a 36m-high pylon, with falcon statues on each side.

My favourite part of the temple is a large statue of Horus located at the rear of the Great Court, just near the entrance to the Hypostyle Halls.

It was definitely worth getting up early for!

Ancient culture had damaged many reliefs as it can be seen on the photo.
In many of the rooms, the paint has survived for more than 2,000 years. Can you guys imagine if most of the temple is under the city, how many original pieces are down there??

The temple (2500 BC) is dedicated to Horus, the solar war god. It is one of the best preserved ancient temple in Egypt because it was under the sand for centuries unti 1860, the city was righ on the top. Part of the temple remain under the city.
The pylons in the pic are 118 feet high with scenes of the pharaoh in battle.
In the temple it used to make perfums and medicine against impotence.

On the next day of our arrival in Idfu, a lot of carriages were parked rigth in fornt of the street along the Nile river side.
Each horse carriage was for three or four people, can you imagine four or more cruise ships riding all these carriages??
The ride to the Idfu temple was funny, so, so TURISTIC.

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A thankless task, watching the ruins, especially in the heat of the day. These guys wisely found themselves a relatively shady spot - and a little baksheesh is required for a photograph or two :)

At the main entrance of the Pylon into the Temple and the Court of Offerings are two statues of falcons/Horus. Only one remains upright, the other lying on the ground.