Kawm Umbu Things to Do

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One of the most interesting things is the long list of calendars telling us about the various festivals dedicated to various gods.

You may see Outer Wall of Kom-Ombo on my 3 min 05 sec Kom Ombo Outer Wall VIDEO clip

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The left side of the Temple is dedicated Horus who was also known as the good doctor. The Temple became famous for its healing power. It was a major pilgrimage site here a healing cult was developed and the temple was a sanctuary for many patients who were seeking help and treatment by the priests. They would fast for a night in the Temple precinct. It depicts a whole series of surgeon's instruments; confirming once again the high degree of skill achieved in the field of medicine.

There is a very remarkable scene on the inner side of the back wall of the Temple. It shows the first illustration of medical and surgery tools, which are presented, to a seated god. There you may see scalpels, suction cap, bone saws, and dental tools.

You may see Outer Wall and medicine relieves of Kom-Ombo on my 4 min 02 sec Kom Ombo Outer Wall VIDEO clip

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The rear wall leads to the Second Hypostyle Hall that leads to twin entrances and has 15 columns. Five of them are incorporated in the front wall. This section shows Ptolemy VII holding hymnal texts before the Nile gods.

The Second Hypostyle Hall repeats the design of the first one on a smaller scale and again allows two separate processional paths towards the inner sanctuaries behind the three narrow transverse halls or vestibules. The staircases to the roof were located at either end of the Second Hall. Similar to the arrangement at Edfu, the northern staircase was right-angled, while the southern one was straight. The drainage system of the roof included lion-headed waterspouts.

You may see the Temple of Kom-Ombo on my 3 min 18 sec Kom Ombo Temple VIDEO clip

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The First Hypostyle Hall has papyrus capitals on the columns. There is an inventory of the scared places of Egypt, the gods of the main towns and the local and national festivals.

Overall, the relief sculpture is typical of the Ptolemaic and Roman periods, with very deeply carved sunken reliefs on the exterior walls and columns, and fine quality bas-relief on the interior walls. Much of the relief is covered with a very thin layer of plaster, and the original colour survives in many places.

The capitals of the columns within, arranged in two rows of five free standing columns, are often wrought with ingenious compound forms. As would be expected, the decoration of the Hall and remaining parts of the Temple is divided between the two gods, with scenes of Sobek on the east and Horus on the west.
The ceiling is decorated with astronomical scenes.

You may see the First Hypostyle Hall of the Kom-Ombo Temple on my 2 min 07 sec Kom Ombo First Hypostyle Hall VIDEO clip

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The entrance into the Temple is located to the Easter side. There is an ancient Gate built by Neos Dionysus (Ptolemy XIII). Then you will see Mud brick Enclosure Wall and the Birth House of Ptolemy VII (Mammissi). The Birth House is the nearest building to the river. Its western half was destroyed, so little of it remained till now.

The first Pylon of the Temple was unfortunately destroyed as well. Only stones of the foundation and part of the Wall remained. The emperor Augustus constructed this Courtyard. The entrance is dived into two gateways. Each leads to one half of the Temple dedicated to each the twin deities.

Everything is duplicated along the main axis. There are two entrances, two Courts, two Colonnades, two Hypostyle Halls and two Sanctuaries.

You may see the entrance into the Temple of Kom-Ombo and Courtyard on my 2 min 30 sec Kom Ombo Courtyard VIDEO clip

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This temple is just beside the river Nile. Kom Ombo is the temple of two gods, Haroeris and Sobek. There are three mummified crocodiles on the place too.
Entrance fee to the temple was in march 2006, 20 L.E (Egyptian pound)

The Temple of Kom Ombo, with its dramatic setting on a bluff overlooking a bend in the Nile, is a sight to be savored. I went to Egypt knowing of other more famous sites, but came away awestruck by the dramatic beauty of this lesser known site. The tall wide main columns, with their elaborately ornate Ptolemaic crowns, are striking as they stand prominently on the bluff above the Nile. The scene is potentially even more dramatic when viewed from the river at night.

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Hathor Shrine is located on the right side of the temple. This is where u can find some mummified crocodiles, and their clay coffins which were dug up from a nearby animal cemetery.

Ancient Egyptians practised the mummification of animals as well, not just human; as animals were worshipped in the Pharaonic times, i.e cat, ibis, falcon, crocodile. But it was during the Graeco-Roman times that this animal-worship became a cult. Ancient Egyptians would buy mummified animals and present them to the god as a gift.