"Dual Temple of Sobek and Horus" a Kawm Umbu Travel Page by atufft

before the first cruise ship. I was able to wander with the Temple of Sobek pretty much to myself, and then a cruise ship pulled against the port. Kwuam Umbu (Kom Ombo) is on a bend in the river and has a nice landing for cruise ships. The tourists unloaded and filled the place. It still wasn't as bad as at Luxor, but it took away the wonderful meditative aspects of the temple.

we were able to relax again and enjoy our fill. Ironically, we had seen the ship loading passengers in Aswan before we hiked over to the mini-van service across the railroad tracks in Aswan. When we returned to Aswan in the afternoon, soon after the same cruise ship returned. So, I didn't see much advantage to the cruise ship for touring the ruins. I suppose that the cruise provides good drinks and a platform for appreciation of the river though. In any case, our focus was the temple and we found many things very unique about it. The faint color found in the shade of the ceiling and certain walls reminded me that the entire complex was once painted in bright colors of blue,white, and red.

On the bend in the river, alligators would bask in the sun, waiting for something to eat. Ancient Egyptians were understandably fearful of them, and so placed a temple of worship to the aligator god Sobek, hoping to placate them and avoid death. Earlier temples were no doubt built on the unstable soil here, but this temple dates from the Ptolemaic period (after 300 BC). The temple was originally a dual temple, but the remains of the temple of Horus, which is closer to the river are scant. It's interesting that the temples of Sobek and Horus (see also Idfu pages), which were built build within the same dynastic period, are so spaced along the river. According to Egyptian legend, Horus, the falcon, defeats Sobek who had Osiris, the father of Horus. Sobek is resurrected though in this wonderful temple. Check out the Things To Do tips for more explanation and images.