Temple of Kom Ombo in Aswan, Egypt – Egyptian Temples
The history of the construction of the most important Egyptian archaeological temples and Pharaonic monuments to learn more about the Ancient Egypt civilization.
Secrets of the Pharaonic civilization that you did not know about the map of the temple from the inside, the reasons for construction, entrance ticket prices, visiting hours, and more to visit the tourist attractions in Aswan to start your cultural trip and visit the tourist attractions in Egypt to learn about Ancient Egypt History.
Temple of Kom Ombo Facts
Construction period: 205 to 180 BC.
Temple construction time: 400 years.
Built during the reign of: King Ptolemy VI of the Ptolemaic Kingdom.
Decoration: During the reign of Emperor Tiberius Caesar
Restoration: Abu al-Hasan al-Shaer
Temple type: Double funerary temples for the God Horus and the God Sobek, the most famous Egyptian deities – Ancient Egyptian gods and Goddesses in the Ancient Egyptian religion.
The small town of Kom Ombo is located on the eastern side of the Nile River, 45 kilometres north of Aswan and 800 kilometres south of the Egyptian capital, Cairo..
This small city is surrounded by fields of sugar cane and corn, the most famous crops in ancient Egypt, but at the same time it has many temples of the Pharaohs and ancient Egyptian Monuments, including the Temple of Kom Ombo, and the Greek-Roman era temple in Kom Ombo, which overlooks the Nile directly, which makes any Nile cruise approaching the area, visit the temple.
The construction of the temple continued for many years after that, from 180 to 169 BC, as each of the pharaohs added to this temple.
A large part of the Temple of Kom Ombo, including the Hypostyle Hall, was built during the reign of Emperor Tiberius, indicating the development of Architecture in ancient Egypt.
Where is Kom Ombo Temple located?
The temple is located on a high hill on the Nile River in the city of Ko Ombo, where the temple was built during the Ptolemaic era, especially during the reign of King Ptolemy VI.
The Romans, during the Roman Kingdom era, made drawings and decorations on the walls after that, indicating the development of Sculpture in Ancient Egypt.
What does Kom Ombo mean?
The word Ko Ombo means gold, as it was located at the crossroads of the gold mines, the most famous of the Ancient Egyptian Metallurgy.
The Coptic name for it was Anbo and the Greek name was Ambos. The word Ambo means the hills that were present in the area..
What are the reasons for building the Kom Ombo Temple?
The Kom Ombo Temple was used as a hospital in ancient times, in addition to drawings of games and Ancient Egyptian Sport during the Pharaonic era, such as the game of fencing on the wall..
The Ptolemies built the Temple of Kom Ombo to worship two gods, Sobek or the “crocodile god” and Horus, the “falcon god”.
This is why the complex consists mainly of two parallel temples that include all the traditional components of such ancient Egyptian religious structures..
Temple construction stages:
The Temple of Kom Ombo was built on the ruins of a much older temple called “Per Sobek”, or the House of the God Sobek.
This ancient temple was built with two bases during the period of the Eighteenth Dynasty of the New Kingdom of Egypt, specifically during the reign of King Thutmose III. He has the Tomb of King Thutmose III | KV34 within the tombs of the Valley of the Kings and the The Funerary Temple Of King Thutmose III and Queen Hatshepsut, the most famous queen of Pharaonic Egypt “Female Pharaohs“.
Hatshepsut has the Tomb of Queen Hatshepsut | KV60 and the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut in Deir El Bahari in Luxor, the archaeological city of Thebes in southern Egypt according to the Geography of ancient Egypt.
The temple was built by King Ptolemy V in 180-205 BC..
King Ptolemy VI built many buildings for the temple in 180-145 BC..
The Hypostyle Hall was built by King Ptolemy VIII in 169-116 BC..
The drawings and inscriptions on the hypostyle halls were made by Emperor Tiburius in 14-37 BC..
Emperor Domitian added his name to the cartouches in the temple in 81-96 BC..
The temple was restored and built during the reign of Emperors Caracalla, Geta and Macrinus in 218 AD..
Kom Ombo Temple from the inside:
Kom Ombo Temple is divided into two sections, a left section for the great god Horus and a section for the god Sobek. The temple is 45 km north of the tourist city of Aswan..
The temple includes a small water basin for raising crocodiles in the past, and it was called “Cleopatra’s Bath”.“
The temple includes the first triad “Sobek – God Khonsu – God Hathor” and the second triad “Horus the Great – Tasent – God Nefertem – God Raet”.“
The temple is surrounded by a large wall and has two entrances to the Sobek shrine and one to the Horus shrine..
The Temple of Kom Ombo includes a large courtyard and contains 16 columns divided on 3 sides, but with the passage of time, erosion and climate, only the lower parts of the columns remain.
You will see Pharaonic engravings on the walls of Emperor Tiberius offering sacrifices to the goddess..
You will see drawings of a long procession of the pharaohs of the Nile goddess carrying Ancient Egyptian Papyrus and The Egyptian Lotus Flower to signify the unity of Egypt, in addition to engravings of servants carrying offerings and Food in ancient Egypt.
You will also see drawings of Emperor Imperator Augustus next to a long strip of writing in Ancient Egyptian Language hieroglyphics and behind a procession of a group of gods offering offerings to them in all the temples of Aswan..
Inside the courtyard of the temple, you will see the outer column hall surrounded by stone curtains, between which there are two large doors and two small doors, in addition to Pharaonic engravings of snakes carrying the sun disk on the columns..
You will then see the inner hypostyle hall, which includes 10 columns in two rows with capitals in the shape of the open papyrus flower that existed during the Pharaonic era, then a ceiling with Pharaonic engravings in good condition, then you will see the Holy of Holies..
You will see Pharaonic engravings and drawings of surgical instruments on the outer wall behind the Holy of Holies and engravings of the stage and the God Isis sitting on the birthing chair as in the stories of the Pharaohs’ myths “Egyptian Mythology” and Ancient Egyptian Literature.
Kom Ombo Temple Design:
The Temple of Kom Ombo was built mainly of limestone in a rectangular shape, with a plan and design very similar to many temples built in the Roman era, such as the Temple of Dendera in Qena and the The Temple of Philae, which are considered among the most important archaeological landmarks in Upper Egypt, and are visited annually by many tourists..
The design of the Kom Ombo Temple begins with a forecourt, a hypostyle hall, followed by three inner halls, and then two pylons, one dedicated to Sobek and the other to Horus..
On either side of the inner halls, there are seven chambers; three of them are located in the eastern section of the temple while the other is located in the western part.
Furthermore, the Kom Ombo Temple contains several antechambers and smaller rooms that were used for various rituals..
Map and details of the architectural elements of the Kom Ombo Temple:
External Gate:
The main gate of the temple was built of stone during the reign of King Ptolemy XII, where you will see Pharaonic drawings and engravings of the king holding his right hand over the enemies and striking them in front of the god, and drawings of the king offering sacrifices to the god Sobek in the form of a crocodile head holding a scepter and the ankh sign of life, and behind him stands the goddess Hathor with a Hathor crown, raising her hand on the shoulder of the god Sobek and holding the sign of life..
Other drawings on the outer gate of the king offering sacrifices to the god Horus, and the god Paneb Tewe standing behind him. The engravings express the king’s wars and victories and indicate the strength of the Military of ancient Egypt.
You will see 3 pharaonic drawings on the inner facade of the main gate, which are::
King Ptolemy XII offering sacrifices to the god Sobek with the god Hathor.
King Ptolemy XII offers sacrifices to the god Horus and his wife Tasent and Nofret.
King Ptolemy XII offers incense to the goddess Hathor, followed by his son Khonsu-Hor..
The monument:
On the eastern and western sides, immediately after the main gate, you will find a dilapidated structure, part of which was built during the reign of Emperor Domeishan, where you will find drawings of the king standing and in front of him texts praising the gods Horus and Sobek..
open courtyard:
The courtyard was built in a rectangular shape containing 16 columns. The columns surround the courtyard from 3 directions, with 5 columns on the western and eastern sides and 6 on the southern side..
Over time, many of the columns were destroyed, and only the columns of the lower part remained, which were built during the reign of Emperor Tiberius..
In the middle of the courtyard you will see an altar for offering sacrifices to the god. In addition to drawings of Emperor Tiberius offering sacrifices to the god Sobek and Horus, with his wife Hathor behind him, and other engravings of Emperor Tiberius wearing the red and white crowns of the god Horus, holding the scepter and the ankh sign of life, and behind him stands the God Nephthys.
Front Column Hall:
The hall contains 10 columns in two rows. The hall was built during the reign of King Ptolemy XII..
On the eastern side you will see stone curtains, with engravings of the king in a purification position before the gods Thoth and Sobek, in addition to a scene in the presence of the god Horus of Ur on the left side..
The columns are similar in decoration and capitals to the columns of the Philae Temple..
On the door of the inner hall we find drawings of King Ptolemy VIII wearing the crown of the Lower Egypt region as in the Clothing in ancient Egypt and offering sacrifices to the god Sobek. On the other wall we find drawings of the king wearing the crown of the two faces and in front of him the gods Semaur, Sobek and Hathor..
Interior Column Hall:
It contains 10 columns in two parallel rows with papyrus flower-shaped capitals. It was built during the reign of King Ptolemy VIII, in addition to drawings on the walls of the king offering sacrifices to the gods Sobek, Horus, and Hathor..
You will see 3 drawings on the walls of the outer face.:
The king offers incense to the god Sobek and his successor, the god Khonsu Horus..
The king offers sacrifices to the gods Horus and Panebtawy..
The king offers sacrifices to the pharaonic triad.
You will see drawings on the doors of the northern wall of King Ptolemy VI with the god Horus and presenting the sign of Maat to the gods Sobek and Horus, in addition to engravings of the king presenting wine to the gods Sobek and Horus..
Above the eastern door you will see drawings of King Ptolemy VI with his wife Queen Cleopatra II offering wine to the Sobek triad and the Horus triad..
The first inner hall in the Temple of Kom Ombo:
The hall was designed in a rectangular shape, but it is dilapidated and ruined. Above the outer door, you will see Pharaonic engravings of King Ptolemy VI presenting the symbol of Maat (the law in ancient Egypt) to the triad Horus and the triad Sobek, in addition to engravings of the king presenting wine to the god Sobek and his wife Hathor..
On the walls of the inner hall you will see Pharaonic engravings of King Ptolemy VI offering sacrifices to the god Sobek and behind Hathor, and engravings of him offering sacrifices to the god Horus and behind him his wife Panebtawy..
Second inner hall:
The hall is designed in a rectangular shape without a ceiling and contains two rooms in addition to drawings on the walls of sculptures of King Ptolemy VI offering perfumes and vessels to the gods Sobek and Horus..
There are drawings on the southern wall of King Ptolemy VI worshipping snakes and other drawings of him wearing a crown and holding a scepter and ankh sign with his wife Queen Cleopatra II in front of the gods Sobek and Horus..
The third inner hall in the Temple of Kom Ombo:
Designed in a rectangular shape and without a ceiling, you will see Pharaonic drawings and engravings on both sides of the hall doors of King Ptolemy VI offering sacrifices to Horus and Sobek and above the western door offering flowers and Queen Cleopatra II offering the sign of justice Maat “Law in Ancient Egypt” to the god Khonsu and Horus Sobek and Hathor in addition to drawings offering pottery vessels to the gods Sobek, Hathor, Horus and Panebtawy..
Holy of Holies:
The temple contains two halls, the Holy of Holies, which contain two rectangular halls with ruined walls and no inscriptions.
There are remains of a black granite base specific to the Temple of Sebok, in addition to rooms for storing offerings specific to the Temple of Kom Ombo, indicating the development of Industry in ancient Egypt.
There are rooms that were used for priests’ residence, religious celebrations and Pharaonic feasts “Festivals in Ancient Egypt“.
The outer and inner corridors of the temple:
You will see the doctor’s panel in the corridor and the Tarjan panel, which depicts the duality between Sobek and Horus, with the king presenting the two boats and the god Min, the “god of fertility,” as was the religious belief of the ancient Egyptians..
You will see drawings on the outer wall of Emperor Vespasian presenting the boats to Sobek, Hathor and Khonsu..
Birth house:
The house was built during the reign of King Ptolemy VIII and contains a front courtyard, a columned hall with 4 columns, and two halls for performing birth rituals in the culture of the Pharaonic civilization..
On the door to the outer hall you will see drawings of King Ptolemy VIII with his wife Queen Cleopatra II carrying flowers to offer offerings to the Sobek triad and Pharaonic engravings on the western wall of the king standing on a fishing boat with the God Min God Amun– God Ra.
You will find the ruins of a shrine built by Emperor Caracalla to honor the worship of the god Sobek..
Hathor shrine in Kom Ombo Temple:
The cabin is designed in a rectangular shape with one floor on a mud brick wall, containing a rectangular room 5 meters long and 3 meters wide in addition to a large glass box containing 3 crocodile Mummy..
On the facade of the cabin you will see drawings of the goddess Hathor, the king offering wine to the goddess Tasentnofret, and drawings of the goddess of music..
Nilometer:
In the northwest area, you will see a circular well with steps in addition to a small well, which was used to determine the water level of the Nile River, especially during floods. Then the ruler would determine the value of taxes on the owners of agricultural lands..
Sobek’s shrine in the Temple of Kom Ombo:
The cabin was designed in a rectangular shape on a raised platform with an entrance and two columns with drawings of Emperor Caracalla and Geta in addition to the full names of the emperors..
Kom Ombo Temple Address:
Nagou El Shatb, Kom Ombo District, Aswan, Egypt.
Visiting hours:
Daily 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Entrance ticket prices:
Note: Facts and secrets of the history will be added soon…
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The Temple of Kom Ombo Aswan Egypt | History of the construction of the most important Pharaonic archaeological temples for the civilization of Egypt.
