Day 7 Esna and Edfu

 Another early morning tour. This time we’re heading south along the Nile, The first stop is Esna Temple a 1.5 hour drive. The countryside we drive through is lush and fertile as the fields of bananas and corn draw their water from the Nile. A little less lush are the towns we drive through…this is a poor country and while the streets and roads are filled with schoolchildren in their uniforms they are framed by tumbledown buildings and local farmers driving carts pulled by donkeys.

Esna Temple is small by Egyptian temple standards but what it lacks in size it more than makes up with it spectacular colors  and decoration. It was a Greek-Egyptian temple started in 183BC and it laid undiscovered until the mid-1800s under layers of sand.

Our next stop was Edfu Temple another 2 hours further south. Edfu was another Greek-Egyptian temple and is unique in that it was one of the few temples that were not damaged in a huge earthquake around 37BC. It was a rather imposing structure but it lacked the color and vibrancy of Esna. Additionally the carving inside were badly defaced by the Coptic Christians who took refuge in the temple to hide from the Romans. It was certainly worth visiting but it was 10:30 and the temperature was 90 on its way to 99 again so we decided to call it a day rather than drive an additional 2 hours south to see another temple (Kom Ombo).