The Egyptian City ” Kom Ombo “
Surrounded by fields of sugarcane and corn, Kom Ombo is a pleasant agricultural town, home to many Nubians displaced by the creation of Lake Nasser.
The town ruined yet imposing Graeco-Roman temple is in a particularly beautiful setting overlooking the Nile. The temple building is totally symmetrical with two entrances, two halls, and two sanctuaries.
This unusual structure is the result of the temple’s dedication to two gods – the left side to the falcon god Haroeris (Horus the Elder) and the right side to Sobek, the local crocodile god.
The construction of the temple was begun by Ptolemy VI Philometor in the 2nd century BC and mostly completed by Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos during the 1st century BC. Finally, the Roman emperor Augustus added the entrance pylon in around 30 BC.
From the largely ruined forecourt, two doors lead to the hypostyle hall, which contains scenes relating to Haroeris on the left wall and Sobek on the right. The many columns are carved with the lotus or lily of Upper Egypt and the papyrus of the Delta.
A series of halls and vestibules leads through to the sanctuaries of Haroeris and Sobek.
The Chapel of Hathor, just to the south of the temple, now houses a few crocodile mummies from the nearby crocodile necropolis.
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