Taking a trip out to visit the Temples at Abydos and Dendara in Egypt is a must for anyone visiting the Luxor region. It is a little more difficult than heading out to the others, except maybe Abu Simbel, but the trip is well worth it, especially after seeing Abydos. To get to the two temples, you need to take a taxi, mini-van or tour bus at the designated times. If you want to see both, the convoy leaves at 10 am. Or you can leave at 2 pm to see only Dendara. But I strongly recommend catching the morning convoy and seeing them both. The reason you must leave at the designated times only is because all tourists going out to this region are required to have a military escort, for your protection of course. The day we had originally planned to see the two temples, we arrived late to the convoy and were told that we would have to wait until the next day. After telling them that we really wanted to see the temples that day (only because we wanted to see if any other options were available), we were told that we could go talk to the police and ask them if we could get a private escort. So, out of curiosity, we were off to see them. Luckily, the tourist police station is right next to the Tourist office so we did not have to go very far. If you would like to read about our experience asking the luxor police for a private escort, I have added it at the bottom of this page for you. Ok, back to Abydos.

Although the Temple of Seti I at Abydos has many many interesting features about it, there were three things in particular that struck my attention (as a non-Egyptologist type person) the most; first the colors that still remain in many of the reliefs, which according to the Rough Guide to Egypt are amongst the finest of the New Kingdom; second the master list of pharaohs called the Gallery of the Kings, which is shown in the video, has been immensely valuable to archeologists, and depicts Seti showing his son Ramses where he comes from; and lastly, but definitely not least, is the Osireion, shown in four of the pictures below, which has been the focus of much contention in the past. The ancient Egyptians believed this is where the first land arouse from chaos after the dawn of Creation. Although some believe it was added to the temple later, many believe that it existed long before the temple and question how such huge granite rocks, comparable to those used in the great pyramid got there. Unfortunately, there is not much left there now, but you can get a sense of how important a place this once was from the pictures and video. I should mention that tour groups did not go out here and when we ventured out we were immediately followed by armed guards and could easily see at least 5 other guards around watching our every move. While there I only saw about three other people visit this area. For some reason, it is not widely visited.

The Temple of Hathor at Dendara

After visiting the Temple of Seti I at Abydos, we were on our way to see the Temple of Hathor at Dendara. I was actually pretty beat by this point so my picture taking was at a minimum, however, I was very disappointed at what remained of this temple. Not due to erosion or other natural factors, but of mere destruction from rival religious groups. Although this temple is one of the only ones to boast a roof that is still intact, the faces are carved out practically everywhere and there is not must left in terms of reliefs as you can see from the final picture below.

Asking the Luxor Police for a Private Escort to Abydos

We walked in the door of the police station and were immediately greeted by a couple that appeared to be arguing (although I think this is just the way they communicate). They asked us how they could help and we told them that we really wanted to go out to see Abydos and Dendara today but that we missed the convoy and were wondering if there were any other options. They told us that we could hire a private police escort but would have to get approval from their chief of police. So, we were escorted by a police officer up to see the chief. This was one of the most interesting experiences I had on the trip as well. As we entered the police station, cop after cop were looking at us wondering what was going on. We just smiled, said hello, and kept following our guide. We finally arrived to the chief of police's office and everyone was at attention. We were told to enter his office and have a seat. It was a very weird situation to say the least. There were three or four police officers in the room, all standing at attention, and there was the chief of police, sitting behind his desk, smoking his cigarette, listening to someone on the telephone as he repeatedly looked us up and down. He hung up the phone and our guide asked us to follow him again. That was it. Not a word to us from the chief. As we started walking out of the office, Corey asked me what just happened. "I don't know," I said as I continued to follow the guide. "I'm sure we'll find out soon." We were escorted back to the original office we had entered and were told to have a seat. The officer who originally spoke with us, got off the telephone and started by apologizing for the chief saying that he does not speak any English. "No problem," we simultaneously replied as he continued to say that the cost for a police escort out to Abydos would be 2000 Egyptian pounds (About $350 US). We didn't have to think about it for even a second as we both immediately replied "No, thank you," as we got up to leave. Aside from our "Thank you for your time," there were no further exchanges of words or gestures as we walked out of the door. After getting a safe distance away, we started to relax and began talking to each other again. That was quite an experience. Something most tourist don't usually go through. And although we did not go through with the offer, it was fun to go through the process. Needless to say, we immediately began planning for our journey out to Abydos and Dendara the next day with the convoy.