We chose not to do the balloon ride. It started in the four o'clock hour and that would have been two days in a row with the early stuff. We think that the folks that have just arrived from the states have an advantage over us. The jetlag hits them at 3 AM so getting up early is easier. We got to relax a bit in the morning and then take the afternoon trip to Dendera and the beautiful temple of Hathor. Hathor is the goddess of beauty, music, dancing, love, fertility and pleasure. She hit the jackpot of goodies when they were handing out supernatural powers. The temple had great decorations and the capitols to the columns are unique to Hathor. She has cow's ears and is can be represented as a cow. This is because the cow's eyes are considered the most beautiful eyes in all of the world. We made our way into the temple and eventually to the inner sanctum. This inner room's floor used to be covered in sand and only the high priest could enter. As the high priest left he would smooth out the sand on the floor so that he would be able to tell if anyone had entered the room. He had a rope tied to his left leg in case he collapsed while inside. They could then pull him out without violating the no entry rules. We then made to the roof and back down to some side chambers
It is balloon!
The gondola hold 20 people
The folks that took the ride told us later that they landed right between large power lines
It was an electrifying landing
The motorboats that shuttled them back to this side of the river
Mr. Kingfisher was very entertaining
A fine wooden boat
On our ride to the temple
Crossing over the Nile
The sugar cane tractor
This long series of sugar cane was pulled by a motorcycle
Little shelters in the fields
Firing the pottery
Selling the pots
The pylons at the entrance are no there anymore
Columns with nothint left to support
A side temple
Hathor receives the Pharaoh's gift as it is her temple
Fancy column capitols
Mus brick walls on the exterior area
Horus is the husband to Hathor
Bes the god of beer, pleasure and sex. He has a bear head on his chest
The entrance
Note the cow's ears
Some of the faces were removed
Rows of cobras as protectors
The front and back facing cobras. One to see and one to foresee
The details and colors
Great pharaonic scenes
The vultures!
On the ceiling
Rows of gods
The healing eye of Horus
Soot from the fires of old had build up and protected these
Every panel tells a story
The rays of the sun god Amon-Ra shine down on Hathor
Make room for the bull
Nut is the goddess of the sky and she swallows the sun each evening
It passes through her all night ands then she gives birth to the new day
Time for a boat ride
So many details
These cartouches were left empty for the nest Pharaoh
The gate to the inner temple
These are scratch marks where people would scrape away on the columns to get the magical power that they rocks had been embude with
Side rooms everywhere
Hathor herself
So many stories
A funky fish
The crowns of upper and lower Egypt
Still colorful
Lots of offerings to give to Hathor
The ankh, the key to eternal life
The first three layers of the columns were made of granite to handle the load
The notch where the double doors were hinged
Hathor's face was removed
the ceremonial "boat" that held the statues of the gods
Colorful vultures
A god on the front
A god on the back
The corridors are tight
Many stairs to the top
Up on the roof
Fancy stone work on the floor of the roof
Some 200 year old graffiti
Falcons playing patty cake
What she said...
Every corner we turned made us realize how much work went into making these temples
Not sure the gender of this pharaoh so not sure if a zucchini was supposed to go into this hole
This is a replica of the zodiac that the French snatched years ago. The original in in the Louvre
Unfortunately the replica provided by the French is black so no details can be seen
Up on the second floor the drawings are even better
the story of Set and Osiris. Osiris was chopped into 14 Pieces
Hathor tried to resurrect him but she only found 13 of his parts
She made spells and used magic to bring him back
She ultimately was unsuccessful in reanimating him, as she was missing the zucchini, but she was still able to have a child Horus
Drain holes from the roof
Back down we go
The ladder to who knows where?
Skylights were needed
Hathor in the cow form
In the side chamber
Nut is here!
The golden light from the other room!
