Our languorous glide down the Nile on the falucca, unfortunately had to be cut sort after two nights, as, apparently the locks on the Nile (?) make passing impossible. But, this meant that we could board a comfortable mini-bus that came to fetch us (Mark drove our truck up to Aswan to wait there for us) and, on the way to Aswan, he stopped at two beautiful temples on the way; Kom Ombo and Edfu.
Kom Ombo -- meaning 'pile of gold' is famous for its intricately and detailed carvings on its walls. These are of every kind of animal you can think of -- vultures, ducks, bulls, hawks, dogs, jackals, snakes, baboons, ibises, and of course, also the crocodile -- to whom this shrine is built. -- One has to wonder whether they built a temple for Sobek, the crocodile god, knowing that there had to be some proof that the Nile was once full of Nile crocodiles -- as today there is no sign left of them -- other than the obscene piles of crocodile skin handbags, shoes and belts in the markets. Another feature of this temple are the carvings of medical instruments -- the pliers, forceps, scalpels, lancets and other instruments looking exactly, I am sure, like the tray in the operating theatre at the hospital not far away. Interestingly, this was also the first time that I saw distinctly 'African' people in the Egyptian carvings; these were amongst the depictions of Egypt's enemies at the time, and the strong, much more muscular torsos than anyone else's, and negroid, heavy lidded gaze of these fierce soldiers showed the respect the Egyptian craftsmen must have had for these worthy Nubians. Later, at Edfu, and again at Abu Simbel, I again saw depictions of the black Africans, but these were always as prisoners of war and slaves taken after battle, chained and manacled and often on their knees -- never proud and fierce as they were shown at Kom Ombo.
There is some criticism of restoration done on these temples and ruins found in Egypt -- and for that matter, elsewhere. Perhaps it is because of the Disney World Effect it creates -- a perfectly restored temple that dates back two and half thousand years or more is considered to be 'over-restored', 'false and approximated'. I am not sure how I feel about this. I saw -- and heard the same thing when I visited the Acropolis in Athens recently, where there too huge restoration is taking place, carving marble and stone and replacing large sections of the temple which had been completely destroyed or eroded or stolen. I know that there is one place -- Carcassonne, in France, where the restoration to me made an entire city look like a facsimile, more suited to be in the more-than-perfect world of Disney, but when it comes to ancient ruins of temples, that have survived the ravages of time for thousands of years, I believe that good restoration work which faithfully recreates the splendour and the craftsmanship and glory of the time, then it is good.
I would love to hear what you think!
The second temple we visited on this drive was the Temple of Edfu. Fascinating. The edifice is huge, towering up to the blue sky, massively thick walls that lean slightly back as if it struggling under its own weight, the carvings stretching right up to the top, making giants of Horus who is caught in the act of avenging his father, Osiris, by stabbing the hippo-bodied Seth. It is impressive. And even more impressive when you consider that when one of my favourite writers, Gustave Flaubert (Madame Bovary) wrote about Edfu in his journal while visiting Egypt, he said: "There is always some temple buried to its shoulders in the sand, partially visible, like an old dug-up skeleton."
Of course, it is almost hard to remember that until the late 19th century, all these temples we now visit, were nothing more than smashed up carvings, bits and pieces of bodies and heads and torsos, segments of pillars, scattered building blocks lying about in the desert. There is something quite magical about the thought that buried in the desert, there were -- and might still be, entire cities under a sky of sand. Cities with houses and streets, courtyards and gardens, trees and temples, hidden in a world of silence, under our feet...
But -- that is yet another daydream which one could chat about until late into the night...
Back to Edfu: This is also the most defaced temple we saw. Literally 'defaced'. It is not clear whether it was done by early Christians, who abhorred the detailed and beautifully carved faces of gods and deities, or whether it was perhaps done by Muslims who abhor human images even more. But almost every image of the gods, the humans and the animals carved on the walls of Edfu temple, have been 'erased' -- systematically chipped away. And not only the faces, but every bit of flesh that is exposed -- the arms and legs, hands and feet of the carvings obliterated, the clothing and delicately carved headdresses, transparent skirts, jewellery and shoes still intact as like the day they were carved. it shocks to see such vandalism from probably hundreds of years ago. Difficult then to be judgemental about the graffitti from Napoleonic times -- deep carvings of names of not only ignorant soldiers, but of the archaeologists themselves who had found and uncovered these amazing treasures...
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