Visit to Abydos

OK I am massive lucky…..and then some. I thought I had got permission to visit the Archaic period burials at Abydos but when we got there it was disaster. Having produced my permissions, these were dismissed, I phoned this, that and the other, not good enough, no answer, phone switched off. I had spent 30 minutes arguing. Then I produced …

Esna

Finally also with the 20km range is the temple at Esna, a Ptolemaic temple but also the site of early dynastic excavations. A guest of ours, Dr Dorothy Downs has written about Esna. The temple is much lower than the surrounding town and indeed has not been fully excavated.

Dendera

Dendera The main lure at Dendera is the Temple of Hathor, one of the least ancient of ancient Egypt’s glories, main construction being more or less contemporary with the life of Christ, although it was built on much older foundations. There are fascinating glimpses of the meeting of great civilizations, with a famous wall relief of Cleopatra VII (the Cleopatra …