KARNAK TEMPLE
Read moreHere you are at one of Egypt's most famous sites, and you're in for a thrill...
Jean-François Champollion wrote: "At last I went to the palace, or rather the city of monuments, at Karnak. There appeared to me all the magnificence of the Pharaohs, all that men have imagined and executed of the greatest. (...) All that I had admired with enthusiasm on the left bank, seemed to me miserable in comparison with the gigantic conceptions with which I was surrounded... Suffice it to say that we in Europe are no more than Lilliputians, and that no people, ancient or modern, has conceived the art of architecture on so sublime a scale, so broad, so grandiose, as did the ancient Egyptians."Its grandiose dimensions (around 1.5 km long and 700 m wide) and the tangle of its buildings make it look more like a city than a simple temple! The temple was the world's largest religious complex, and the site originated on a sacred spot, the sacred hill, from which, according to the ancient Egyptians, the world was built. Several pharaohs sought to build temples in their own image, and the complex was extended many times. Recent developments have sought to restore the relationship between the first pylon and the Theban mountain; the trees have been cut down, and in their place an immense pavement of polished granite has been laid...
Karnak as a whole, vast, dense and bushy, cannot be revealed at a glance. In itself, it would deserve a place that would exceed the limits of this guide. For this reason, we strongly advise amateurs to enlist the services of a qualified guide. As for the others, they should let their gaze linger on these innumerable wonders as they please, without trying to see and understand everything, as this is impossible in just one or a few hours.
The temple is made up of several distinctsections: Montu (in ruins) to the north, Mut to the south and, between the two, the great temple of Amun, by far the most interesting part.
In front of the first pylon, preceded by sphinxes, was the original landing stage, of which two ramps remain. This first pylon, never completed, was one of the last constructions undertaken at Karnak. All the pylons you'll come across on your way were, at one time or another, the outer limits of the complex, which were constantly being extended.
In the main courtyard, on your left, the small temple of Sety II is dedicated to the Amun-Mut-Khonsu triad, which at the time of its construction was outside the enclosure. To the right is the temple of Ramses III, with some very realistic bas-reliefs on the walls.
Oncepast the second pylon , a forest of 134 columns appears. It's a titanic work, begun under Amenophis III. This pharaoh was responsible for the erection of the twelve columns of the central nave (23 m high and with capitals able to accommodate more than forty people standing!). Successive kings, notably Seti I and Ramses II, completed the beautiful edifice. The hall (102 m x 53 m) originally had a ceiling.
Between the third and fourth pylons lies the court of Amenophis III. Only one of the four obelisks, once in place, remains. Turning right, you enter a courtyard known as "the hiding place", where phenomenal quantities of stone and bronze statuettes (over ten thousand in all) were found, deposited there by the priests. It was unthinkable to destroy a representation of a god or his son, Pharaoh. The next courtyard contains the base of an impressively large obelisk, measuring 3.20 m on each side (Hatshepsut's obelisk measures "only" 2.60 m). To your left, against the backdrop of the sound and light stages, the greenish waters of the sacred lake, where ritual navigations took place, shimmer. You can't help but stop in front of the large scarab carved into the granite, dedicated to the god Atoum-Khepri.
Beyond the fourth pylon, an obelisk erected by Queen Hatshepsut towers 30 m above the surrounding buildings. Originally, there were two obelisks, their tops covered in gold.
Beyond the sixth and final pylon, a small courtyard gives access to the sanctuary, preceded by two imposing pink granite pillars decorated with the emblems of Lower and Upper Egypt.
The sanctuary, also in granite, was built quite late under Philip Arrhidaios (323). It served as a resting place for sacred boats. The next courtyard (former site of the primitive sanctuary, of which nothing remains) leads to the festival hall of Thoutmes III. Transformed into a church by the Christians, one of its few pillars still bears traces of ancient paintings. The best-known of the solar halls is the "botanical garden", with its exotic flowers and animals.
Adjacent to the northern enclosure is the small temple of Ptah built by Thutmes III, one of whose three sanctuaries houses a black granite statue of Sekhmet.
TEMPLE OF HATHOR AND NEFERTARI
Read moreThe façade of the temple dedicated to Hathor and Ramses II's wife, Nefertari, once again expresses the desire to show the closeness of Pharaoh and the gods, but this time by elevating the royal wife to an unusual level. While Pharaoh is represented four times on the façade by monumental Osirid statues wearing the double crown, Nefertari is given two statues of the same height, whereas she was usually depicted smaller, in accordance with the canons of Egyptian statuary. In the large temple next door, Pharaoh's mother, sons and daughters are represented by statues no taller than their parents' hips.
The interior of the temple consists of a hypostyle hall supported by six pillars with hathoric capitals. On the walls, the royal wife offers gifts to the goddess, who takes on the features of either a woman or a cow, notably on a boat when Nefertari offers her papyrus. The ceiling is adorned with two different sets of royal epithets. On the left, the queen is described as follows: "The King of Upper and Lower Egypt Usermastra Setepenra, his beloved, the royal wife Nefertari Meremut, beloved of Hathor, endowed with life". The vestibule is accessed via three doors, and leads to two side chambers and the sanctuary, where a statue of Hathor in the guise of a cow emerging from the mountain is enthroned in its niche.
MONASTERE
Read moreSt. Catherine's Monastery, also known as the Monastery of the Transfiguration, is a magnificent complex perched at 1,570 m above sea level. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is one of the oldest monasteries in the world still in use, and certainly one of the finest examples of Byzantine architecture. Almost all of its walls date back to its construction, ordered by Emperor Justinian (in 527). The monastery was intended to protect hermits from looters. The architect Ailisios, in charge of the work, chose a site where a chapel marked the location of the bush-ardent. To avoid destroying it, he incorporated it into the construction of a new church and protected the whole complex with a powerful wall 2.6 m thick, thus creating both a monastery and a fortress. It is said that Ailisios was condemned to death and executed for not placing the monastery on top of Mount Moses. His choice proved wise, however, as the monastery withstood looting, wear and tear and earthquakes. Two hundred families from Macedonia, Romania, Egypt and Arabia were dispatched to protect the monks and provide the stewardship. From the 8th and 9th centuries onwards, the descendants of these families converted en masse to Islam, and today form a very specific and localized tribe, the Jebelyeh (mountain people). Although Muslim, they recognize the spiritual authority of the Archbishop of Sainte-Catherine.
Throughout their existence, edicts (some signed by august hands, such as those of the Prophet Mohammed or General Bonaparte, to name but the most famous) have protected the monks, and only the Bedouins have had any difficulty in respecting them. The greatest threat came from Egypt in the 11th century, when the Caliph Hakim came to the valley with the intention of razing the monastery to the ground. This fanatical ruler had already destroyed numerous Christian buildings. This time, however, he gave up in extremis, in exchange for a mosque to be built on the monastery's grounds. During the Egyptian campaign, Bonaparte had some parts of the enclosure restored, including the north-facing wall. The opening of an entrance door eliminated the need for the wooden elevator that had previously been the only means of access inside the walls. The wooden gallows and pulley are still visible.
Around a third of the building is open to the public. You'll see the basilica, the oldest parts of which date back to the 6th century. In addition to its 12 massive granite columns representing the 12 apostles, it is rich in superb icons... The Transfiguration Mosaic is remarkable: created in memory of Justinian's wife, its 500,000 pieces date back to the 6th century. Pierre Loti described his moving visit thus: "The two leaves of a cedar door carved 1,300 years ago are opened before us, and we enter into the astonishment of this unique place in the world... The view, at first, is dazzled and disconcerted by the profusion of chandeliers, silver lamps... One feels plunged into a naïve and magnificent past, so distant and yet so present that it worries the mind..."
The burning bush is located outside the church, in front of the apse. In 2000, Pope John Paul II paid his first visit to Coptic Orthodox lands. The chapel of the bush-ardent, located behind the church choir, is considered the most sacred place in the entire monastery. The altar is erected on the roots of the bush, making it the most sacred place in the monastery. Like Moses, you must take off your shoes before entering.
What you won't be able to see: the treasure trove of gifts from devotees (gold chalices, candlesticks, bishop's crosses and crosses...); the mosque, refectory, icon collection... (there are said to be over 2,000); the library, considered the second largest in the world after the Vatican in terms of manuscripts and incunabula. It contains over 32,000 manuscripts, most of them written or copied by the monks of the monastery over the centuries (visit available on request). In order to preserve its archives, the Monastery has undertaken the digitization of all its documents. Don't be surprised if you don't hear the nine bells donated by the Russian Church: they only ring on feast days. Every day, a wooden bell punctuates the day.
The monastery's community is made up of around twenty monks, under the leadership of their abbot, whose particularity in the Orthodox world is that he is autocephalous (an independent head). Indeed, since an imperial decree gave them this privilege, the monastery's abbot is subject to no higher jurisdiction than his own. Belonging to the Greek Orthodox Church, whose patriarch has, in principle, no authority over the monastery's abbot.
An ossuary is located outside the enclosure. These are the remains of the monks who died in the monastery. So as not to waste the little arable land they had, the monks had only a very small cemetery. They were buried here and, a few decades later, their bones were deposited in this room. The ossuary was closed to visitors in 2020.
MOUNT MOÏSE OR GEBEL MOUSSA (2,285 M)
Read moreAccording to the religions of the Book, it was perched on the summit of this mountain that Moses received the Tables of the Law. Some climb it out of faith, whether Christian or Jewish, while others do it for the sheer pleasure of it. Whatever your motivation, the steep path to the summit is breathtakingly beautiful and the final panorama breathtaking. Allow between 2 and 3 hours for the climb. Sunrise and sunset are two particularly famous and... crowd-pleasing moments. For many, it remains a unique experience, but you won't be alone. You can also sleep under the stars at the top of Mount Moses, bearing in mind that it's very cold in winter and snow is not uncommon. Beware of falling on steps made slippery by frost. In summer, many people spend the night at the summit, making it necessary to "mark" your place, but the atmosphere remains friendly and relaxed. In high season, those who prefer a quieter pace will prefer to make the ascent mid-morning, when the site deserted by visitors has regained its calm and natural splendor. Remember to bring enough water, however, as the thermometer climbs very quickly.
For the first part of the ascent, you can choose between two paths that meet 20 minutes from the summit: either the camel track (gently sloping, up to the junction), which is customary on the way up, or the steps (around 300), which are best taken on the way down. In both cases, the path is clear and marked by plastic bottles (on the right, a little to the rear of the monastery, the route of the steps; straight ahead, on a wide strip of earth, the camel trail). At the top is a small chapel dedicated to the Holy Trinity and a mosque built over the grotto in which Moses stayed for 40 days. To the north, in the foreground, the Freiah massif and, much further back, the immense Tih plateau, so feared by the Bedouins for its lack of water. To the east, the Gulf of Aqaba and, on a clear day, the foothills of Saudi Arabia, another world. To the south-west, the huge, superb mass of Mount Sainte-Catherine (2,637 m). You may even catch a glimpse of the chapel on the horizon.
There is one precondition for this climb: you must be accompanied by a local guide. If you're carrying a heavy load, you can also hire a camel.
LUXOR TEMPLE
Read moreNow you're ready to discover a superb temple not to be missed. Most of the present-day structure of Luxor Temple dates from the reign of Amenhotep III (1400 BC) and Ramses II (1235 BC). It is mainly dedicated to Amun, but also to Mut, his wife, and Khonsu, their son. This temple was very busy during the Opet festivities. The three sacred barks of Amun, Mut and Khonsu, stored year-round in their sanctuary at Karnak, would leave the temple on the shoulders of the priests to the general jubilation.
A 3 km-long alley, called dromos, lined with sphinxes, some of which are still visible, once again links Luxor to Karnak.
In front of the first pylon built by Ramses, only one obelisk remains. Both had been offered to France in 1831 by Mohammed Ali, but only one was transported to Parisand has since been enthroned on the Place de la Concorde. Symbolically, as soon as he was elected, President François Mitterrand, whose attachment to Egypt was well known, returned the obelisk that had remained in place.
Crossing the first pylon, on your right, you'll discover a chapel with three chambers, used as resting places for the barks of Amun, Mut and Khonsu. Built by Tuthmosis III, this chapel breaks with the parallelism of the courtyard columns. On the left, overlooking the site, you'll notice the unusual location of a small mosque built in the 13th century, at a time when the ruins of Luxor were still buried under sand. There was later talk of moving it, but the subject no longer seems to be on the agenda. The courtyard, built during the reign of Ramses II, is adorned with imposing statues of him. It opens onto an impressive avenue lined with columns, behind which you can observe processional scenes from the Opet festival. The bas-reliefs date back to Tutankhamun and Horemheb. The next courtyard, that of Amenhotep III, surrounded by columns, was once covered by a ceiling of such magnitude that it's hard to imagine its size. The repository in front of the sanctuary was rebuilt under Alexander the Great. The bas-reliefs depict him in the company of Amun, demonstrating the god's enduring importance in early Greek times. Try to time your visit for the end of the day or in the evening, it's grandiose. All lit up, it stands out against the blackish backdrop that night has laid over the city. It's magical!
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TEMPLE OF HORUS
Read moreThanks to its exceptional state of preservation (the best in Egypt), the Edfu temple leaves a lasting impression. Its dimensions are impressive: it's the third-largest temple in Egypt after Karnak and Medinat-Abu. Construction began in 237 BC and took almost two centuries. The temple retains a perfect homogeneity in both structure and decoration, and vividly recreates the atmosphere that must have reigned there in ancient times. The sanctuary itself - the holy of holies - was accessible only to the local king and high priest. Dedicated to Horus, the great sky god, it is remarkable for its bas-reliefs, notably those depicting the annual meeting of Horus and Hathor, and those representing the goddess Nut in the New Year's chapel. Take time to observe the detail of some of the 18,000 hieroglyphs in near-perfect condition: impressive.
The 36 m-highpylon has retained the vertical grooves used to erect the wooden flagpoles. After crossing the forecourt of columns with capitals in the shape of palm, lotus or papyrus, you enter the first hypostyle hall, whose walls are decorated with scenes of offerings. Once again, the ensemble evokes nature, a marsh or a wood; plant motifs are found on every column. The room has 18 columns, 6 of which are enclosed halfway up by a wall that conceals the room's interior. To the left of the entrance, you'll notice a pink granite statue of Horus, and another broken one.
A second, smaller but more eleganthypostyle hall , supported by 12 columns, leads to several chambers where offerings were stored and rituals prepared. The next 2 rooms provide access to other chambers or chapels via staircases. The sanctuary, which retains its chapel carved from a single block of granite, dates from the reign of Nectanibis II. It originally featured a doorway and housed the sacred statue of Horus. The altar in front of the statue supported the god's bark.
Around the sanctuary, a corridor leads to 10 chambers. In one of these, a processional boat has been reconstructed. An open-air ambulatory takes you almost all the way around the building. Take your time to decipher the countless scenes depicted, and you'll be able to review Egyptian mythology. At the end of the visit, the subtle interplay of light and shadow within the edifice leaves its mark.
TEMPLE OF HATHOR
Read moreLike Abydos its neighbour, it rises on a site where already Khufu would have built a temple in 2600 BC. The similarities stop there however, Denderah not having the monumental aspect of the temple of Sety I, nor the quality of these bas-reliefs. Its construction dates from the 1st century BC. It was built over more than a century, up to the early years of the Christian era.
A mud-brick enclosure delimits the temple area where, until the 6th century, a large Coptic community lived. As you enter, on the right, you will notice a fairly well-preserved building, the Mammisi, whose frescoes relate the birth and childhood of Horus. Just next to it are some remains of a Coptic church from the 5th century, of which little remains, and a little further on, a rather dilapidated complex of mud-brick that housed a spa for medical use. Going along the temple, still on the right, you will find the site of the sacred lake, dried up, from which some palm trees emerge and, just behind the main temple, a small construction, partially in ruins, dedicated to Isis. There you can admire some high quality bas-reliefs.
At the entrance to the great temple as well as inside, the columns supporting the roof are all bearing the effigy of Hathor. They have unfortunately been damaged. The ceilings are covered with astronomical scenes where you will have no trouble recognizing Nut, the goddess of the sky. As a special favour, the guards will ask you to go down to one of the fourteen crypts in the temple. Abundantly decorated, they were used to store highly sacred objects, such as the goddess's clothing, for example, whose statues were displayed during ceremonies.
The courtyard, preceded by a ruined pylon, gives access to a hypostyle room containing 18 monumental columns. Through a doorway one reaches the hall of the feast or apparition, supported by 6 columns, giving onto the offering room, in its extension, then the Enneade room, and finally to the chapel, also called the "venerable seat". The seat is surrounded by a "mysterious corridor" serving numerous chapels and logistical rooms
A staircase leads to the terrace. On the walls, the bas-reliefs represent a religious procession. On the one on the left, you will notice that the figures are all heading upwards. On the one on the right, everyone goes down! The famous zodiac, the original of which is in the Louvre, is in a small room overlooking the terrace.
TEMPLE OF RAMSES III (HABOU MEDINA)
Read moreThis monumental complex - the largest after Karnak - occupies a site long dedicated to the cult of Amun.
What you will see is only part of a complex that included not only a royal palace, but also stores, administrative and priestly buildings, as well as a sacred lake fed by a canal that allowed pharaohs to reach their apartments without setting foot on land.
The whole complex formed a city, a veritable extension of Luxor on the other bank, and extended to the south-west of the temple. The mud-brick enclosure, which dates back to Ramses III, was home to a large Christian community until the early 9th century. This community built a church in the second courtyard of the great temple, which has now disappeared.
You enter the complex through a monumental gate flanked by two towers. Immediately to the left is a small temple with two funerary chapels for the divine worshippers of Amun. On your right, you'll notice the small Temple of Thutmes, whose construction dates back to Amenhetep I for the sanctuary, and to Thutmes I, II and III for the six chambers at the back.
But it's above all the first pylon of the great temple that catches the eye, despite the partial destruction of its upper parts. On its façade, you'll recognize the king, to whom Amun is holding out a sword, preparing to finish off the prisoners. The first courtyard is lined with seven Osirid pillars representing Ramses III. The left wall, sheltered by a portico, was flanked by a balcony from which the king could attend ceremonies and processions without leaving his palace.
A ramp leads to the foot of the second pylon, giving access to the second courtyard. Having taken the Ramesseum as his model, Ramses III gave his temple the massive, imposing appearance that was the glory of that of Ramses II. This courtyard is bordered on all four sides by porticoes supported by columns. Numerous traces of exquisitely coloured paintings can be seen.
On the right-hand pylon, on the way back to the first courtyard, you'll see a heap of severed hands and sexes. They weren't kidding in those days!
The next room was supported by twenty-four columns, of which only the base remains. It takes a great deal of imagination to picture the original site. The rest of the temple is badly deteriorated. On the sides, several rooms for various purposes display some interesting bas-reliefs.
ISIS TEMPLE
Read moreThe extraordinary temple of Isis and the associated cult buildings dedicated to the goddess are no longer on the island of Philae, but on the island of Agikia. The real Philae is located 250 m to the south-east of the latter, and is completely submerged.
Philae has benefited from the rescue of the Nubian temples launched by Unesco in 1960. In 1975, a dam was built around the island, reducing the amount of water surrounding it and enabling the various buildings to be cut up and transported to the nearby island of Agikia. Reassembly was completed in 1980. Philae was saved from the waters.
This site is built not far from one of the most emblematic places in the Osirian myth. It was on the island of Biga, equidistant from Philae and Agikia, that Osiris' left leg was hidden by his brother and assassin, Set. Isis, Osiris' wife, finds it there and assembles her husband's body; she also buries it there, while Osiris is resurrected. Horus was conceived there. Isis then decided to move to the island of Philae to be closer to him.
During the XXVth dynasty (747 - 656), Hâpy, who commanded the Nile with the elephantine triad, was also thought to be hiding in a cave at Biga, where the river's source was also believed to be.
The temple of Isiswas built by the Ptolemies. It quickly became the center of Isis worship until 543 CE, after a decree by Justinian forbade it. A Christian church had already been established here in the 4th century.
Two porticoes precede the great temple of Isis. At the southern end of the western portico stand the site's oldest remains, the kiosk of NectaboI (380 - 362), first king of the XXXth and last indigenous dynasty. The west portico is composed of 32 composite columns built under Ptolemy III; the ceiling features eagles with their heads turned towards the island of Osiris, Biga. The eastern portico is smaller, concealing an unusual temple dedicated to Imhotep, not a god but the architect of Djoser's pyramid at Saqqarah. The two porticoes frame a paved esplanade that leads to the temple's first pylon.
The first pylon is monumental. It follows in the tradition of the majestic entrances to the great temples, where wooden masts bearing the colors of the divinity were enshrined. It is preceded, on the right, by a small Ptolemy II door. It is Ptolemy XII triumphant who is represented on the bas-reliefs; a door pierced in the left-hand upright of the pylon gives access to the mammisi. Passing through the doorway, engraved messages dating from Bonaparte's expedition to Egypt can be seen on the right.
The inner courtyard houses the curious mammisi, erected by Ptolemy III in honor of the birth of Horus. The temple is divided into three halls, the second of which is devoted to offerings, with bas-reliefs recounting Horus' conception (left) with Amun and Khnum, and his birth (right), which took place not far away. In the third room, Isis nurses her child. On the outer walls, the god Harpocrates, who was none other than Horus to the Ptolemies, looks like a thumb-sucking child.
The second pylon, like the rest of the temple, is offset from the first. Its dimensions are just as impressive as this one. Access is via a stepped ramp. It depicts Ptolemy XII presenting offerings to the gods, while the large round stele on the right, giving the Dodecachene mining region to Philae, was written by Ptolemy VI.
The hypostyle hall is supported by 10 columns, and is both open-air and protected by a stone ceiling. It features the emblems of Upper and Lower Egypt, as well as Coptic crosses carved when the pronaos was transformed into a church.
The sanctuary is preceded by three vestibules and surrounded by nine other rooms. It still contains the repository on which the tabernacle containing the statue of the divinity was placed. Surrounding it is an open-air offering courtyard, while a staircase leads up to the temple terrace. From the first vestibule, you can exit the temple to find Hadrian's Gate to the west.
Hadrian's Gate opened onto a temple dedicated to Osiris. The bas-reliefs depicting the god Hâpy and the sources of the Nile beneath the island of Biga are worth a look. You can also access a nilometer near this gate.
To theeast of the great Temple of Isis, four buildings from the Philae complex have been relocated.
Diocletian's Gate, located at the northernmost point of the island, is a triumphal arch erected by the emperor; it was here that the entrance to the site was made. The central arch has disappeared, leaving only the two side gates intact. Not far away, the foundations of a temple of Augustus remain, the stones of which were used to build churches in the 4th century.
Continuing south along the riverbank, the Temple of Hathor was built by Ptolemy VI and his successor. It is a courtyard and sanctuary dedicated to Hathor, who at the time was equated with Isis, as the history of the Egyptian pantheon has sometimes allowed.
Trajan's kiosk, further south, although entirely Roman, is extremely romantic, with its 14 composite columns. Two opposing doors open onto this kiosk. Next to the kiosk are the benches for the sound and light show.
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TEMPLE OF SOBEK AND HAROERIS
Read moreThe Ptolemaic temple of Kom-Ombo was built over two centuries, between the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, by kings Ptolemy VI and Ptolemy XII. The courtyard and surrounding wall are more modern and were built during the Roman period. The temple is dedicated to two deities: Sobek, the crocodile god, and Haroëris, one of the manifestations of Horus. Its diminished appearance is due to erosion and flooding from the Nile. The use of the temple's stones to build Coptic monuments has undoubtedly also contributed to its current appearance.
The monumental gate was erected by Ptolemy XII. Only two elements remain.
All that remainsof the pylon are a few bases, leading to two parallel paths of worship: to the left, towards Haroëris; to the right, towards Sobek. This leads into the Courtyard of Tiberius (14-35 BC), surrounded by 16 ornate columns. In the center of this courtyard, the altar is the only element common to both divinities, as their offerings were placed on it.
The portico is typical of the Ptolemaic period, consisting of a wall ending at mid-height and encircling the 5 composite columns belonging to the hypostyle hall. The outer scenes depict Pharaoh being purified by Thoth and Horus before Haroeris on the left and Sebek on the right.
The first hypostyle hall is supported by fifteen columns, five of which are integrated into the portico. It is common to both cults and gives access to the second, smaller hypostyle hall, supported by ten papyrus columns. Here, Ptolemy VIII is shown facing Haroeris, from whom he receives his sword and coronation. Both rooms have preserved numerous traces of polychromy.
The two chapels are preceded by three double vestibules, the first decorated with purification and consecration rites, the second with offerings. Little remains of the two chapels, apart from the resting places for the sacred boats. Numerous side chapels surround them. In the outer ambulatory, bas-reliefs provide information on the art of surgery as it was known at the time.
Outside the temple, opposite the monumental gate, stands the mammisi of Ptolemy IX (116-107), a small secondary temple. It is located not far from a nilometer and a well.
The Crocodile Museum, located halfway between the temple and the exit, features a fine collection of mummified crocodiles, with explanations to match.