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Facade of the Temple of Hathor at Dendera
Louxor et le Nil

Dendérah et Abydos

Les deux temples les mieux conservés d'Égypte, au nord de Louxor sur la route du Nil.

Dendérah
temple d'Hathor, vers 54 av. J.-C.–60 ap. J.-C., Ptolémées et Romains
Plafond de Dendérah
nettoyé 2005–2020 ; zodiaque (original au Louvre)
Abydos
temple de Séthi Ier, vers 1290 av. J.-C. ; sept sanctuaires
Liste royale
76 cartouches de Ménès à Séthi Ier

Dendérah (60 km au nord de Louxor) est le temple ptolémaïque-romain d'Hathor avec son toit, ses plafonds peints nettoyés, le zodiaque et le relief de Cléopâtre ; Abydos (160 km) est le temple de Séthi Ier avec les plus beaux bas-reliefs d'Égypte et la liste royale d'Abydos. Ensemble, ils font une journée de neuf heures depuis Louxor ; Dendérah seule est une demi-journée.

La visite

Abydos was the burial place of the first kings and the pilgrimage centre of Osiris for three thousand years. The temple Seti I built there has an L-shaped plan with seven sanctuaries for seven gods and reliefs carved in raised relief so fine they look modelled in wax. In a corridor at the back, the King List names every legitimate king before Seti and omits Hatshepsut, Akhenaten and Tutankhamun. Behind it lies the Osireion, a granite hall built as the tomb of Osiris.

Dendera is thirteen centuries younger and complete: the hypostyle hall with 24 Hathor-headed columns and a ceiling that shows the sky goddess Nut swallowing the sun each evening, the sanctuary, the crypts with the "Dendera light" relief, the staircases up to the roof chapels for the New Year, and, on the rear wall, Cleopatra VII and her son Caesarion making offerings.

The road between them runs along the Nile through the villages of the Qena governorate, and the day is as much about that as the temples.

Conseils de nos guides

  • Abydos first (furthest), Dendera on the way back
  • Climb to the Dendera roof; the guide has the key to the crypts
  • The day is long: 09:00 start from Luxor, back 16:00

Meilleure période: D'octobre à avril.

Questions

Yes, as a five-hour half day from Luxor, morning or afternoon.
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