Thursday, November 30, 2006

Travel: Aswan to Esna

Travel piece about the main sites around Aswan, and then Kom Ombo, Edfu and Esna, which includes brief details for all sites about the nature of the deities represented there: " First stop: the island Philae Temple of Isis the god of ends and beginnings, Osiris the god of the afterlife and their son Horus, a symbol of life as he ascended the throne and avenged the murder of his father at the hands of his uncle, Seth. Built as a burial place for Osiris - who was resurrected by Isis to become lord of the underworld - the Philae Temple has a strong Roman character with its colonnades and columns. Besides the Temple of Isis, Hadrian's Gate, and Temple of Hathor, it’s the Trajan kiosk - a graceful structure with beautiful capital — that’s an eye-stopper, rising majestically from the sand, attractively silhouetted against the blue of the river and sky. Replying to our questions about the Coptic crosses carved on columns in the hypostyle hall, Tamer told us that this part was once turned into a church."
This is organized as a three-page article, but I found that the second page was blank - just click on the Next button to continue to the last page, or print the piece out in Print format.

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