Esna Trip Overview
Venture off the beaten track on a full-day excursion to Dendera & Abydos. Drive north through countryside villages in the fertile Nile valley to Dendera and visit the Ptolemaic temple of Hathor, including a Roman birth house, roof sanctuaries, and a sanatorium. Among the rich decoration is the only surviving relief depicting Queen Cleopatra in Egypt. Continue to the temple of Seti I in the ancient city of Abydos. Its seven sanctuaries are approached through two broad hypostyle halls, beautifully decorated with outstanding and delicate painted relief work, including a famous ‘King’s List’ Finally, move on to the Osireion and the smaller temple of Ramesses the Great nearby. After as much walking and exploring as you like, return to Luxor.
Additional Info
Duration: 6 to 7 hours
Starts: Esna, Egypt
Trip Category: Cultural & Theme Tours >> Cultural Tours
Explore Esna Promoted Experiences
What to Expect When Visiting Esna, Nile River Valley, Egypt
Venture off the beaten track on a full-day excursion to Dendera & Abydos. Drive north through countryside villages in the fertile Nile valley to Dendera and visit the Ptolemaic temple of Hathor, including a Roman birth house, roof sanctuaries, and a sanatorium. Among the rich decoration is the only surviving relief depicting Queen Cleopatra in Egypt. Continue to the temple of Seti I in the ancient city of Abydos. Its seven sanctuaries are approached through two broad hypostyle halls, beautifully decorated with outstanding and delicate painted relief work, including a famous ‘King’s List’ Finally, move on to the Osireion and the smaller temple of Ramesses the Great nearby. After as much walking and exploring as you like, return to Luxor.
Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Dendera Temple Complex, Dendera Egypt
Dendera Temple complex
Dendera Temple complex is located about 2.5 kilometres south-east of Dendera, Egypt. It is one of the best-preserved temple complexes in Egypt. The area was used as the sixth Nome of Upper Egypt, south of Abydos.
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Abydos, Al Balyana, Sohag Egypt
Located about 2.5 hours by car north of Luxor, Abydos was one of the most important religious sites to ancient Egyptians. Much like modern Muslims hope to complete a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lifetime, ancient Egyptians would have hopes to visit Abydos, which for them was strongly associated with the entrance into the afterlife.
Although there were several temples constructed here, the largest and most significant is known as the Temple of Seti I. Seti I was the father of the great Ramesses II, who actually completed the construction of most of the temple after his father’s death.
Coming to power only 30 years after the upheaval associated with Akhenaten’s heretical rule, known as the Amarna Period, Seti I was concerned with reestablishing faith in the pantheon of Pre-Amarna gods that Akhenaten had sought to destroy.
As a result, the temple he built contains small chapels dedicated to each of the major gods: Ptah, Re-Harakhte, Amun-Re, Osiris, Isis, Horus, and also one to Seti himself.
Duration: 2 hours
