Our boat docked in Kom Ombo and pleasantly we did not have to board a tour bus, as the temple was only a short walk from the dock.
The Temple of Kom Ombo is a dual temple to Sobek, the crocodile god and Horus the Elder. Balance was important to the ancient Egyptians so there was one god representing evil, Sobek, and one god representing good, Horus. The ancient Egyptians feared the crocodile because of the danger it posed to life along the Nile. They created the crocodile god Sobek, in an effort to keep the crocodiles appeased and happy. Carvings of Sobek are easily recognized as he is represented with the head of a crocodile.
The carvings in the temple are in preserved quite well. We were surprised to see some areas where the original colors of the temple existed. The pyramids and temples were not originally stone colored, but were beautifully painted with vibrant colors.
The architect for the Temple of Kom Ombo also was a great surgeon. Careful examination of the reliefs show the different tools used for surgery and some people believe that parts of the temple were used as a hospital. A water source was needed so a large and deep well was built. In the well the height of the Nile could also be measured and the measurement used was called a nilometer. The ancient Egyptians were forced to become experts at predicting when the Nile would flood its banks so they knew when to move to higher ground. Watching the depth of the Nile was part of this process.
Mrs. Tolisano and I got very excited when our tour guide mentioned that we were going to see mummified crocodiles. We were sure that we would see Jose and Omar there. It was very disappointing when we did not see our little bear, nor the camel in the crocodile room. We looked around everywhere, but could not find them, nor a pink note that Jose has left us so far. We were starting to get a little worried when we had to head back to our cruise ship.
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