Kom Ombo

KOM OMBO
Kom Ombo - is an industrial town 45 km north of Aswan. Its ancient name was Ombo, strategically placed between Edfu and Aswan as a garrison town on an important trade route.
The temple is very unusual. It was dedicated to two deities - a double triad. On the eastern side of the temple we can see the crocodile god Sobek (Suchos / Seth), shown together with his wife Hathor and their son Khonsu. On the western side, Haroeris or "Horus the Elder" (Harwer) is accompanied by his wife Hathor and their son (Lord of the Two Lands).

The main entrance pylon has been destroyed, but through a portal on the south-east you enter a large court with the remains of Roman colonnaded porticoes, on which colour can still be seen in some fragments on the walls. In the middle stands the base of an altar made of granite basins on both sides, which may have been used for ritual libations.
Between the two sanctuaries a hidden chamber was concealed, where a priest acting as an "oracle" would hide. There are underground tunnels and crypts leading to this and other rooms. The sanctuaries themselves are in very poor condition, but the reliefs on which the sacred gods appear are quite well preserved.
In the centre of the opposite wall there is a remarkable doorway showing Sobek and Haroeris holding sceptres. The sign of Sobek is a wand with a lion head, while Haroeris has a curious knife with legs.

Returning to the courtyard, to the right of the temple entrance there is a small chapel of Hathor, where you can see mummified crocodiles and some clay coffins, recovered from a nearby animal cemetery. The crocodiles, sacred to Sobek, were kept in a small pool in the western part of the temple.

Here too you can see the remains of a very deep well with circular stairs and a Nilometer. The remains of a birth house lie at the north-western corner outside the court walls, and the portal of Ptolemy VII is at the north-eastern corner.
In the Kom Ombo area there is a crocodile museum.