Oh my goodness. I can't believe we had to get up at the crack of dawn. I wasn't hungry, more tired than anything. We were given our boxed lunches and were loaded up on the buses. and headed out to Abydos and Dendara. It's dark and Bernice starts with the jokes and you all know my laugh. Everyone's trying to get their sleep on and I'm crying with laughter. I guess it was infectious as a few people started laughing just because we were laughing. After a while, we settled down and got a couple of winks in.

This was a long drive. I think it was about 2 hours. I know we passed the Valley of the Kings and crossed the Arabian Dessert, but I'd see it on my way back.

We finally reached Abydos. I had to actually jog up the steps. I don't recall how many there were, but it was a lot. Had I not jogged up, I would have never made it. Way too many steps.

But the climbs are well worth it, once I reach the top.

Considered one of the most important archaeological sites of Ancient Egypt, the sacred city of Abydos was the site of many ancient temples, including a Umm el-Qa'ab, a royal necropolis where early pharaohs were entombed. These tombs began to be seen as extremely significant burials and in later times it became desirable to be buried in the area, leading to the growth of the town's importance as a cult site.

Today, Abydos is notable for the memorial temple of Seti I, which contains an inscription from the nineteenth dynasty known to the modern world as the Abydos King List. It is a chronological list showing cartouches of most dynastic pharaohs of Egypt from Menes until Ramesses I, Seti's father. The Great Temple and most of the ancient town are buried under the modern buildings to the north of the Seti temple. Many of the original structures and the artifacts within them are considered irretrievable and lost; many may have been destroyed by the new construction.

The English name comes from the Greek Άβυδος, a name borrowed by Greek geographers from the unrelated city of Abydos on the Hellespont.

Abydos was occupied by the rulers of the Predynastic period, whose town, temple and tombs have been found there. The temple and town continued to be rebuilt at intervals down to the times of the thirtieth dynasty, and the cemetery was used continuously.

The pharaohs of the first dynasty were buried in Abydos, including Narmer, who is regarded as founder of the first dynasty, and his successor, Aha. It was in this time period that the Abydos boats were constructed. Some pharaohs of the second dynasty were also buried in Abydos. The temple was renewed and enlarged by these pharaohs as well. Funerary enclosures, misinterpreted in modern times as great 'forts', were built on the desert behind the town by three kings of the second dynasty; the most complete is that of Khasekhemwy.

From the fifth dynasty, the deity Khentiamentiu, foremost of the Westerners, came to be seen as a manifestation of the dead pharaoh in the underworld. Pepi I (sixth dynasty) constructed a funerary chapel which evolved over the years into the Great Temple of Osiris, the ruins of which still exist within the town enclosure. Abydos became the centre of the worship of the Isis and Osiris cult.

During the First Intermediate Period, the principal deity of the area, Khentiamentiu, began to be seen as an aspect of Osiris, and the deities gradually merged and became regarded as one, with Osiris being assigned the epithet, Foremost of the Westerners. In the twelfth dynasty a gigantic tomb was cut into the rock by Senusret III. Associated with this tomb was a cenotaph, a cult temple and a small town known as Wah-Sut, that was used by the workers for these structures.

Part of the Abydos King List

The building during the eighteenth dynasty began with a large chapel of Ahmose I. Then Thutmose III built a far larger temple, about 130 × 200 ft (40 x 61 m). He also made a processional way leading past the side of the temple to the cemetery beyond, featuring a great gateway of granite.

Seti I, in the nineteenth dynasty, founded a temple to the south of the town in honor of the ancestral pharaohs of the early dynasties; this was finished by Ramesses II, who also built a lesser temple of his own. Merneptah added the Osireion just to the north of the temple of Seti.

Great Osiris Temple

Panel from the Osiris temple: Horus presents royal regalia to a worshipping pharaoh.

Successively from the first dynasty to the twenty-sixth dynasty, nine or ten temples were built on one site at Abydos. The first was an enclosure, about 30 × 50 ft (9 x 15 m), surrounded by a thin wall of unbaked bricks. Incorporating one wall of this first structure, the second temple of about 40 ft (12 m) square was built within a wall about 10 ft (3 m) thick. An outer temenos (enclosure) wall surrounded the grounds. This outer wall was thickened about the second or third dynasty. The old temple entirely vanished in the fourth dynasty, and a smaller building was erected behind it, enclosing a wide hearth of black ashes.

Pottery models of offerings are found in these ashes and probably were the substitutes for live sacrifices decreed by Khufu (or Cheops) in his temple reforms.

At an undetermined date, a great clearance of temple offerings had been made and a modern discovery of a chamber into which they were gathered has yielded the fine ivory carvings and the glazed figures and tiles that show the splendid work of the first dynasty. A vase of Menes with purple hieroglyphs inlaid into a green glaze and tiles with relief figures are the most important pieces found. The noble statuette of Cheops in ivory, found in the stone chamber of the temple, gives the only portrait of this great pharaoh.

The temple was rebuilt entirely on a larger scale by Pepi I in the sixth dynasty. He placed a great stone gateway to the temenos, an outer temenos wall and gateway, with a colonnade between the gates. His temple was about 40 × 50 ft (12 x 15 m) inside, with stone gateways front and back, showing that it was of the processional type. In the eleventh dynastyMentuhotep I added a colonnade and altars. Soon after, Mentuhotep II entirely rebuilt the temple, laying a stone pavement over the area, about 45 ft (14 m) square, and added subsidiary chambers. Soon thereafter in the twelfth dynasty, Senusret I laid massive foundations of stone over the pavement of his predecessor. A great temenos was laid out enclosing a much larger area and the new temple itself was about three times the earlier size.

Temple of Seti

Temple of Seti I, Abydos

The temple of Seti I was built on entirely new ground half a mile to the south of the long series of temples just described. This surviving building is best known as the Great Temple of Abydos, being nearly complete and an impressive sight. A principal purpose of it was the adoration of the early pharaohs, whose cemetery, for which it forms a great funerary chapel, lies behind it. The long list of the pharaohs of the principal dynasties—recognized by Seti—are carved on a wall and known as the "Abydos King List" (showing the cartouche name of many dynastic pharaohs of Egypt from the first, Narmer or Menes, until his time)- with the exception of those noted above. There were significant names deliberately left out of the list. So rare as an almost complete list of pharaoh names, the Table of Abydos, re-discovered by William John Bankes, has been called the "Rosetta Stone" of Egyptian archaeology, analogous to the Rosetta Stone for Egyptian writing, beyond the Narmer Palette.

There also were seven chapels built for the worship of the pharaoh and principal deities. At the back of the temple is an enigmatic structure known as The Osirion thought to be connected with the worship of Osiris (Caulfield, Temple of the Kings); and probably from those chambers led out the great Hypogeum for the celebration of the Osiris mysteries, built by Merenptah (Murray, The Osireion at Abydos). The temple was originally 550 ft (168 m) long, but the forecourts are scarcely recognizable, and the part still in good condition is about 250 ft (76 m) long and 350 ft (107 m) wide, including the wing at the side.

Except for the list of pharaohs and a panegyric on Ramesses II, the subjects are not historical, but mythological. The work is celebrated for its delicacy and artistic refinement, but lacks the life and character of that in earlier ages. The sculptures had been published mostly in hand copy, not facsimile, by Auguste Mariette in his Abydos, i.

Ramesses II temple

The adjacent temple of Ramesses II was much smaller and simpler in plan; but it had a fine historical series of scenes around the outside that lauded his achievements, of which the lower parts remain. The outside of the temple was decorated with scenes of the Battle of Kadesh. His list of pharaohs, similar to that of Seti I, formerly stood here; but the fragments were removed by the French consul and sold to the British Museum.

Now it's early, but the heat is about to turn up to "burn." I look around at the locals and I'm telling you, none of them even break a sweat. Walking in and out of these monuments take a toll on your hydration. The aisles were narrow and tight. Some of the ceilings were very low. I'd asked Gladys why some of the ceilings were blackened, she stated that it was from the cooking oil.

I was running back to that bus, to get to whatever was in that boxed lunch. It included a roast beef sandwich, a ham sandwich, an apple and some olives. Pretty decent, but I had to top that off with a Payday.

I thought we were on our way, but we were called back in to meet with the Minister of Tourism, Zoheir Garanah, as well as Chairman of Egyptian Fedration of Chambers of Tourism, members of boards and directors of the Federation and the chambers of tourism. The TV stations had cameras set-up. The Minister made a long speech and Gladys interpreted for the English speaking tourist. Roses were passed out after the ceremony. Afterwards the Minister strolled through and shook our hands.

Out in the hall were school children who sang a nice song, in Arabic of course. They were the cutest. I had no idea that Septmeber 27th was World Tourism Day.

When we got back to the bus, we found out that the bus driver got a ticket for parking there and waiting for us. He was kinda salty.

We then headed on back towards Dendera. This was another hour long drive.

Located rather isolated on the desert edge, about 2.5 km south-west of the Town, lay what Dendera is known for, the mostly Greco-Roman Temple Complex, Dendera, known in ancient Egyptian as Iunet or Tantere. The modern Arab town is built on the ancient site of Ta-ynt-netert which means 'She of the Divine Pillar', or Tentyra which is Greek for Dendera. It was once the capital of the 6th Nome (Pharaonic province) of Upper Egypt, also named Nikentori or Nitentori, which signifies willow wood or willow earth. Others give the derivation from the sky and fertility goddess Hathor, also associated with the Greek Aphrodite, who was specially worshiped there. The crocodile is recognized as the deity of the city and was also venerated as such in the other Egyptian cities, which caused many quarrels, notably with Ombos. It is still the seat of a titular see, suffragan of Ptolemais, in the former Roman province of Thebaid Secunda. Little is known of Christianity in that place, as only the names of two ancient bishops are given: Pachymius, companion of Melece at the beginning of the fourth century; and Serapion or Aprion, contemporary and friend of the monk St. Pachomius, who had in his diocese his celebrated convent of Tabennisi. It became the Arab Denderah, under late Ottoman rule a town of 6000 inhabitants in Qina.

The temple

The Dendera Temple complex which contains the Temple of Hathor is one of the best preserved temples, if not the best, in all Egypt. The whole complex covers some 40,000 square meters and is surrounded by a hefty mud brick enclosed wall. The present building dates back to the times of the Ptolemaic dynasty and was completed by the Roman emperor Tiberius, but it rests on the foundations of earlier buildings dating back at least as far as Khufu (pyramid builder Cheops, second king of the 4th dynasty [c. 2613-c. 2494 BC]), in which was found the celebrated zodiac now in Paris; there are also the Roman and pharaonic Mammisi (birth houses), ruins of a Coptic church and a small chapel dedicated to Isis, of the Roman or Ptolemaic epoch. The area around the temple has had extensive landscaping, and now has a modern visitor centre, bazaar and small cafeteria.

I hate those bazaars or should I say I hate the hawkers. They are the worst. Everything is "one dolla." Unfortunately, they don't understand when I say, "I don't want anything I had to dust."

This was another exhaustingly hot day of touring. I didn't want to go to another place other than a shower and my bed.

Got my shower and got ready for dinner. No hassles this evening. The food again, was beautiful and delicious. The waiter actually remebered my iced tea. I spent too much time in the restaurant, but I just wanted to taste a bit of everything.

After dinner, Bernice, Ellen and I walked around the shops near the restaurant. There was one stand that had the Nefertari soaps I was looking for but the girl running the shop was totally uninterested as she talked on her cellphone, not acknowledging any of us. I walked away, as bad as I wanted those soaps. Young people!

We walked around the hotel a bit before heading to our rooms. The Sufi show started and we actually saw the beginning. The dancers that started the show were awful. None smiled, nor could htey dance.

I worked on my postcards, packed my suitcase to get those out in the hall and called it a night. I hate to leave this hotel. It was just gorgeous.