Abydos Travel Guide - Sacred City of Osiris
Abydos is one of the most ancient cities of Upper Egypt, about 11 km
(6 miles) west of the Nile. The Egyptian name was Abdju, "the hill of
the symbol or reliquary," in which the sacred head of Osiris was preserved.
The Greeks named it Abydos, like the city on the Hellespont; the modern
Arabic name is el-'Araba el Madfuna.
Considered one of the most important archaeological sites
of ancient Egypt, the sacred city was the site of many ancient temples,
including a royal necropolis where early pharaohs were entombed. Abydos
became notable for the Great Temple built by Seti I, which contains
a tunnel displaying a chronological list showing cartouche names of
every dynastic pharaoh of Egypt from the first, Narmer/Menes, until
the pharaohs of the last dynasty.
HISTORY: The history of Abydos begins in the late prehistoric
age, it having been founded by the rulers of the Predynastic period,
whose town, temple and tombs have been found there. The kings of the
First dynasty, and some of the Second dynasty, were also buried in Abydos,
and the temple was renewed and enlarged by them. Great forts were built
on the desert behind the town by three kings of the Second dynasty.
The temple and town continued to be rebuilt at intervals down to the
times of the 30th dynasty, and the cemetery at Abydos was used continuously.
In the 12th dynasty a gigantic tomb was cut in the rock by Senusret
III. Seti I, in the 19th dynasty, founded a great new temple to the
south of Abydos in honor of the ancestral kings of the early dynasties;
this was finished by Ramses II, who also built a lesser temple of his
own. Merneptah added a great Hypogeum of Osiris to the temple of Seti.
The latest building was a new temple of Nectanebo I in the 30th dynasty.
From Ptolemaic times the place continued to decay and no later works
are known.
The
temple of Seti I - The raised reliefs in this magnificent temple
are some of the finest quality in all Egypt, incredibly beautiful and
detailed. Although the lighting in the interior of the temple can be
somewhat gloomy in places, the reliefs still stand out as exceptional.
Visitors to Abydos should note that the reliefs on the outer portions
of the temple were completed during the reign of Ramses II, and are
of a much lower quality than those further inside the complex. (Ramses
moved the best craftsmen to work on his own temples after his father's
death). Also worth noting is that the Kings List, or Pharaohs List is
somewhat selective, omitting for example Akhenaten (the heretic king),
Hatshepsut (a female pharaoh), and the reigns of the kings during the
Hyskos occupation. If you are interested in ancient
Egyptian history and art, this temple is more than worth the trip
to Abydos.
A principal purpose of the temple was the adoration of
the early kings,
whose cemetery, to which it forms a great funerary chapel, lies behind
it. The long list of the kings of the principal dynasties carved on
a wall is known as the "Table of Abydos" (showing the cartouche name
of every dynastic pharaoh of Egypt from the first, Narmer/Menes, until
the pharaohs of the last dynasty). There were also seven chapels for
the worship of the king and principal gods. At the back were large chambers
connected with the Osiris worship and, probably from those chambers
led out the great Hypogeum for the celebration of the Osiris mysteries.
Excepting the list of kings and a panegyric on Ramses II, the subjects
are not historical but mythological. The work is celebrated for its
delicacy and refinement.
The temple was originally 550 ft. long, but the forecourts are scarcely recognizable, and the part in good state is about 250 ft. long and 350 ft. wide, including the wing at the side.
Ramses II temple - The adjacent temple of Ramses II was much smaller and simpler in plan, but it had a fine historical series of scenes around the outside, of which the lower parts remain. A list of kings, similar to that of Seti I, formerly stood here, but the fragments were removed by the French consul and sold to the British Museum. The outside of the temple was decorated with scenes of the Battle of Kadesh.
The Royal Tombs of the earliest dynasties were placed about a mile back on the great desert plain, in a place now known as Umm el-Qa'ab.
Source: Wikitravel
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MULTIMEDIA
ARRIVAL
By train - Most travelers arrive at Abydos by train north from Luxor, alighting at the station for the town of al-Balyana. The fare is approximately LE 52, first class. From the station, either the tourist police or a police-escorted taxi will take you to the site of the Ramesside temples. Depending on local conditions and police levels of business, you should be able to spend at least a couple of hours visiting the site.
By road - You can go by taxi in the police-escorted convoy to Abydos in one day, often including Dendera as a stop-off point. Negotiated prices should be in the range of LE 200-300 for the hire of the taxi, with maybe 2-3 passengers. This manner of visiting, however, normally results in very restricted time at the sites and visiting the temples (usually less than an hour). Also available are minibus tours from agents in Luxor, usually with a local guide of variable quality. These also travel with the escorted convoy, and can be a reasonable deal for a small group if you haggle, especially in off-season. Expect to pay around LE 300 - 400 per person, dependent on size of your group, time of year and your haggling skills. The major UK, US and European holiday companies also offer escorted tours to Abydos, but these can be expensive.
Update: Since December 2008, the Egyptian government has put a stop to convoy escorted trips to Abydos and other sites in Egypt.
