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ABYDOS:
The entrance to the underworld
For the ancient Egyptians, no place was better to be buried than Abydos.
But even for the living it was the centre for the most important
pilgrimage of Egyptian religion. Why this importance? Through being the
cult centre of Osiris, the Egyptians believed that the entrance to the
underworld was between the hills of the desert west of Abydos.
Today, the main reason for the attention that Abydos gets, is by the
temple erected by the command of Pharaoh Seti 1 in the late 14th century
BCE. The main god revered in this temple was Osiris, but 5 others had
their sanctuaries as well. Two, Isis and Horus, are closely linked to
Osiris and his myths, Isis being his wife and Horus his son. The other
three gods were Amon, Re-Harakhte and Ptah. The seventh sanctuary is
devoted to Seti himself, indicating the real purpose of the temple:
honoring the deified, deceased Pharaoh.
The temple is really impressive, and arranged quite differently from
many other Egyptian temples. Unfortunately large parts of the front are
lost. Both the pylon and forecourt is gone, and a formerly inner
staircase appear as the arrival point, while it only leads to the first
Hypostyle Hall. It is still quite possible to see where the original
forecourts were, and their extent from the few remains.
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Cairo
Bahariya Road
White Desert
Akabat Mountain
White Desert
White Desert
Camping
White Desert
White Desert
Crystal Mountain
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