Event: Egypt

The Temple of Abydos

When:	Daily
Where:	Temple of Abydos
Costs:	E£25
Opening Hours:	7am-5pm

The stunningly well-preserved Temple of Abydos marks the point of entry to the Egyptian realm of the dead, and was the main site of worship for Osiris, the lord and master of the Egyptian dead.

The temple, dating from around 3150 BC, is one of the oldest surviving structures in Egypt and is linked to the earliest recorded dynasties; the oldest tomb discovered in Egypt so far was found nearby in 1993. It is extremely beautiful, elaborately adorned and in remarkably good condition. Many of the wall paintings still possess their original colour.

The original temple was built by Seti I, who came to power 29 years after the iconoclast Pharaoh Akhenatun, who outlawed the old religion and instituted a monotheistic cult of the sun god. Wishing to make a gesture of reconciliation towards the ancient gods (and the priesthood) that were outlawed under Akhenatun, Seti built a temple dedicated to Osiris, Isis, Horus, Amen, Mut and Khensu, as well as himself.

The ceremonial barges of these seven gods were kept in the sanctuaries, beyond the entrance hallway, which consisted of 12 rectangular pillars carrying images of Osiris, Horus and Isis. Both the sancutaries and the pillars are still there and sanctuaries still contain the bas-reliefs of their resident gods, many of them still with their original colour. The temple also possesses a King's Gallery, a room where the walls are engraved with the names of gods, as well as those of predecessors and ancestors of Seti: an invaluable resource for historians.

Outside the main temple you'll find the Osirieon, the tomb of Seti himself, which was built before the main temple, to express the closeness of Seti to Osiris. The structure, partly buried due to flooding, is composed of red Aswan granite pillars, each weighing about 100 tonnes, which support equally impressive marble archways.

Curiously, Seti himself is not buried here. His tomb lies in the Valley of the Kings, in Luxor. The Abydos tomb, while fully equipped and furnished, seems never to have received the mummy of the king. Apparently it served an entirely symbolic and religious, not practical, function.