But it is also true that the subject-matter of these reliefs is standard fare, and better examples can be found elsewhere. That having been said, there is no site that can equal Kom Ombo for its beautiful setting, perched on the edge of the Nile with a commanding view of the intensely blue Nile, emerald fields, and golden desert beyond. When raking sunlight hits the temple’s decorated walls, no ancient relief shows to better advantage. Kom Ombo is a site whose proportions and architectural character should be savored. Kom Ombo, whose name comes from the Coptic Umbo and the ancient Egyptian Nubi, is a huge village built on the edge of a broad stretch of rich agricultural land.
It lies at the start of a road leading to desert gold mines and caravan routes to western oases and the Sudan. Remains of the village can still be seen in the fields to the north and east of the temple. It is said that the Roman army trained the elephants used by its army in North Africa at this site. In the river directly in front of the temple there are several small islands and sandbars visible most of the year. In ancient times these were islands home to large numbers of crocodiles, and the town was closely associated with Sobek, the crocodile god.
The temple itself was built during the Ptolemaic reigns of Ptolemy VI through Ptolemy XIII and added to in the Roman period. It has an unusual,bilaterally symmetrical plan: the right (east) half is dedicated to Sobek, the left (west) half to Horus the Elder, called Harwer. The Nile has migrated eastward during the last fifteen hundred years, and parts of the temple’s first pylon and forecourts have been destroyed.
Today, one enters at the southeast corner of a paved forecourt. To the right stands a small chapel of Hathor; across the forecourt, in its southwest corner, are the remains of a mammisi. High up on the left (west) wall of the mammisi a scene of the king standing in a reed skiff and hunting birds in a papyrus thicket is very finely drawn.
Little remains of the temple’s ceiling, but as a result the strong sunlight that strikes its walls can dramatically highlight the relief carving, and one should concentrate on those scenes that are well lit. Depending on the time of the day and the season, those will include the left (west) front curtain wall of the First Hypostyle Hall, where Ptolemy XIII receives an ankh-sign from Isis, and the left (west) side wall of the hall, with finely modeled but oddly positioned figures of the king and two goddesses before Harwer. Note too, the reliefs on the front (south) wall of the Second Hypostyle Hall and the fascinating offering scene on the left rear wall of that same room.
Two vestibules follow the hypostyle halls and lead to the sanctuaries of the gods, Harwer on the left (west), Sobek on the right (east). They are in poor condition today, but note the narrow hollow in the wall that separates them, access to which is gained through a passageway beneath the floor. Apparently, priests would secretly enter this chamber during religious services and utter oracles or statements on behalf of the gods. Behind the sanctuaries and a series of small rooms, two corridors surround the temple proper. The rear wall of the inner corridor is lined with six chambers and a staircase.
The relief in these rooms was left unfinished and offers insight into the techniques used by the ancient artisans who carved and painted the scenes here. In the outer corridor, midway along the rear wall, a set of reliefs is often said to show a collection of ancient surgical instruments. It is more likely, however, that these were tools used in the course of various temple rituals. Outside, in the large open space to the west of the temple, stands a basin in which young crocodiles were raised by the priests for various ritual purposes. Nearby is a deep well, still filled with water.
From" The Illustrated Guide to Luxor" by kent R.Weeks ,published by the American University in Cairo Press. Copyright © 2005 White Star S.p.a