Pick up by a professional English-speaking tour guide and you drive south past picturesque villages. The construction of the Edfu Temple started on 23 August 237 BC under Ptolemy III and initially contained only a pillared hall, two diagonal halls, and a sanctuary surrounded by chapels. We know this because the Edfu Temple is one of the best preserved shrines in Egypt. The walls provide details of the construction, the religious myths and the family history of the God Horus to whom the temple was dedicated. The Edfu Temple is deeply connected to the Hathor Temple in Denderah and was the center of large festivals. Horus was married to his aunt Hathor and each year she traveled south from Denderah to visit Horus in Edfu.
In 1860, Auguste Mariette, a French Egyptologist, identified the top of the temples' pylons and began the work of freeing the Edfu temple from the sands. It is nearly intact and a very good example of an ancient Egyptian temple. You will be brought back to your hotel.