Kom Ombo Temple

Kom Ombo is unusual in being exactly symmetrical and doubled: two parallel sets of gates, courts, halls and sanctuaries side by side, the southern half dedicated to Sobek, the crocodile god, and the northern to Haroeris, Horus the elder, so that the temple served two cults in one building without either taking precedence. It stands on a bluff directly above a bend of the river, which makes the setting one of the best of any Egyptian temple, particularly at sunset. Among the reliefs is a panel often described as showing surgical instruments, and a Nilometer stands in the enclosure. A crocodile museum next to the temple displays several dozen mummified crocodiles recovered from the local cemetery.

What you actually see

• A perfectly doubled plan - two temples in one, sanctuary to sanctuary.
• The riverbank setting - the temple on a bluff above a bend of the Nile.
• The instruments relief - the panel read as surgical tools.
• The crocodile museum - mummified crocodiles from the local cemetery.

When to go

October to April. Sunset is the hour here, with the river below and the light on the columns, though that is also when the cruise fleet arrives. One to two hours. Early morning is the quiet alternative.

Honest expectations

Much of the temple is ruined at the front and the plan is easier to read on a diagram than on the ground. Cruise convoys fill it in the late afternoon. The crocodile museum is small and carries a separate charge. Vendors work the approach hard.

Nearby

Daraw camel market is a short drive south; Gebel el-Silsila lies north.