Abydos Temple
Abydos Temple Located about 2.5 hours by car north of Luxor, Abydos is one of the most important religious sites to ancient Egyptians. Much like modern Muslims hope to complete a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lifetime, ancient Egyptians would have hoped to visit Abydos, which for them is strongly associated with entrance into the afterlife.
temples at Abydos (seti I & ramses II)
Although there were several temples constructed here, the largest and most significant is known as the Temple of Seti I. Seti I was the father of the great Ramesses II, who completed the construction of most of the temple after his father’s death. Coming to power only 30 years after the upheaval associated with Akhenaten’s heretical rule. known as the Amarna Period, Seti I was concerned with reestablishing faith in the pantheon of Pre-Amarna gods that Akhenaten had sought to destroy. the temple he built contains small chapels dedicated to each of the major gods: Ptah, Re-Harakhte. Amun-Re, Osiris, Isis. Horus. and also one to Seti himself. Much of the temple complex is no longer present.
including the pylon and the first two courtyards so visitors can enter through a doorway into the hypostyle hall. Many of the wall reliefs inside were well preserved and the reliefs toward the back of the temple, completed during Seti’s reign, were considered among the finest in any temple throughout Egypt. Since Abydos is more difficult to reach than many sites, it is very heavily visited. Abydos Temple Occasionally, tour buses come from the beach resorts or with loads of cruise ship passengers from the Red Sea, Abydos is easily included in a day trip from Luxor along with a visit to Dendara, another impressive
