After getting a full-body/foot massage at the hotel in the evening before I retired for bed, I woke up feeling like I slept like a mummy! lol It was going to be a great day.
After breakfast, we traveled from our hotel to Abydos-at most a few hundred feet just down the street. Some people call it the Temple of Seti I, but the site contains so much more than just a temple.
Abydos
“Located in Upper Egypt about six miles (10 km) from the Nile River, the site of Abydos played a pivotal role in ancient Egyptian religious life. The earliest kings of Egypt, including those from the first dynasty of Egypt’s history (3000-2890 B.C.), appear to have been buried at Abydos. In later times, Abydos would become a cult center for Osiris, the god of the underworld. A temple dedicated to him flourished at Abydos, and every year a great procession was held that would see an image of Osiris carried from his temple to a tomb the Egyptians believed to be his (it actually belonged to a first dynasty king named Djer), and back, to great fanfare. ” https://www.livescience.com/25738-abydos.html
Further Reading on Abydos
In my research to learn more about this incredible place, I came across a very detailed well-written web page on the history and current excavations going on there today. https://abydos.org/
Site entrance – Temple of Seti I in the background
Detailed map of the area. I really wanted to see the cemetaries and the symbolic tomb of Osiris (no time to see). I guess I will have to come back again!
Before we were to meet up with Dr. Zahi Hawass for our second lecture, our guide and associates showed us around the Temple of Seti I.
I visited Karnak in 2017 and will do so again on this trip in a few days, but the carvings/artwork/hieroglyphics in this temple are the best I have ever seen in Egypt. Anyone who thinks Karnak is grand must visit this place.
Stairway leading up to the Temple – Portico can be seen at the top of the stairs
Seshet – Mistress of the House Books. It is very rare to find any images of her anywhere. I have only seen her image before at the Temple of Edfu. I think she can also be seen in the Red Chapel at Karnak. She is all about science, writing, astronomy (my type of Goddess)!
The first hypostyle (pillared) hall
In the Sanctuary of Horus – Isis giving Seti I life and success
Western wall of the Osirion Hall – Seti I making offerings.
The North wall of the Osiris Hall
Gallery of the “Lists of the Kings”
Close up of King’s List – See below link to learn more and to see which names are missing
https://pharaoh.se/abydos-king-list
Western passage – Ramses II and his son roping a bull to sacrifice
Western passage leads to the Osirion
Osirion – the (Cenotaph) of Osiris
The Osirion was closed to visitors. We later found out we could have obtained special permission ahead of time to visit the site – at an additional cost. I have to make sure I get to visit this up close next time.
Just before Dr. Zahi Hawass was about to start his lecture
Second lecture with Dr. Zahi Hawass
After we viewed the temple, Dr. Hawass gave another great lecture to our group at Abydos. He talked about his past experience with the site and discussed a little bit about the Khufu statuette. Just a little on background on the piece: it is made out of ivory, almost 3″ tall, and is presently on display in the Cairo Museum. It was found in Abydos and is the only 3D image/statuette of Khufu ever found–so far.
Picture from my 2017 trip
He talked about an article he authored in 1985 concerning Petrie’s dating of the statue. Once he broached this topic, I smiled from ear to ear since I read this paper right before my journey to Egypt. I did not understand one thing in the article, so I asked him for further clarification. I was unclear about the appearance of Khufu. He was most helpful in answering my question. Here is a copy of the article. Very good read. http://www.gizapyramids.org/static/pdf%20library/hawass_fs_mokhtar.pdf
Omm Seti
He also mentioned his encounters with Omm Seti. As it turned out, I found out about her the night before when I purchased a book from the hotel’s gift store called, “The Search for Omm Seti”, by author Jonathan Cott. She believed she was once a temple priestess at Abydos and lover of Pharoah Seti I. Her “former” name was Bentreshyt meaning Harp of Joy.
Dr. Hawass told us she was a very nice woman and she could read hieroglyphs better than most scholars. No one knows if her story is true, but it is a fascinating tale. She lived in Egypt until she was 77 years old.
See the below video/links if you would like to know more about her. I highly recommend doing so.
Here is an additional link on Dorothy Eady: Omm Sety
While I could have spent 1-2 days exploring the entire site, we only had a few hours to visit. Our next stop in the afternoon is Dendera. I guess I will have to come back to Egypt again! 🙂
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If you enjoy reading my posts about Egypt, STEM, Drones, MIT, mountains, or mysteries I hope you will want to run out and purchase my first book, “Osiris Returns”. With some luck, it should come to market late 2020 / early 2021. Please consider staying in the loop. An email sign-up form is located at the bottom of my home page along with my social media links. Your email will only be used to alert you when my book comes out. I will not use or share your email for any other purpose.
