Cruises from Dendera

Dendera is a small town outside of Qina and adjacent to the river Nile. It is a small and tranquil town, a fact that helps travellers easily get around and see the best of what it has to offer. It may be a very small area of Egypt but what it holds is tremendous. Despite the glaringly hot sun, visitors from all over the world come to Dendera in order to enjoy the sights, culture and history.

There is one main attraction in Dendera and it is well worth a visit. It is the Temple of Hathor which is located in the Dendera Temple Complex. This complex is gigantic and it spreads across 40,000 square meters of terrain. The Temple of Hathor is the best preserved temple in all of Egypt and probably the world. It is said to have been built around or before the Ptolemaic period, and it was most likely constructed in the first century BC. It was dedicated to the Goddess Hathor, the Goddess who personified the Milky Way Galaxy.

There are various rooms and shrines which make up the Temple of Hathor. The floor plan of the temple includes the small and large Hypostyle Halls, the Offering hall, the Hall of the Ennead and the Offering Entry. The shrines that can be found within its mud walls include the Shrine of the Nome of Dendera, the shrine of Sokar, the shrine of the Throne of Re, the shrine of Ihy, the shrine of the Gods of lower Egypt, the shrine of Harsomtus, the shrine of Isis, the shrine of Menat Collar, the shrine of Hathor’s Sistrum and of course, the shrine of Hathor. You can also see pictograms of Cleopatra and her sons within the temple.

One of the more eerie parts of the Temple of Hathor is the Mastaba tombs, which are part of the Dendera Necropolis. There are twelve chambers in total and each one was used for different storing purposes. The crypts that are located there stored jewellery and other offerings for the Gods.

There are other temples and structures to be seen in the Dendera Temple Complex. These structures include the Temple of the birth of Isis, the Sanatorium, the Bark shine, the Christian basilica, the Sacred lake, the Roman Kiosk, the Mammisi of Nectanebo II, that Roman Mammisi and the Gateways of Domitian and Trajan.

Dendera has a year round hot climate, reaching incredible temperatures of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. What makes the weather so dangerous is that when the sun sets the temperature drops, leaving people in almost freezing conditions, or at least that is how you will feel if you are not dressed properly. You should also watch out for flooding from the Nile and sandstorms that sometimes plague the area.

Dendera is a small town but it makes up in the wonders that it holds. This should definitely be a stop that you make when you are on your Egyptian tour; if you don’t believe me, go and see for yourself!