A Dendera and Abydos Private Tour from Safaga is a full-day shore excursion or hotel trip. It covers two of Egypt’s most remarkably preserved ancient sites. This trip lasts roughly 12 to 14 hours and requires a drive of approximately 250 km each way from Safaga.
Get ready for an epic adventure with the Dendera Abydos Private Tour Safaga! This tour takes you on a mesmerizing journey through the historic cities of Dendera and Sohag, where you’ll witness the incredible wonders of ancient Egypt and the Roman Empire.
Brace yourself for a profound and unforgettable experience that will leave you in awe. Get ready to explore the mysteries of this captivating country and soak up its rich history.
Highlights on Dendera Abydos Private Tour Safaga
- See the Temples of Abydos.
- Lunch at a restaurant.
- Also, admire the Temple of the goddess Hathor in Dendera.
Itinerary of the Private Trip to Dendera-Abydos
- Landious Travel representative will pick you up from the hotel in Safaga around 04:00 am.
- After picking you up, the bus (limousine or minibus) will head towards the city of Qena. It passes the town of Safaga on its way to Abydos. The resort town of Safaga lies 45 miles south of Hurghada on the Red Sea coast. At the same time, Qena lies 220 km away in the Nile Valley. The journey from the centre of Hurghada to Qena takes about 3 hours. From Qena, you will drive further north towards the Sohag governorate to get to the village of Abydos. It will take about one more hour to get to Abydos.
Program in Abydos
- Once you arrive at Sohag governorate, you will begin your excursion to the Abydos Temple Complex. It is a vast complex of temples and buildings in Abydos. The complex combines different temples and towers. The Temple of Seti I, also known as the Great Temple of Abydos, is one of the main historical sites in Abydos. Pharaoh Seti I built the Temple. At the rear of the Temple, there is the Osireion. The Temple is also notable for the Abydos graffiti and ancient Phoenician and Aramaic graffiti on the temple walls.
- Your Egyptologist tour guide will explain the place in this Temple. And then, he will show the frequently visited sites of this large complex. Of course, your guide will show all these temples. Also, he will give you free time to take pictures.
Agenda in Qena
- As soon as you get Qena, you will have lunch. Then, you will drive back to Qena. It will be your first stop in this city.
- Following lunch, you will drive to the nearby village of Dendera, where you can visit the Dendera Temple Complex. Once again, your guide will explain and show the frequently visited places of this large complex. This complex has different temples and buildings. Therefore, your guide will show you all these temples. Also, he will give you free time to take pictures.
Departure
- Finally, you return to Safaga after a fantastic trip in Abydos – Dendera.
- The Individual Trip to Abydos & Dendera from Safaga ends at approximately 08:00 pm.
What does the Price of Abydos & Dendera Individual Trip Safaga include?
- Tickets for visiting temples.
- Lunch.
- Drinks.
- Private guide.
- Also, a private vehicle will be taken to Abydos–Dendera and back to the hotel.
What does the Abydos Program of individual Trip Safaga not include?
- Additional excursion programs, if not included in the above schedule.
Items you should pack for your trip from Safaga to Abydos
- Breakfast box.
- Also, bring suitable clothes for the season.
Booking Days of Dendera Abydos Private Tour Safaga
- Daily from 04:00 – 20:00.
What can one expect to see during an individual trip to Abydos temples from Safaga?
Dendera Temple Complex
Dendera Temple, the temple complex at Dendera, is quite large, boasting a basilica, two birthhouses, a sacred lake, and numerous other temples and shrines. Structures at the site hail from various ancient Egyptian eras, with monuments from the Middle Kingdom, the Ptolemaic Era, and the Period of Roman provincial rule.
Evidence shows that the first building on the site was built around 2250 BCE, but the vertical structures mostly date from the Ptolemaic Era forward. When the site was rediscovered in 1995 BCE, construction likely began on the Mentuhotep II monument, the oldest existing system. The Mentuhotep monument has since been moved to Cairo.
The oldest form is from Nectanebo II, built ca. 345 BCE. It may be more accurate to say the structure as we know it began in 54 BCE when construction started on the Temple of Hathor, the most prominent structure at the Dendera complex.
The Temple of Hathor is one of Egypt’s best-preserved antiquity sites today and an excellent example of traditional Pharaonic architecture. It was built primarily during the Ptolemaic Dynasty, a period of Greek rule in Egypt.
However, the Temple was completed under the Roman emperor Trajan, who is depicted on the walls of the complex making offerings to Hathor. The temple complex also includes a monumental gateway constructed by Trajan and Domitian, another Roman emperor.
Cult of Hathor
This site was the centre of the cult of Hathor. According to ancient beliefs, Hathor would embark on a journey from her Temple in Dendera to unite with her husband, Horus, at his Temple in Edfu during the Happy Reunion period. This was an annual event, and the conclusion of the festivities marked the start of the Nile’s flood season as Hathor returned to Dendera.
Zodiac of Dendera
The Temple originally housed the famous Zodiac of Dendera. This bas-relief with human and animal figures represented a night skyscape. It was found on the ceiling of a chapel in the Temple of Hathor, where the mysteries of the resurrection of the god Osiris were celebrated. Egyptologists determined it should be interpreted as a map of the sky rather than a giant horoscope or a perpetual astrological tool.
The particular configuration of the planets among the constellations shown in the Zodiac of Dendera occurs only about once every thousand years. Two astrophysicists dated it between June 15 and August 15, 50 BCE. Two eclipses are represented on the Zodiac exactly where they occurred at that time.
The representations of the signs of the Zodiac as we know them today did not appear in Egypt until the Greco-Roman Period. This monument reflects how Egyptian cultural elements merged with Babylonian and Greek astronomical and astrological theories due to the Assyrian and Babylonian deportations of the eighth and sixth centuries BCE and the Persian and Greek invasions of the sixth and fourth centuries BCE.
The Zodiac of Dendera was transported to France in 1821 with the permission of Mohamed Ali Pasha, the Turkish ruler of Egypt at the time. It is currently on display at the Louvre in Paris. The Egyptian government has asked for its return.
- Temples of Abydos: The Abydos Temple Complex is located in Abydos Village, in the modern Egyptian town Al-Balyana, south of Sohag governorate. It lies about 11 kilometres west of the Nile River at latitude 26° 10′ N. During ancient Egypt, Abydos was the capital of the eighth Nome.