Egypt
Dendera
Dendera: The Temple of Hathor, from Crypts to Roof
Dendera is a small town on the west bank of the Nile, across the river from Qena, and its Temple of Hathor is one of the best-preserved temple complexes of ancient Egypt. Once you reach the temple, the whole precinct can be seen on foot. Carry your passport, or a copy of it and your visa, because Egyptian police check ID regularly.
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Arriving at Dendera
Nile ships call at Dendera for its temple, which stands about 2.5 km southeast of the village on the west bank, across the river from Qena and about 60 km north of Luxor. Your cruise line will tell you where the ship moors and how you reach the temple gate.
- The temple precinct covers some 40,000 square meters inside a mud-brick wall.
- Beside the temple are a modern visitor center, a bazaar and a small cafeteria.
- Once inside the precinct, everything is within walking distance.
- Dendera has a hot desert climate with sunshine nearly all year.
Dendera on Your Own
The temple is the reason to stop, and once you are through the gate the whole site can be seen on foot. Reaching it on your own depends on where the ship moors, so ask on board how far the temple is and whether taxis wait.
- The great hall: The temple's hall of columns was built under the Roman emperor Tiberius, and its ceilings were cleaned back to their original colors in a restoration phase completed in 2021.
- Up and down: A processional stairway leads to the roof, and its worn steps have earned the informal name the melted stairs. Crypts lie beneath the floor. Ask at the site whether the roof and crypts are open on the day.
- The back wall: On the outside of the rear wall, a relief shows Cleopatra VII with her son Caesarion.
- By taxi: Taxis from the center of Qena or its railway station make the trip to the temple and back.
- Carry your passport: Egyptian police check ID regularly and may detain anyone who cannot show a passport and visa, or a paper or digital copy of them.
- Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own.
Tipping and Money
Egyptians do not usually tip in restaurants, though smarter restaurants may add a service charge of 10 to 12 percent. Small tips come up more often around sites and tours. The currency is the Egyptian pound, written LE or EGP.
- Agree a taxi fare before you set off. Rounding it up a little is now common.
- Toilet attendants at sites usually expect a small tip.
- Drivers on a day tour are commonly tipped for each day.
Customs and Courtesies
Egypt is a predominantly Muslim country, and visitors are asked to respect local customs, above all during Ramadan and at religious sites. Dress modestly, especially in rural areas, in mosques and in markets.
- Egyptian rules require an Egyptian's written permission before you photograph them, and photographing children is prohibited.
- During Ramadan it is insensitive to eat, drink or smoke in public in daylight. The dates move every year, so check them before you travel.
- To report a crime, call the tourist police on 126, and do so before you leave Egypt.
A Brief History
Dendera was the capital of the sixth province, or nome, of Upper Egypt, and the goddess Hathor was worshipped here from the Old Kingdom into Roman times. The temple standing today was begun under the last Ptolemies and finished and decorated under Roman emperors.
- The name: The town's ancient name was Iunet, later Iunet of the goddess, which became Tentyris in Greek and gave the modern Arabic name.
- Early tombs: The Dendera necropolis holds tombs from the Early Dynastic Period to the First Intermediate Period. Nearby, archaeologists found a bakery of the First Intermediate Period where bread offered to Hathor was baked.
- Earlier temples: Evidence points to a building here around 2250 BC, and a relief in one of the crypts shows the pharaoh Pepi I offering a statuette to Hathor.
- The oldest building standing, 360 to 343 BC: The birth house raised by Nectanebo II, the last native pharaoh, is the earliest surviving structure in the precinct.
- The present temple, 54 BC: Work began under Ptolemy XII Auletes. The hall of columns was added under Tiberius, and a Roman birth house shows Trajan making offerings as a pharaoh.
- Christian Dendera: As Tentyris, the town became a bishopric in late Roman Egypt, and the ruins of a Coptic church stand inside the precinct.
- The zodiac, early 1820s: The circular zodiac on the ceiling of a chapel of Osiris was cut out with saws, jacks and gunpowder for a French antiques dealer, and Louis XVIII installed it in the Royal Library in Paris in 1822. It has been in the Louvre since 1922, and a copy now fills its place.
- Restoration, 2005 to 2021: Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities began restoring the temple in 2005, paused in 2011, resumed in 2017 and completed the second phase in March 2021. In 2023, archaeologists working at the site uncovered a limestone sphinx.
- To learn more ashore: Start at the visitor center beside the temple, then look at the reliefs in the crypts beneath the floor.
Dendera with Children
Dendera suits children who like to explore, because the temple has crypts under the floor and a stairway up to the roof. The site is in a hot desert climate, so plan around the heat of the day.
- Younger children: The site is compact enough to walk. Bring hats and plenty of water.
- School age: On the copy of the zodiac, look for the bull and the scales, and for Aquarius shown as Hapi, the flood god, pouring water from two vases. The sky disc is held up by four women and four pairs of falcon-headed figures.
- Teenagers: Find the so-called Dendera light, a relief of a snake rising from a lotus flower inside an oval. Some fringe writers claim it shows an ancient light bulb; the texts beside it describe statues from an Egyptian creation myth.
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