Edfu

Also known as Idfu, Behdet, Idfū

Edfu (, , , ; also spelt Idfu, or in modern French as Edfou) is an Egyptian city, located on the west bank of the Nile River between Esna and Aswan, with a population of approximately 60,000 people. Edfu is the site of the Ptolemaic Temple of Horus and an ancient settlement, Tell Edfu. About south of Edfu are remains of ancient pyramids.

AI overview

Edfu is an Egyptian city on the west bank of the Nile River between Esna and Aswan, home to approximately 60,000 people today. It is historically significant as the site of the Ptolemaic Temple of Horus and the ancient settlement of Tell Edfu, making it an important location for understanding ancient Egyptian civilization.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

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Place details

Locality: مدينه ادفو
Region: أسوان
Country: مصر
Population: 79,510
Timezone: Africa/Cairo

via OpenStreetMap · GeoNames

Key facts

Settlement.name: Edfu
Settlement.native_name: إدفو ⲉⲧⲃⲟ
Settlement.image_caption: Clockwise from top left: Front of Temple of Edfu, streetview, horse cab, Nile River
Settlement.pushpin_map: Egypt
Settlement.pushpin_label_position: bottom
Settlement.pushpin_map_caption: Location in Egypt
Settlement.pushpin_relief: 1
Settlement.subdivision_type: Country
Settlement.subdivision_name: Egypt
Settlement.subdivision_type1: Governorate
Settlement.subdivision_name1: Aswan Governorate
Settlement.area_total_km2: 2,304
Settlement.elevation_m: 86
Settlement.population_total: 60,000
Settlement.population_urban: 502,994
Settlement.population_as_of: 2023
Settlement.population_density_km2: auto
Settlement.population_density_sq_mi: auto

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Population: 60000
Elevation: 90
Image: Edfu 16.JPG

Show 5 more facts

Commons category: Edfu
Commons gallery: إدفو
native label: إدفو
P12749: Yukiko Kobayashi
P8168: Cais do Sodré railway station

Sources (3)

via Wikidata · CC0

Travel guide

Understand

thumb|Edfu Temple Edfu is in an irrigated agricultural area, producing sugar cane and pottery. The reason to visit is the Temple of Horus, built from 237 BC. It became buried in deep sand and was therefore virtually intact (along with its inscriptions of royal history) when excavated in the 19th century.

See

thumb|Temple interior Tell Edfu, the mound next to the temple, is not much to look at but is archaeologically important. It is the earlier town and its temples, harking back to the Old Kingdom from 2800 BC.

Do

Sound and light shows are sometimes staged in the temple.

Buy

There are small stores for essentials around the town crossroads. Anything near the temple is overpriced tourist tat.

Eat

There is a string of little eating places along main drag from the Nile bridge to the temple, and south along the river bank. You are probably best going wherever the nurses from the hospital are eating.

Drink

Mint tea is always a good choice in Egypt.

Go next

Kom Ombo, a riverside temple town, is 65 km south of Edfu on the highway to Aswan. Stop off at the Silsila royal quarries on the way—the best are on the west bank. Esna, another riverside temple town, is 60 km north of Edfu on the highway to Luxor.

Travel guide from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0)

~12 min read