Egypt, being one of the greatest ancient civilizations in the world, is quite underrepresented on the list of WHS for just how much impressive remains are left today, and that reflects in Egypt's very long and rich T-list. To this day, only 3 sites, though extremely comprehensive and rich sites, have been inscribed for their significance in Ancient Egyptian history, even less than the Anasazi, Mayans, Australian Aborigines, Vikings, and other less influential and prominent cultures. In my eyes, the Pharaonic Temples are an easy 4th site among many deserving sites across Egypt. I visited Egypt in May 2018, and between Luxor and Aswan, I got to visit the temples of Edfu and Kom Ombo. I arrived in Edfu around mid-morning, which had a pleasant temperature, and Kom Ombo at around noon, which was almost unbearably scorching, but luckily, both times gave me an almost empty temple to explore, with maybe a couple of other small groups in each.

Edfu was one of my personal favorite sites of the whole trip. It follows a relatively ordinary succession of chambers of many Egyptian temples, but the difference here is the preservation. Walking through the grand entrance in the impressively tall and intricately decorated pylon, the outdoor courtyard doesn't even look like a ruin. It's completely surrounded by strong walls and uniform numbers of columns. The columns themselves aren't uniform, though, as each one has a different floral design for the capital. The statue of Horus guards the entrance to the dark bowels of the temple, which is where the fun really begins. It's not common to be in the shade when exploring Ancient Egyptian wonders, especially outside of tombs, but in Edfu, the roof is still intact that the hypostyle halls can be seen the way they were meant to be seen: in the darkness. The first hall has a blackened ceiling because it was apparently used as a kitchen after (I forgot by whom and how long after, sorry), but luckily, the carvings on the columns stayed immaculately preserved, sans colors. In fact, the most impressive carvings I've seen in Egypt are here. The cuts made to highlight each figure are deeper than in other ruins, which really makes them come to life. The darkness also adds to the mysterious atmosphere. I proceeded inwards through more hypostyle halls before I reach the sanctuary, which is home to the ceremonial barque. I also walked around the walls of the temple outdoors, but the carvings there were unfortunately defaced by the Romans.

Kom Ombo was a bit of a different experience. Arriving at noon, it took effort to even climb up to the very ruined remains of the great temple. It's right by the Nile, which is a plus for setting, but a minus for preservation, as its position has cost the temple its pylon and courtyard. The hypostyle hall, to an even greater extent than Luxor or Karnak Temples, lacks its roof, but the few pieces of it are actually archaeological gems, as they have preserved some vibrant color. The overall layout is also strange because of Kom Ombo's character as a double temple, dedicated to both Sorek and Horus, and each god gets their own half of the temple with its corresponding halls. The interesting thing about Kom Ombo is really the depictions of the many wall and column carvings. My guide first pointed out the pharaoh's figure and its cartouche, which revealed that he was a Ptolemy. Next, we found a carving that depicted childbirth in the same position as it is done today. The most impressive and important one, though, is the collection of surgical instruments on the back wall. My parents, being of that profession, quickly recognized many instruments that they use today in the 2000 year old art, which reflects the influence of the Egyptian civilization even in today's modern society. Lastly, we visited the Nilometer and the crocodile pool by the side of the temple. There's also the on-site museum, which houses the really interesting crocodile mummies. We went through Kom Ombo a bit less leisurely, though, as the heat was really getting exhausting.

To me, both these temples could probably stand as WHS in their own merit, Edfu for its impressive state of preservation and Kom Ombo for its double temple and important depictions that show Egypt's influence on the modern world. Dendera, another temple in this serial site, is best known for its colorful interior. In truth, each of the 4 temples of this site could probably be their own WHS, but in line with the Egyptian way of inscribing, these sites have much more in common than the 3 existing WHS. They are all, in essence, Ptolemaic Egyptian temples, following a similar structure and layout, serving similar purposes, built around the same Ptolemaic period, in the same region around Luxor, and are all impressively large, detailed, and intact. It's a coherent serial site that really reveals an unrepresented period of an underrepresented culture in the list, and shows great influence on the world despite being one of the oldest civilizations in the world. This would be an above-par WHS if inscribed, and is one of the top missing sites of today.