The Temple of Dandara was known as the Castle of the Sistrum or Pr
Hathor House of Hathor. Hathor was the goddess of love, joy and beauty.
With the exception of its supporting pillars, which had capitals
sculpted in the image of Hathor and were defaced by the Christians, the
walls, rooms and roof are complete and extraordinarily well preserved.
The stone steps of the spiral staircase are time worn but still used to
ascend to the roof, where there is a small chapel decorated with
Hathor-headed columns - the Christians seemed to have missed these.
Lying about 70 kilometers north of Luxor, the Ptolemaic temple at
Dandara is one of the bestpreserved monuments in Egypt and well worth a
visit. Several hotels in Luxor offer boat trips to the site, departing
early in the morning and returning that evening. The drive from Luxor,
in spite of the convoy system imposed by Egyptian security, is pleasant
and takes one past several interesting villages. Thirty kilometers (18
miles) north of Luxor on the East Bank lies Qus, ancient Apollinopolis
Parva, with a fine twelfth century mosque. Forty-one kilometers (25
miles) north, Qift, ancient Coptos, lies at the mouth of the Wadi
Hammamat, one of the principal routes to the Red Sea and to the mines
and quarries of the Red Sea Hills
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