Your Nile Holiday tour guide will pick you up from your hotel in Luxor to discover the ancient site of Dendera. The temple was dedicated to the goddess Hathor, goddess of love, happiness and joy. Dendera is located about 75 km North of Luxor on the west bank of the Nile, opposite modern town of Qena.

The Temple complex was surrounded by a massive mud-brick wall covers an enormous 40,000 square meters. The temple construction dates back to the Middle Kingdom, time of pharaoh Pepi I (ca. 2250 BC) built on this site and continuing right up until the time of the Roman emperor Trajan (ca.117AD). The existing structure began construction in the late Ptolemaic period at the time of Ptolemy Auletes (ac. 54 BC) and the hypostyle hall was built in the Roman period under Tiberius (ac 14 – 37 AD.).

Temple of Hathor at Dendera is also one of the few Egyptian temples with an intact astronomical ceiling and accessible rooftop, where you can get fantastic views of the surrounding countryside. The ceiling of the Temple of Hathor at Dendera has recently been cleaned, removing hundreds of years of black soot without harming the ancient paint underneath.

See the famous Dendera zodiac carved in Egyptian bas-relief from the ceiling of the Portico. You will see images of Taurus (the bull) and the Libra (the balance). The depictions of Cleopatra VI which appear on temple walls are good example of the Ptolemaic Egyptian art. After finished, transfer back to your hotel in Luxor.