Temple of Kom Ombo

Kom Ombo is the only temple in Egypt built twice over on one plan. Everything is doubled and mirrored along a central axis: two entrances, two hypostyle halls, two sanctuaries. The southern half belongs to Sobek, the crocodile god; the northern to Haroeris, Horus the Elder.

One wall carries a relief of what appear to be surgical instruments — forceps, scalpels, suction cups, bone saws. Next door, the Crocodile Museum displays around three hundred mummified crocodiles recovered from the surrounding sands.

Built mainly under Ptolemy VI in the 2nd century BC on an earlier New Kingdom foundation, with Roman additions. Its riverside position means much of the forecourt has been taken by the Nile.