Kom Ombo is located on a bend in the river Nile about 50 km north of Aswan. Located on the east bank, Kom Ombo is home to an unusual double temple built during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. The temple is dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek and the falcon god Haroeris (Horus the Elder). Despite being badly damaged, the temple is a beautiful sight as one approaches from either direction on the river, particularly as sunset nears and the colours change.
Little is known of the town during the Dynastic Period, and there has actually been little excavation of the ancient site beyond the clearance of the temple. Changes in agricultural techniques brought the city to prominence in the Ptolemaic Period, to which almost all the visible monuments date. An 18th Dynasty gateway was, however, seen by Champollion in the south enclosure wall, and scattered New Kingdom blocks have been found on the site.
Hence, there is believed to have been a New Kingdom predecessor to the Greek and Roman structure. However, part of the temple forecourt has been eroded by the river, which may also have carried off other features (though modern control of the river has checked the threat of further damage). The mound behind the enclosure contains shards of the First Intermediate Period, showing that the site is far more ancient than the sacred enclosure, which is all that has been explored.
In later times, Kom Ombo was situated at the terminus of two caravan routes, one running westward through the Kurkur Oasis to Tomas in Nubia, while the other ran from Daraw through the Eastern Desert, regaining the Nile at Berber. Those routes were regularly used during early modern times, although how old they are is uncertain.
The earliest king named in the temple at Kom Ombo is Ptolemy VI Philometor, though most of the decoration was completed by Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos. In the early Roman Period the forecourt was decorated and the outer corridor added.
