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Edfu

File:Edfu_11.JPG · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

EntityQ239107· pop 59· linked from 325 articles

Also known as Idfu, Behdet, Idfū

Edfu (, , , ; also spelt Idfu, or in modern French as Edfou) is an Egyptian city, located on the west bank of the Nile River between Esna and Aswan, with a population of approximately 60,000 people. Edfu is the site of the Ptolemaic Temple of Horus and an ancient settlement, Tell Edfu. About south of Edfu are remains of ancient pyramids.

OverviewAI-generated

Edfu is a city in Egypt situated along the Nile River. It is located in the Aswan state and has an elevation of approximately 90 meters above sea level. The city’s native label is إدفو.

The population of Edfu is recorded as 133,772, while another source lists it as 79,510. The area operates in the Africa/Cairo time zone, which corresponds to Eastern European Time. Edfu is described in various reference works, including Pauly–Wissowa, The Nuttall Encyclopædia, and the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary.

Synthesized by Vinony from 40 facts across 7 sources: Wikidata, Open Meteo, Openweathermap, OpenStreetMap, GeoNames, Vinony graph, Geo. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

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cached 11h ago
29°clear sky
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7-day forecast

via Open-Meteo

Place details

Locality
مدينه ادفو
Region
أسوان
Country
مصر
Population
79,510
Timezone
Africa/Cairo

via OpenStreetMap · GeoNames

Air quality

90US AQIModerate
PM2.5
19.1 µg/m³
PM10
50.3 µg/m³
As of 2026-08-11 03:00 · Open-Meteo

Key facts

Settlement.name
Edfu
Settlement.native_name
إدفو ⲉⲧⲃⲟ
Settlement.image_caption
Clockwise from top left: Front of Temple of Edfu, streetview, horse cab, Nile River
Settlement.pushpin_map
Egypt
Settlement.pushpin_label_position
bottom
Settlement.pushpin_map_caption
Location in Egypt
Settlement.pushpin_relief
1
Settlement.subdivision_type
Country
Settlement.subdivision_name
Egypt
Settlement.subdivision_type1
Governorate
Settlement.subdivision_name1
Aswan Governorate
Settlement.area_total_km2
2,304
Settlement.elevation_m
86
Settlement.population_total
60,000
Settlement.population_urban
502,994
Settlement.population_as_of
2023
Settlement.population_density_km2
auto
Settlement.population_density_sq_mi
auto

via Wikipedia infobox

Travel guide

Understand

thumb|Edfu Temple Edfu is in an irrigated agricultural area, producing sugar cane and pottery. The reason to visit is the Temple of Horus, built from 237 BC. It became buried in deep sand and was therefore virtually intact (along with its inscriptions of royal history) when excavated in the 19th century.

See

thumb|Temple interior Tell Edfu, the mound next to the temple, is not much to look at but is archaeologically important. It is the earlier town and its temples, harking back to the Old Kingdom from 2800 BC.

Do

Sound and light shows are sometimes staged in the temple.

Buy

There are small stores for essentials around the town crossroads. Anything near the temple is overpriced tourist tat.

Eat

There is a string of little eating places along main drag from the Nile bridge to the temple, and south along the river bank. You are probably best going wherever the nurses from the hospital are eating.

Drink

Mint tea is always a good choice in Egypt.

Go next

Kom Ombo, a riverside temple town, is 65 km south of Edfu on the highway to Aswan. Stop off at the Silsila royal quarries on the way—the best are on the west bank. Esna, another riverside temple town, is 60 km north of Edfu on the highway to Luxor.

Travel guide from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0)

~12 min read

Encyclopedic overview

13 sections
Contents
  • Ancient history
  • Ancient Tell Edfu
  • 3rd Dynasty Pyramid ruins
  • 5th and 6th dynasties
  • Temple of Horus
  • Apollonopolis Magna
  • 19th-century
  • 20th-century
  • Geography
  • Climate
  • See also
  • Notes
  • External links

Edfu (, , , ; also spelt Idfu, or in modern French as Edfou) is an Egyptian city, located on the west bank of the Nile River between Esna and Aswan, with a population of approximately 60,000 people. Edfu is the site of the Ptolemaic Temple of Horus and an ancient settlement, Tell Edfu. About south of Edfu are remains of ancient pyramids.

==Ancient history==

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Edfu” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (16)

On the map

5 mapped locations