Decoration on the pylon of Ptolemy XII of the Horus temple, Idfū, Egypt

"The site of ancient Djeba (Arabic Edfu) was the traditional location of the mythological battle between the gods Horus and Seth; and its sandstone Ptolemaic temple, dedicated to Horus, is the most complete and best preserved of all the temples in Egypt. It was evidently begun by Ptolemy III in 237 BC and completed 180 years later in 57 BC. The hypostyle hall was completed in 122 BC; and the outermost elements -the peristyle court and the entrance pylons- were finally added in 57BC, in the reign of Ptolemy XII. Unusually, the twin towers of the great entrance pylon of the temple were planned as perfect mirror images of each other, both in their construction and in the rather curiously rendered scenes carved on their surfaces. Temple decoration was carved in both raised (bas) and sunk (en creux) relief. The more time-consuming raised relief was often reserved for inner surfaces, while incised carving was often used on outer surfaces where shadows helped define its forms in bright sunlight." [Wilkinson R., 2000: The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt. Thames and Hudson]. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for Life magazine and traveled to Africa from January 8, 1947 to end of June 1947.