Egyptian temples are always laid out along an axis, which gradually leads into smaller, darker and holier rooms. At Abydos, things are different. First, the inner sections are just as wide as those outside, and arriving in the holiest of the holy, there are seven sanctuaries, and the one of the god to whom the temple was dedicated, is not the middle of these. The original layout of the temple had 7 doors, one for each sanctuary, but Ramses 2 ordered these to be closed up, leaving only the central one. Another great attraction is found in the hall to the east of the main temple, the Gallery of Kings. On the walls, 76 cartouches are engraved, each with the name of a king. This is the most complete list over kings of Egypt, and goes all the way back to Menes, the tradtional first king of a united Egypt, but it is far from complete. Not by accident, for sure, the kings of Hyksos, Hatshepsut and Akhenaten are all left out.
