When the mighty Greek warrior Alexander the Great first conquered Egypt over 2300 years ago, his scribes wrote in awe of the Pyramids and Sphinx, structures they called at the time, ancient. Explore the Valley of Kings with tombs shrouded in mystery, the unique funerary temple of the female pharaoh, Hatchepsut, tucked back into a steep cliff face and Abu Simbel, moved stone by stone in a massive UNESCO effort to save it from the rising waters of Lake Nasser.
Top Highlights
Cairo
Egypt's cosmopolitan capital is known as the "Mother of the World", and is an expansive blend of historical monuments and mud-brick houses, dotted with modern structures.
Home to the oldest and only remaining structure of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World - the Great Pyramids of Giza - this is one of the principal reasons for visiting the capital city. Midan Tahrir (Liberation Square) is the centre of the city and all roads converge here making it a crazy area with constant traffic and people jams. It is a great place to people watch.
A must see is the Egyptian Museum, home to enthralling exhibits of more than 100,000 antiquities including the contents of the Tomb of Tutankhamen and the Royal Mummy room. Old Cairo known as Coptic Cairo is a very traditional area where appropriate dress is a must. This is where you will find many museums, convents and churches; along with the country's oldest synagoue, dating from the 9th Century - Ben Ezra Synagogue; and the oldest mosque in Egypt - Ibn Tulun. Cairo has many bazaars or souqs, the most well known being Khan al-Khalili.
Giza Plateau
Located on the West Bank of the Nile, opposite Cairo; it is part of the northernmost extension of the necropolis of ancient Memphis. Of the three Great Pyramids, only the Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) is on the list of wonders.
The Great Sphinx - a huge creature with the head of a human and a lion's body, is a national symbol of Egypt, both ancient and modern. Carved from natural bedrock, the statue is crumbling because of the wind, humidity and smog from Cairo, and work is being done to preserve this monument. Sakkara the huge cemetery of ancient Memphis is 17kms north of the Giza Plateau and is home to The Great Step Pyramid Complex - the world's earliest stone monument.
Luxor
Described as "one of the world's greatest open-air museums", a time capsule of a glorious long-gone era. There is plenty to see in and around Luxor - the Luxor Temple, the Temples of Karnak, and the Colossi of Memnon, just to name a few. On the West Bank of the Nile are the Valley of the Kings and Valley of Queens - isolated valleys full of tombs of dead royalty including the most famous Tomb of Tutankhamen and the finest shrine of love, the Tomb of Nefertari. The contrasting scenery of lush green river delta and desert mountains is amazing.
Cruising the Nile
The lifeblood of Egypt, it divides Upper and Lower Egypt and extends almost 7000 kms through Africa. The world's longest river, the Nile provides the perfect way to see some of Egypt's premier sights between Luxor and Aswan. Sailing time is approximately 4 hours each day, with intermittent excursions highlighting the amazing concentration of well-preserved monuments in the country. Travellers have a choice of 5-star cruising or more adventurous sailing aboard a felucca.
Stops along the way
Esna, is located 43km south of Luxor, the main attraction is the Graeco-Roman Temple of Khnum.
Edfu is located 53km south of Esna, and it is worth visiting The Temple of Horus - the most completely preserved Egyptian temple.
Kom Ombo is located 65km south of Edfu, and home to the unusual Temple of Kom Ombo - everything is doubled, ie: twin entrances, twin courts, twin colonnades etc.
Aswan
Egypt's southern-most city, Aswan has been a garrison town and frontier city, the gateway to Africa and a prosperous marketplace at the crossroads of the ancient caravan routes. The exotic atmosphere of Aswan's backstreet souqs is a highlight of the city.
Aswan is a great place to take a felucca ride and one the most scenic sections is to Elephantine or Kitchener's Islands. Aswan Dam is 25kms out of the city, and is a colossal construction used to regulate the Nile.
Lake Nasser is the world's largest artificial lake, with an area of 5250 sq km, stretching 510km in length and between 5km and 35km in width. Created when the High Dam was built, Lake Nasser covers the land of Nubia, site of hundreds of tombs, temples and churches. Many monuments were moved from their original sites prior to the building of the dam, the most famous being the Temple of Ramses (Abu Simbel).
Abu Simbel is 280km south of Aswan, and the Great Temples of Ramses II draw visitors to this area. Carved out of a mountain, the entrance is guarded by four colossal statues of Ramses II, staring out across the lake. We recommend that you fly to Abu Simbel ex Aswan as a day trip.
Alexandria & El Alamein
The Pearl of the Mediterranean, Alexandria is Egypt's second largest city; and is a true waterfront city, nearly 20km long from east to west and only about 3km wide.
Just northwest of the Nile Delta on a narrow strip of coastline are the town's 140kms of unspoiled beaches.
The small coast town of El Alamein, 105 km west of Alexandria, is most famous as the scene of a decisive Allied victory during WWII. The War Museum contains a good collection of uniforms, memorabilia and pictorial material relating to the Battle of El Alamein. The Commonwealth War Museum is on the eastern side of the town and is a haunting place with more than 7000 tombstones. Best as a day trip from Alexandria.
Suez Canal, Red Seat Coast & Sinai
Suez Canal, one of the greatest feats of modern engineering, provides a major shipping route between Europe and Asia.
Egypt's Red Sea Coast stretches for more than 800km, and is famed for its brilliant turquoise waters, splendid coral and exotic creatures of the deep.
Sharm el-Sheik is by far the most sophisticated resort of all with luxurious five-star hotels, pristine white sand beaches, and the most astonishing coral reefs and natural parks.
Hurghada, once no more than a sleepy fishing village, has blossomed into one of the most popular beach resorts in the country. Hurghada offers underwater delights for divers and snorkellers; silver sands and beaches drenched in sunlight.
Sinai, a region of awesome and incredible beauty, is known for its traditional Bedouin villages and St Catherine's Monastery, the site of early Christianity's only surviving churches and a place of pilgrimage since the 4th century.
Mt Sinai at a height of 2285m (revered by Christians, Muslims and Jews, all of whom believe that God delivered his Ten Commandments to Moses at its summit) towers over the Monastery.