| 1. Nile Cruise |
Nile cruises can be taken as your whole holiday or just part of it but whatever you do, make sure you take to the water in one of these floating palaces. You’ll be indulged in comfort and luxury and get to see many of the famous sights of the country from a steamer chair on deck. Most of the cruise ships dock near the sights to enable you to explore and some provide escorted tours. It’s a much more civilised way of ‘doing Egypt’ than crammed in a hot and smelly bus!
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| 2. The Temple of Karnak |
The Temple of Karnak, located in Luxor, is one of the most incredible temples in the world. It’s featured in many Hollywood films for its ‘otherworldliness’, scale and grandeur. It is by far the largest temple to have ever been built in the world and there are plenty of remains left to allow your imagination to wander back to ancient times. The Great Hypostyle Hall is particularly impressive with its massive columns In its time the place must have been unbelievable. .
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| 3. Valley of the Kings |
There are many temples and tombs to be seen here including the most famous of them all, the tomb of Tutankhamen. However, others are just as impressive including Abu Simbel - This is Ramses II temple. It has four statues of Rameses that guard his temple's entrance. Luxor - Next to Karnak. This is also a large temple which is stunning at night when everything is lit up beautifully! Kom Ombo Edfu – A very well preserved temple dedicated to Horus and stands in a beautiful location. Esna - This is a sanctuary from the Ptolomaic-era. Amazingly, the city has now taken over the surroundings and so the temple, still majestic, looks very much out of place!
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| 4. Mt. Sinai |
Best visited from a Red Sea resort Mount Sinai is located on the Asian part of Egypt next to the Red Sea. You can choose to hike up the mountain and for those of you that want to avoid the heat of the day or be on top of the mountain for the sunrise, there’s a lodge you can stay in near the foot. Camel rides up the mountain are available for the less energetic but necessarily braver! The mountain is famed from the Bible and for Moses in particular. You’ll need to pack warm clothes for this trip and if climbing for the sunrise, a torch is a must.
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| 5. St. Catherine's Monastery |
St. Catherine's is at the foot of Mt. Sinai and is steeped in Biblical history. You can see the water well where Moses met his wife and the supposed descendant of the famous burning bush from which God spoke to Moses. Rather macabre is the cage of skulls of the former monks from the monastery. It’s remote and mysterious and definitely a place to see if you're going to be in the area!
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| 6. Saqqara |
Famed for its ‘Step Pyramid’ one of the earliest forms of the construction, Saqqara has a lot to see and do. You cab visit a carpet school where apprentice students learn to make rugs and carpets and sell them. There’s the Sphinx of Saqqara and many other ancient statues. Less commercialised than Giza, you’ll be less rushed around the monuments and will have more chance to learn about them.
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| 7. Markets of Aswan |
Some Middle Eastern markets feel threatening and are dirty and smelly, Aswan’s markets are very different. The markets are well worth visiting just for the view of the stalls threading through the streets – it’s a little like you’d imagine a market place to be like in ‘Arabian Nights’ For the shoppers, haggling is expected and enjoyed and there’s a huge range of goods to pore over and buy.
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| 8. The Oases of the Western Desert |
Travel out on the incredible ramrod straight desert highway from Cairo and across the Western Desert to the oasis villages of Bahariya, Farafra, Dakhla and Kharga. The road goes on in a straight line, black tarmac through red sand and nothing else in sight on either side. Once there, you’ll discover how rural Egyptians live, tending their animals and never straying far from the life giving waters of the oases.
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| 9. Visit a Papyrus Factory |
Ancient Egyptians used papyrus plants to make paper from and it is believed that is where we got our word for the material from. Visit a papyrus factory and you’ll be given a demonstration on how the reed like plant is turned into some quite usable paper. The stems are soaked and beaten flat, releasing the cellulose before being laid across each other in a woven pattern, squeezed then dried. Many papyrus factories sell pictures and gifts made from the papyrus.
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| 10. Take a Felucca Trip on the Nile |
Every holiday brochure shows a picture of a felucca, the Egyptian version of an Arab dhow, sailing on the Nile at sunset. Many felucca owners now earn more money giving trips along the Nile than in fishing from them. The best journey is from Aswan to the first cataract. You’ll see life along the great waterway slip by at a sedate pace with only the lapping of the water against the side of the boat.
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