Cairo
Cairo is chaos at its most magnificent, infuriating and beautiful. This mega-city’s constant buzz is a product of its 22-or-so million inhabitants simultaneously crushing Cairo’s infrastructure under their collective weight and lifting its spirits up with their exceptional humour.
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Al-Azhar Mosque
Founded in AD 970 as the centrepiece of the newly created Fatimid city, Al Azhar is one of Cairo’s earlier mosques, and its sheikh is considered the highest theological authority for Egyptian Muslims. The building is a harmonious blend of architectural styles, the result of numerous enlargements over more than 1000 years. The tomb chamber, located through a doorway on the left just inside the entrance, has a beautiful mihrab (a niche indicating the direction of Mecca).
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Cairo Tower
This 187m-high tower is the city’s most famous landmark after the Pyramids. Built in 1961, the structure, which resembles a stylised lotus plant with its latticework casing, was a thumb to the nose at the Americans, who had given Nasser the money used for its construction to buy US arms. The 360-degree views across the city from the top are clearest in the late morning, after the haze burns off, or late afternoon, when you can often spy the Pyramids.
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Coptic Museum
This museum, founded in 1908, houses Coptic art from the earliest days of Christianity in Egypt right through to early Islam. It is a beautiful place, as much for the elaborate woodcarving in all the galleries as for the treasures they contain. These include sculpture that shows obvious continuity from the Ptolemaic period, rich textiles and whole walls of monastery frescoes. Allow at least a couple of hours to explore the 1200 or so pieces on display.
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Dok Dok Boating
One of the most pleasant things to do on a warm day is to go out on a felucca, Egypt’s ancient broad-sail boat, with a supply of beer and a small picnic, just as sunset approaches.
** The Dok Dok Landing Stage is the best spot for hiring one because it’s near a wider spot in the river. Subject to haggling, a boat and captain should cost between LE70 and LE100 per hour; your captain will appreciate additional baksheesh.
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Egyptian Museum
One of the world’s most important collections of ancient artefacts, the Egyptian Museum takes pride of place in Downtown Cairo, on the north side of Midan Tahrir. Inside the great domed, oddly pinkish building, the glittering treasures of Tutankhamun and other great pharaohs lie alongside the grave goods, mummies, jewellery, eating bowls and toys of Egyptians whose names are lost to history. To walk around the museum is to embark on an adventure through time.
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Hanging Church
Just south of the Coptic Museum on Sharia Mar Girgis (the main road parallel with the metro), a stone facade inscribed with Coptic and Arabic marks the entrance to the 9th-century (some say 7th) Hanging Church, so named because it is suspended over the Water Gate of Roman Babylon. With its three barrel-vaulted, wood-roofed aisles, the interior of the church feels like an upturned ark, resting on 13 elegant pillars representing Christ and his apostles.
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Khan Al Khalili
The skinny lanes of Khan Al Khalili are basically a medieval-style mall. This agglomeration of shops stock everything from soap powder to semiprecious stones, not to mention tacky toy camels and alabaster pyramids. Most shops and stalls open from around 9am to well after sundown (except Friday morning and Sunday), although plenty of the souvenir vendors are open as long as there are customers, even on Sunday.
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Madrassa & Mausoleum of Qalawoun
Built in just 13 months, the 1279 Madrassa and Mausoleum of Qalaun is both the earliest and the most splendid of the vast religious complexes on this street. The mausoleum, on the right, is a particularly intricate assemblage of inlaid stone and stucco, patterned with stars and floral motifs and lit by stained-glass windows. The complex also includes a maristan (hospital), which Qalaun ordered built after he visited one in Damascus, where he was cured of colic.
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Manial Palace
After a years’-long restoration period, this palace complex, built by the uncle of King Farouk, Prince Mohammed Ali, in the early 20th century, has once again thrown open its doors to the public as a quirky museum. Its interiors and architecture are a fascinating merging of Ottoman, Moorish, Persian and European rococo styles, while the gardens (still closed to the public at the time of research) are planted with rare tropical plants collected by the prince.

Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan
Massive yet elegant, this grand structure is regarded as the finest piece of early Mamluk architecture in Cairo. It was built between 1356 and 1363 by Sultan Hassan, a grandson of Sultan Qalaun; he took the throne at the age of 13, was deposed and reinstated no less than three times, then assassinated shortly before the mosque was completed. Beyond the striking, recessed entrance, a dark passage leads into a peaceful square courtyard surrounded by four soaring iwan (vaulted halls).
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Pyramids of Giza
The last remaining wonder of the ancient world; for nearly 4000 years, the extraordinary shape, impeccable geometry and sheer bulk of the Giza Pyramids have invited the obvious questions: ‘How were they built, and why?’ Centuries of research have given us parts of the answer. Built as massive tombs on the orders of the pharaohs, they were constructed by teams of workers tens-of-thousands strong. Today they stand as an awe-inspiring tribute to the might, organisation and achievements of ancient Egypt.
** The most efficient traffic-beating way to reach the Pyramids is to go via metro to Giza (LE2), then by taxi (about LE20), microbus (LE5) or bus (LE2.50). Microbuses cluster at the bottom of the west-side stairs from the metro (drivers are yelling ‘Haram’). Buses stop on the north side of Pyramids Rd, just west of the metro underpass. Look out for 355 or 357, which terminate about 250m from the site entrance.
** The main entrance is at the end of Pyramids Rd (Sharia Al Haram), though if you come on a tour bus, you may enter through the gate below the Sphinx, in the village of Nazlet As Samaan.
** Additional tickets are required for the Cheops Boat Museum, the Tomb of Meresankh III, and the pyramid interiors.
** The Great Pyramid is always open, along with one of the other two (they alternate every year or so).
** Pyramid interior and Tomb of Meresankh III tickets can only be purchased at the main entrance ticket office.

Sphinx
Known in Arabic as Abu al-Hol (Father of Terror), this sculpture of a man with the haunches of a lion was dubbed the Sphinx by the ancient Greeks because it resembled their mythical winged monster who set riddles and killed anyone unable to answer them. A geological survey has shown that it was most likely carved from the bedrock at the bottom of the causeway, during this Khafre’s reign, so it probably portrays his features.
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Saqqara
Covering a 7km stretch of the Western Desert, Saqqara, the huge cemetery of ancient Memphis, was an active burial ground for more than 3500 years and is Egypt’s largest archaeological site. The necropolis is situated high above the Nile Valley’s cultivation area, and is the final resting place for deceased pharaohs and their families, administrators, generals and sacred animals. The name Saqqara is most likely derived from Sokar, the Memphite god of the dead.
Old Kingdom pharaohs were buried within Saqqara’s 11 major pyramids, while their subjects were buried in the hundreds of smaller tombs. Most of Saqqara, except for the Step Pyramid, was buried in sand until the mid-19th century, when the great French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette uncovered the Serapeum.
Since then, it has been a gradual process of rediscovery: the Step Pyramid’s massive funerary complex was not exposed until 1924, and it is in a constant state of restoration. French architect Jean-Philippe Lauer, who began work here in 1926, was involved in the project for an incredible 75 years until his death in 2001. More recently, there has been a string of new discoveries, including a whole slew of mummies and even a new pyramid.
If you keep up a good pace, you can see the high points of Saqqara in about half a day.
- Start with a quick visit to the Imhotep Museum, to get the lay of the land.
- Head for Zoser’s funerary complex, entering through the hypostyle hall, and gaze on the Step Pyramid, the world’s oldest pyramid.
- Walk south towards the Causeway of Unas then drive to the Pyramid of Teti to see some of the famous Pyramid Texts inside.
- Afterwards, pop into the nearby Tomb of Kagemni before ending with the most wonderful tomb of all, the Mastaba of Ti, with its fascinating reliefs of daily life.
** Because of extremely limited public transport options, this area is typically visited as part of an organised tour, or with a private taxi from Cairo hired for the day.
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Dahshur
An impressive 3.5km-long field of 4th- and 12th-dynasty pyramids. Although there were originally 11 pyramids here, only the two Old Kingdom ones remain intact.
Pharaoh Sneferu (2613–2589 BC), father of Khufu, built Egypt’s first true pyramid here, the Red Pyramid (North Pyramid) as well as an earlier version, the Bent Pyramid.
These two striking pyramids are the same height, and together are also the third-largest pyramids in Egypt after the two largest at Giza.
** Because of extremely limited public transport options, this area is typically visited as part of an organised tour, or with a private taxi from Cairo hired for the day.
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Memphis Museum
The only remaining evidence of Memphis is this noteworthy open-air museum, built around a magnificent fallen colossal limestone statue of Ramses II. Its position on its back gives a great opportunity to inspect the carving up close – even the pharaoh’s nipples are very precise. Its twin is the statue that stood in Midan Ramses in Cairo until 2006 that was moved to stand guard by the Grand Egyptian Museum construction site.
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Alexandria
Founded in 331 BC by 25-year-old Alexander the Great, Alexandria (Al Iskendariyya) is the stuff of legend. Its towering Pharos lighthouse, marking the ancient harbour’s entrance, was one of the Seven Wonders of the World, and its Great Library was considered the archive of ancient knowledge. Alas, fate dealt the city a spate of cruel blows and there are few visible remains of the glorious past.
The 19th century kick-started a cosmopolitan makeover and renaissance when Alexandria became one of the Mediterranean’s key commercial hubs. This revival was cut short in the 1950s by President Nasser’s nationalism. Today the grand modern library of Alexandria sits amid faded remnants of the once-grand seafront Corniche, as a symbol of the city’s latest incarnation as Egypt’s cultural capital.
- **[Bibliotheca Alexandrina](www.bibalex.org)** - Alexandria’s ancient library was one of the greatest of all classical institutions, and while replacing it might seem a Herculean task, the new Bibliotheca Alexandrina manages this with aplomb. Opened in 2002, this impressive piece of modern architecture is a deliberate attempt to rekindle the brilliance of the original centre of learning and culture. The complex has become one of Egypt’s major cultural venues and a stage for numerous international performers, and is home to a collection of brilliant museums.
- The excellent **Alexandria National Museum** sets a high benchmark with its summary of Alexandria’s past. Housed in a beautifully restored Italianate villa, the small but thoughtfully selected and well-labelled collection does a sterling job of relating the city’s history from antiquity until the modern period. Look out especially for the beautiful tanagra – terracotta statues of Greek women – and the discoveries found underwater in the Mediterranean.
- **Kom Al Dikka** was a well-off residential area in Graeco-Roman times, with lovely villas, bath houses and a theatre. The area was known at the time as the Park of Pan, a pleasure garden where citizens of Alexandria could indulge in various lazy pursuits. Although the ruins aren’t terribly impressive in scale, they remain a superbly preserved ode to the days of the centurion and include the 13 white-marble terraces of the only Roman amphitheatre found in Egypt.
- The **Catacombs of Kom Ash Shuqqafa** was accidentally discovered in 1900 when a donkey disappeared through the ground, these catacombs are the largest-known Roman burial site in Egypt and one of the last major works of construction dedicated to the religion of ancient Egypt. Demonstrating Alexandria’s hallmark fusion of Pharaonic and Greek styles, the architects used a Graeco-Roman approach. The catacombs consist of three tiers of tombs and chambers cut into bedrock to a depth of 35m (the bottom level is flooded and inaccessible).
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El Alamein
This small coastal outpost is famed for the decisive victory won here by the Allies during WWII. More than 80,000 soldiers were killed or wounded in the series of desert battles fought nearby, which helped cement Allied control of North Africa.
The War Museum provides an excellent introduction to the Battle of El Alamein. One kilometre to the east are the thousands of graves in the Commonwealth War Cemetery. The German War Memorial is based in a sandstone building 7km to the west along the highway. The Italian Memorial, with a small but interesting museum, is a further 4km west.
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Luxor
Luxor is often called the world’s greatest open-air museum, but that comes nowhere near describing this extraordinary place. Nothing in the world compares to the scale and grandeur of the monuments that have survived from ancient Thebes.
The setting is breathtakingly beautiful, the Nile flowing between the modern city and west-bank necropolis, backed by the enigmatic Theban escarpment. Scattered across the landscape is an embarrassment of riches, from the temples of Karnak and Luxor in the east to the many tombs and temples on the west bank.
DON'T MISS:
- The wonderful **Luxor Museum** showcases a well-chosen and brilliantly displayed and explained collection of antiquities dating from the end of the Old Kingdom right through to the Mamluk period, mostly gathered from the Theban temples and necropolis. The ticket price puts off many, but don’t let that stop you: this is one of the most rewarding sights in Luxor and one of the best museums in Egypt.
- The **Luxor Temple** was largely built by the New Kingdom pharaohs Amenhotep III (1390–1352 BC) and Ramses II (1279–1213 BC) - a strikingly graceful monument in the heart of the modern town. Also known as the Southern Sanctuary, its main function was during the annual Opet celebrations, when the statues of Amun, Mut and Khonsu were brought from Karnak, along the Avenue of Sphinxes, and reunited here during the inundation.
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Karnak Temple Complex
Karnak is an extraordinary complex of sanctuaries, kiosks, pylons and obelisks dedicated to the Theban triad but also to the greater glory of pharaohs. The site covers more than 2 sq km; it’s large enough to contain about 10 cathedrals. At its heart is the Temple of Amun, the earthly ‘home’ of the local god. Built, added to, dismantled, restored, enlarged and decorated over nearly 1500 years, Karnak was the most important place of worship in Egypt during the New Kingdom.
The complex is dominated by the great **Temple of Amun-Ra** – one of the world’s largest religious complexes – with its famous hypostyle hall, a spectacular forest of giant papyrus-shaped columns. This main structure is surrounded by the houses of Amun’s wife Mut and their son Khonsu, two other huge temple complexes on this site. On its southern side, the **Mut Temple Enclosure** was once linked to the main temple by an avenue of ram-headed sphinxes. To the north is the Montu Temple Enclosure, which honoured the local Theban war god.
The 3km paved avenue of human-headed sphinxes that once linked the great Temple of Amun at Karnak with Luxor Temple is now again being cleared. Most of what you can see was built by the powerful pharaohs of the 18th to 20th dynasties (1570–1090 BC), who spent fortunes on making their mark in this most sacred of places, which was then called Ipet-Sut, meaning ‘The Most Esteemed of Places’. Later pharaohs extended and rebuilt the complex, as did the Ptolemies and early Christians. The further into the complex you venture, the older the structures.
The light is most beautiful in the early morning or later afternoon, and the temple is quieter then, as later in the morning tour buses bring day trippers from Hurghada. It pays to visit more than once, to make sense of the overwhelming jumble of ancient remains.
Photo:
By Cornell University Library - originally posted to Flickr as Temple Complex at Karnak, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7252716

Valley of the Kings
The west bank of Luxor had been the site of royal burials since around 2100 BC, but it was the pharaohs of the New Kingdom period (1550–1069 BC) who chose this isolated valley dominated by the pyramid-shaped mountain peak of Al Qurn (The Horn). Once called the Great Necropolis of Millions of Years of Pharaoh, or the Place of Truth, the Valley of the Kings has 63 magnificent royal tombs.
The tombs have suffered greatly from treasure hunters, floods and, in recent years, mass tourism: carbon dioxide, friction and the humidity produced by the average 2.8g of sweat left by each visitor have affected the reliefs and the stability of paintings that were made on plaster laid over limestone. The Department of Antiquities has installed dehumidifiers and glass screens in the worst-affected tombs. They have also introduced a rotation system: a limited number of tombs are open to the public at any one time. The entry ticket gains access to three tombs, with extra tickets to see the tombs of Ay, Tutankhamun, Seti I and Ramses VI.
The road into the Valley of the Kings is a gradual, dry, hot climb, so be prepared, especially if you are riding a bicycle. Also be prepared to run the gauntlet of the tourist bazaar, which sells soft drinks, ice creams and snacks alongside the tat. The air-conditioned Valley of the Kings Visitors Centre & Ticket Booth has a good model of the valley, a movie about Carter’s discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun and toilets (there are Portakabins higher up, but this is the one to use). A tuf-tuf (a little electrical train) ferries visitors between the visitors centre and the tombs (it can be hot during summer). The ride costs LE4. It’s worth having a torch to illuminate badly lit areas but you cannot take a camera – photography is forbidden in all tombs.
The best source of information about the tombs, including detailed descriptions of their decoration and history, can be found on the [Theban Mapping Project website](http://www.thebanmappingproject.com/). Some tombs have additional entry fees and tickets.
Highlights include Tomb of Ay, Tomb of Horemheb, Tomb of Ramses III, Tomb of Ramses VI and Tomb of Seti I.

Medinat Habu
Ramses III’s magnificent memorial temple of Medinat Habu, fronted by sleepy Kom Lolah village and backed by the Theban mountains, is one of the west bank’s most underrated sites. This was one of the first places in Thebes closely associated with the local god Amun. At its height, Medinat Habu contained temples, storage rooms, workshops, administrative buildings, a royal palace and accommodation for priests and officials. It was the centre of the economic life of Thebes for centuries.

Tombs of the Nobles
These tombs are some of the best least-visited attractions on the west bank. Nestled in the foothills opposite the Ramesseum are more than 400 tombs belonging to nobles from the 6th dynasty to the Graeco-Roman period. Where royal tombs were decorated with cryptic passages from the Book of the Dead to guide them through the afterlife, the nobles, intent on letting the good life continue after their death, decorated their tombs with wonderfully detailed scenes of their daily lives.

Ramesseum
Ramses II called his massive memorial ‘the Temple of Millions of Years of User-Maat-Ra’; classical visitors called it the tomb of Ozymandias; and Jean-François Champollion, who deciphered hieroglyphics, called it the Ramesseum. Like other memorial temples it was part of Ramses II’s funerary complex. His tomb was built deep in the hills, but his memorial temple was on the edge of the cultivated area on a canal that connected with the Nile and with other memorial temples.

Dayr al-Madīnah
This site takes its name from a Ptolemaic temple, later converted to a Coptic monastery – the Monastery of the Town – but the real attraction is the unique Workmen’s Village. Many of the skilled workers and artists who created tombs in the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens lived and were buried here. Archaeologists have uncovered more than 70 houses in this village and many tombs: the most beautiful are now open to the public.

Valley of the Queens
At the southern end of the Theban hillside, the Valley of the Queens contains at least 75 tombs that belonged to queens of the 19th and 20th dynasties as well as to other members of the royal families, including princesses and the Ramesside princes. Four of the tombs are open for viewing. The most famous of these, the tomb of Nefertari was only reopened to the public in late 2016. The other tombs are those of Titi, Khaemwaset and Amunherkhepshef.

Esna (Isna)
Most visitors come to Esna, 64km south of Luxor on the west bank of the Nile, for the Temple of Khnum , dedicated to the ram-headed creator god who fashioned humankind on his potter’s wheel. Temple construction was begun by Ptolemy VI Philometor (180–145 BC). The Romans added the hypostyle hall, the only part of the temple that is excavated and can be visited today with well preserved carvings from as late as the 3rd century AD.
** The simplest way to visit the temple, is by taxi from Luxor. The train station is on the opposite (east) bank of the Nile, away from the town centre, but kabouts (pickup trucks) shuttle between the two.

Edfu
Built on a rise above the broad river valley, the **Temple of Horus** at Edfu, having escaped destruction from Nile floods, is the most completely preserved Egyptian temple. One of the last ancient attempts at building on a grand scale, the temple dominates this west-bank town, 53km south of Esna. Its well-preserved reliefs have provided archaeologists with much valuable information about temple rituals and the power of the priesthood. Walking through the large, gloomy chambers, visitors are sometimes overwhelmed by a sense of awe at the mysteries of ancient Egypt.
** A half-day trip to Edfu and Esna from Luxor costs around LE500.
** Edfu train station is on the east bank of the Nile, about 4km from town. To get to the town, you must first take a kabout (pick-up truck) from the train station to the bridge, then another into town. Each costs 50pt.

Kom Ombo
Standing on a promontory at a bend in the Nile, where in ancient times sacred crocodiles basked in the sun on the riverbank, is the **Temple of Kom Ombo** is one of the Nile Valley’s most beautifully sited temples. Unique in Egypt, it is dedicated to two gods; the local crocodile god Sobek, and Haroeris (from har-wer), meaning Horus the Elder.
Beside the complex is the the new Crocodile Museum. It’s well worth a visit for its beautiful collection of mummified crocodiles and ancient carvings, which is well lit and well explained.
** The train station is 3.5km from the temple. A taxi from the station should cost around LE40 return.
** Hiring a driver from Luxor for a day trip taking in both Edfu and Kom Ombo, either returning to Luxor or moving on to Aswan will cost around LE1000

Aswan
On the northern end of the First Cataract, marking ancient Egypt’s southern frontier, Aswan has always been of great strategic importance. The river is wide, languorous and beautiful here, flowing gently down from Lake Nasser around dramatic black-granite boulders and palm-studded islands. This is the perfect place to linger for a few days and recover from the rigours of travelling and temple-viewing.
The Nile looks fabulous and magical at Aswan, and few things are more relaxing than hiring a felucca before sunset and sailing between the islands, the desert and the huge black boulders. On days when cruise boats dock together in town, hundreds of feluccas circle the islands, so it’s a good time to take a felucca a bit further out towards Seheyl Island.
**SIGHTS**
**Nbubia Museum** - The little-visited Nubia Museum, opposite Basma Hotel, is a treat, a showcase of the history, art and culture of Nubia. Established in 1997 in cooperation with Unesco, the museum is a reminder of what was lost beneath Lake Nasser. Exhibits are beautifully displayed in huge halls, where clearly written explanations take you from 4500 BC through to the present day.
**Unfinished Obelisk** - Aswan was the source of ancient Egypt’s finest granite, used to make statues and embellish temples, pyramids and obelisks. The large unfinished obelisk in the Northern Quarries has provided valuable insight into how these monuments were created, although the full construction process is still not entirely clear. Three sides of the shaft, nearly 42m long, were completed except for the inscriptions. At 1168 tonnes, the completed obelisk would have been the single heaviest piece of stone the Egyptians ever fashioned.
**Ruins of Abu** - The evocative ruins of ancient Abu and the Aswan Museum (partially closed for renovation) lie at Elephantine Island’s southern tip. Numbered plaques and reconstructed buildings mark the island’s long history from around 3000 BC to the 14th century AD. The largest structure on-site is the partially reconstructed Temple of Khnum (plaque numbers 6, 12 and 13). Built in honour of the god of inundation during the Old Kingdom, it was used for more than 1500 years before being extensively rebuilt in Ptolemaic times.
**Tombs of the Nobles** - The high cliffs opposite Aswan, just north of Kitchener’s Island, are honeycombed with the tombs of the governors, the Keepers of the Gate of the South, and other dignitaries of ancient Elephantine Island. The tombs, known as the Tombs of the Nobles, are still being excavated: significant finds were made in 2014 and 2017. Six decorated tombs are currently open to the public.
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Philae (Agilika Island)
Perched on the island of Philae, the Temple of Isis attracted pilgrims for thousands of years and was one of the last pagan temples to operate after the arrival of Christianity. The cult of Isis continued here until at least AD 550.
After the completion of the High Dam, the temple would have entirely disappeared had Unesco not intervened. Between 1972 and 1980, the massive temple complex was disassembled stone by stone. It was then reconstructed 20m higher on nearby Agilika Island, which was landscaped to resemble the original sacred isle of Isis.
** The boat landing for the Philae complex is at Shellal, south of the old Aswan Dam. The only easy way to get there is by taxi or organised trip.
** The return boat trip should not cost more than LE20 per person, plus baksheesh for the boatman, but often costs significantly more. Organised tours usually include the boat fare, sparing you the hassle of haggling.

Aswan High Dam
Egypt’s modern example of construction on a monumental scale, the controversial Aswan High Dam, 13km south of Aswan, contains 18 times the amount of material used in the Great Pyramid of Khufu and created Lake Nasser, one of the world’s largest artificial lakes.
** Most people visit the High Dam as part of an organised trip to sights south of Aswan.

Abu Simbel
Few tourists linger in the laid-back, quiet town of Abu Simbel, staying no more than the few hours needed to visit the colossal temples for which it is famous. But anyone interested in Lake Nasser and in seeing the temples without the crowds might choose to hang around for a day or two.
**Temples of Abu Simbel**
Overlooking Lake Nasser, the Great Temple of Ramses II and the Temple of Hathor, which together make up the Temples of Abu Simbel, are among the most famous and spectacular monuments in Egypt. In a modern marvel of engineering, which matches Ramses II’s original construction for sheer audacity, the temple complex was saved from being swallowed by rising waters and lost forever after the building of the High Dam, by being moved lock, stock and barrel to the position it sits upon today.
- Carved out of the mountain on the west bank of the Nile between 1274 and 1244 BC, the imposing **Great Temple of Ramses II** - main temple of the Abu Simbel complex - was as much dedicated to the deified Ramses II himself as to Ra-Horakhty, Amun and Ptah. The four colossal statues of the pharaoh, which front the temple, are like gigantic sentinels watching over the incoming traffic from the south, undoubtedly designed as a warning of the strength of the pharaoh.
- Next to the Great Temple of Ramses II sits the smaller of Abu Simbel’s temples. **The Temple of Hathor** has a rock-cut facade fronted by six 10m-high standing statues of Ramses and Nefertari, with some of their many children by their side. Nefertari here wears the costume of the goddess Hathor, and is, unusually, portrayed as the same height as her husband (instead of knee-height, as most consorts were depicted).

Al Kharga Oasis
As the capital of the New Valley Governorate and the closest of the oases to the Nile Valley, Al Kharga is also the most modern and therefore the least exotic. Al Kharga has long stood at the crossroads of vital desert trade routes. This influential location brought it great prosperity, and with the arrival of the Romans, wells were dug, crops cultivated and fortresses built to protect caravan routes.
The new road to Luxor makes it a convenient gateway to the oases, and a smattering of ancient sites here means it’s a decent stopover in its own right.
**BUS**
From the bus station , Upper Egypt Bus Co operates buses to Cairo (8 to 10 hours) daily at 9pm and 10pm. There are three services to Asyut (3 to 4 hours) at 6am, 7am and 9am. The bus heading north to Dakhla Oasis (3 hours) leaves at 2pm.
There’s no direct bus service to Luxor.
**TAXI**
Private taxis can get you to/from Luxor in about three and half hours, using the new highway. Contact the Al Kharga tourist office to arrange a car for you.
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Dakhla Oasis
At the centre of Dakhla Oasis lies the town of Mut, now a modern Egyptian town. It has decent facilities and makes the most convenient base for travellers. You will, however, have a richer experience of Dakhla by staying out of town. The slumping mud-brick villages and palmaries, speckled with hot springs, that surround Mut capture the essence of slow-paced oasis life. In particular, Al Qasr is one of the most enchanting places anywhere in the Western Desert.
One of the must-see sights in the western oases is the extraordinary medieval/Ottoman town of Al Qasr, which lies on the edge of lush vegetation at the foot of pink limestone cliffs marking the northern edge of the oasis.
Al Qasr’s mud-brick maze of an old town is built on the ancient foundations of a Roman city and is thought to be one of the oldest inhabited areas of the oases. Most of what you can see today dates to the Ottoman period (1516–1798) though its creaky, picturesque labyrinth of narrow, covered streets harks back to its ancient origins. During its heyday, this was probably the capital of the Dakhla Oasis, easily protected by barring the fort’s quartered streets.
**GETTING THERE**
From Mut’s bus station, Upper Egypt Bus Co runs buses to Cairo (10 hours) via Al Kharga Oasis (2 to 3hours) and Asyut (5 hours) at 7pm and 7.30pm.
You can also travel to Cairo via Farafra Oasis (4 hours) and Bahariya Oasis (7 hours) at 8pm.
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Bahareya Oasis
Bahariya is one of the more fetching of the desert circuit oases, and at just 365km from Cairo it’s also the most accessible. The oasis’ main centre is Bawiti. Away from its dusty, unappealing main road, much of the oasis floor here is covered by sprawling shady date palms and speckled with dozens of natural springs, which beg to be plunged into. The surrounding landscape of rocky, sandy mesas is a grand introduction to the Western Desert’s barren beauty.
**SIGHTS**
- **Golden Mummies Museum** - Only 10 of Bahariya’s richly decorated cache of 10,000 mummies are exhibited here. While the motifs are formulaic and the work is second-rate, the painted faces show a move away from stylised Pharaonic mummy decoration towards Fayoum portraiture. Underneath the wrappings, the embalmers’ work appears to have been sloppy, so these mummies mark the beginning of the end of mummification.
- **Ain Gomma** is one of the most magnificent springs around. Cool, crystal-clear water gushes into this small pool surrounded by the vast desert expanse, and the funkiest cafe in all of the oases sits beside it. Situated near the town of Al Hayz, you can take a Dakhla-bound bus here, but it’s difficult to get back without your own transport. Many safari trips to the White Desert will stop here en route.
- Clearly visible from the road to Cairo, flat-topped **Gebel Al Ingleez**, also known as Black Mountain, takes its name from a WWI lookout post. From here Captain Williams, a British officer, monitored the movements of Libyan Senussi tribesmen. But the real reason to come up here is for the fantastic panoramic views, which roll out across the oasis and to the desert beyond.
**GETTING THERE**
From the bus ticket kiosk near the post office, Upper Egypt Bus Co has services to Cairo (5 hours) at 6am, 8am, 10am and 3pm. They are often full, so it’s strongly advisable to buy tickets the day before travelling. There are two more Cairo-bound buses that originate in Dakhla and pass through Bawiti around noon and midnight, stopping at the Hilal Coffeehouse (Sharia Misr) at the western end of town.
If you are heading to Farafra (2 hours) and Dakhla (4 to 5 hours) you can hop on one of the buses headed that way from Cairo. They leave Bahariya around noon from the ticket office.

White Desert
Upon first glimpse of the 300-sq-km national park of the White Desert (Sahra Al Beida; US$5), you’ll feel like Alice through the looking-glass. About 120km south of Bahariya Oasis, on the east side of the road, blinding-white chalk rock spires sprout almost supernaturally from the ground, each frost-coloured lollipop licked into a surreal landscape of familiar and unfamiliar shapes by the dry desert winds. The sand around the outcroppings is littered with quartz and different varieties of deep-black iron pyrites, as well as small fossils. On the west side of the Farafra–Bahariya highway, away from the wind-hewn sculptures, chalk towers called inselbergs burst from the desert floor into a spectacular white canyon. Between them run grand boulevards of sand, like geologic Champs-Élysées.
White Desert and Black Desert excursions are easy to arrange in Bahariya. A half-day Black Desert trip costs LE500; a one-night camping trip into the White Desert, including a stop-off at the Black Desert, will cost about LE1600.
Despite the fact that camping in the desert outside the oases is not allowed currently, the tourist police turns a blind eye to safari outfits in Bahariya organising short overnight trips to the White Desert. Two decent Bahariya based tour companies to consider:
- White Desert Tours (www.whitedeserttours.com)
- Eden Garden Tours (www.edengardentours.com)
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Black Desert
About 50km south of Bahariya Oasis, is the Black Desert (Sahra Suda). Here, layers of black powder and stones, formed by the erosion of mountains, spread across the peaks and plateaus.
White Desert and Black Desert excursions are easy to arrange in Bahariya. A half-day Black Desert trip costs LE500; a one-night camping trip into the White Desert, including a stop-off at the Black Desert, will cost about LE1600.
Despite the fact that camping in the desert outside the oases is not allowed currently, the tourist police turns a blind eye to safari outfits in Bahariya organising short overnight trips to the White Desert. Two decent Bahariya based tour companies to consider:
- White Desert Tours (www.whitedeserttours.com)
- Eden Garden Tours (www.edengardentours.com)
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Siwah Oasis
Siwah is the stuff of desert daydreams. Just 50km from the Libyan border, this fertile basin brimming with olive trees and palms, on the edge of the Great Sand Sea, epitomises slow-paced oasis life. Set between the shady groves, squat, slouching mud-brick hamlets are connected by winding dirt lanes where trundling donkey carts are still as much a part of the street action as puttering motorbikes and 4WDs. Scattered throughout the oasis are crystal-clear springs, which are a heavenly respite from the harsh heat.
**SIGHTS**
- **Fortress of Shali** - Central Siwa is dominated by the spectacular organic shapes of the remains of this 13th-century mud-brick fortress. Built from kershef (chunks of salt from the lake just outside town, mixed with rock and plastered in local clay), the labyrinth of huddled buildings was originally four or five storeys high and housed hundreds of people. A path leads over the slumping remnants, past the Old Mosque with its chimney-shaped minaret, to the top for panoramic views.
- This small hill, at the northern end of Siwa Town, is honeycombed with rock tombs peppered with wall paintings. Its name, **Gebel Al Mawta**, means ‘Mountain of the Dead’ and most of the tombs here date back to the 26th dynasty, Ptolemaic and Roman times. Only 1km from the centre of town, the tombs were used by the Siwans as shelters when the Italians bombed the oasis during WWII.
- The 26th-dynasty **Temple of the Oracle** sits in the northwest corner of the ruins of Aghurmi village. Built in the 6th century BC, probably on top of an earlier temple, it was dedicated to Amun (occasionally referred to as Zeus or Jupiter Ammon) and was a powerful symbol of the town’s wealth. It is believed Alexander the Great was declared son of Amun in this temple.
- Following the track that leads to the Temple of the Oracle and continuing past the Temple of Umm Ubayd will lead you to Siwa’s most famous spring. The crystal-clear water of **Cleopatra’s Spring** gurgles up into a large stone pool, which is a popular bathing spot for locals and tourists alike. A couple of lovely cafes have comfortable shaded lounging areas and serve soft drinks and delicious snacks; bring your own picnic if you want to hang out for a while.
**GETTING THERE**
Siwa’s bus stop and ticket office is opposite the tourist police station; when you arrive into town, however, you’ll be let off near the central market square. It’s sensible to buy your ticket ahead of time as buses are often full.
From the bus stop, West & Middle Delta Bus Co buses depart for Alexandria (8 hours), via Marsa Matruh (4 hours) at 7am, 10am and 10pm. Their direct Siwa–Cairo bus service (11 hours) runs on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday at 8pm. Otherwise, get a bus to Alexandria and change there.
** Microbuses going to Marsa Matruh leave from the main square near the King Fuad Mosque. They are more frequent and more comfortable than the West & Mid Delta bus - and the same price.

Al Quşayr
Far removed from the resort clamour of the rest of the Red Sea coast, the historic city of Al Quseir is a muddle of colourful and creaky coral-block architecture dating from the Ottoman era that sadly is bypassed by most tourists. Al Quseir has a history stretching back to Pharaonic times, when it was the main port for boats heading south to the fabled East African kingdom of Punt.
Ringed in between Sharia Al Gomhurriyya and the waterfront is Al Quseir’s old town. It’s a twisting labyrinth of alleyways where progress seems happy to hit the snooze button and local life is snail-paced. Within the squiggle of lanes below the Ottoman fortress (Sharia Al Gomhurriyya; LE15; h9am-5pm), wind your way past pastel-washed houses, some still boasting original mashrabiyya (wooden lattice) window screens and in various states of decay, while looking out for hand-painted hajj decorations and quirkily coloured doors.
GETTING THERE:
The bus station is roughly 500m north-west from the old town. Buses run to Cairo (10 hours) via Hurghada (1½ to 2hours), departing at 11am, noon, 9pm and 10.30pm. Buses to Marsa Alam (2 hours) leave at 9am, 2pm, 9pm, 10pm and midnight.
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El Gouna
[El Gouna](http://www.elgouna.com/) is a self-contained holiday town and probably the best-run resort in Egypt. Boasting 16 hotels, an 18-hole golf course, plenty of villas, and boutique shopping, restaurants and bars galore, it’s about as far removed from Egypt’s usual chaotic hustle as you can get. The only local experience you are likely to have is smoking shisha (albeit on a marina terrace overlooking some mighty swanky yachts). But if you’re after a place to laze on a beach and do some diving, then you’ll definitely enjoy your time here.
El Gouna is a paradise for water sports. A variety of dive operators and resort activity centres offer a laundry list of activities including sailing, ocean kayaking, fishing, parasailing, jet-skiing, windsurfing, kitesurfing and water-skiing. El Gouna is increasingly used by divers as an alternative base to explore the dive sites around Hurghada.
GETTING THERE
** Go Bus Co (www.gobus-eg.com) runs up to nine services daily to Cairo (6 hours). The ticket office and bus stop in El Gouna is on the main plaza in Kafr El Gouna, opposite the tourist information centre.
** To Hurghada, buses leave every 20 minutes between 7am and midnight from a bus stop also on the main plaza.
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Hurghada
Plucked from obscurity during the early days of the Red Sea’s tourism drive, the fishing village of Hurghada has long since morphed into today’s dense band of concrete that marches along the coastline for more than 20km. Still, it’s a convenient destination for combining a diving holiday with the Nile Valley sites. Further offshore there is still superb diving aplenty but coral reefs closest to the shore have been degraded by irresponsible reef use. Hurghada’s star has largely lost its lustre with package holiday-makers heading to El Gouna instead, while independent travellers prefer to press on to Dahab.
GETTING THERE:
** Hurghada Airport, near the resort strip, receives (mostly charter) flights direct from European destinations. EgyptAir (www.egyptair.com) has several daily flights to Cairo.
** Hurghada doesn’t have a central bus station. Instead, the major companies, including Upper Egypt Bus Co, Super Jet and Go Bus (www.gobus-eg.com), all arrive and depart from their own separate stations, which are strung out along Sharia An Nasr in Ad Dahar.
- Cairo 6-7 hours;
- Alexandria 9 hours;
- Luxor 4-5 hours;
- Marsa Alam 5 hours
- Aswan 7 hours
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Marsa Alam
In-the-know divers have been heading to Marsa Alam for years, attracted to the seas that offer up some of Egypt’s best diving just off the rugged coastline. The long-standing beach camps in this area all arrange dive packages and are specifically set up for those who want to spend most of their time underwater. While the town itself remains a sleepy, nondescript place, the strip of coast to its north and south has been snapped up by eager developers and is now home to a plethora of resorts and half-built hotels.
GETTING THERE:
** Marsa Alam Airport (www.portghalib.com/airport) is 67km north of Marsa Alam along the Al Quseir road. Arrange a transfer in advance with your hotel. EgyptAir has flights to Cairo four days per week.
** Marsa Alam bus station is just past the T-junction along the Edfu road. Buses to Cairo (10 to 11 hours) via Al Quseir (2 hours) and Hurghada (3½ to 4 hours) depart at 1.30pm and 8.30pm.

Ras Mohammed National Park
About 20km west of Sharm El Sheikh on the road from Al Tor lies the headland of Ras Mohammed National Park, named by local fishers for a cliff that resembles a man’s profile. The waters surrounding the peninsula are considered the jewel in the crown of the Red Sea. The park is visited annually by more than 50,000 visitors, enticed by the prospect of marvelling at some of the world’s most spectacular coral-reef ecosystems, including a profusion of coral species and teeming marine life. Most, if not all, of the Red Sea’s 1000 species of fish can be seen in the park’s waters, including sought-after pelagics, such as hammerheads, manta rays and whale sharks.
Ras Mohammed occupies a total of 480 sq km of land and sea, including the desert in and around the ras (headland), Tiran Island, and the shoreline between Sharm El Sheikh harbour and Nabq Protectorate.
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Sharm el-Sheikh
Purpose-built Sharm El Sheikh occupies a prime position on the southern coast of the Gulf of Aqaba with some of the world’s most amazing underwater scenery on its doorstep. The town devotes itself solely to sun-and-sea holidays offering a family-friendly vibe and resort comforts, with world-class diving thrown in.
That said, Sharm isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. The relentless sprawl of mega-hotels along the coastline here has led to pressing issues of environmental degradation. Many independent travellers prefer the lower-key town of Dahab.
**TOP DIVES AROUND SHARM**
- **Thistlegorm** (Sha’ab Ali) One of the top five wreck dives in the world.
- **Ras Um Sid** The highlight here is a spectacular gorgonian forest along a dramatic drop-off.
- **Thomas Reef** (Straits of Tiran) Plunging walls lined with soft coral, schooling fish and patrolling sharks.
- **Dunraven** This wreck, now encrusted in coral, sank in 1876.

Dahab
Low-key, laid-back and low-rise, Dahab is the Middle East’s prime beach resort for independent travellers. The startling transformation from dusty Bedouin outpost to spruced-up tourist village is not without its detractors, who reminisce of the days when beach bums dossed in basic huts by the shore. But for all the starry-eyed memories, prosperity has made the town cleaner and more family-friendly, and diving is now a much safer and more organised activity thanks to better regulation of operators. Reeled in by Dahab’s mellow ambience, many travellers plan a few nights here and instead stay for weeks.
The best reefs for snorkelling are **[Lighthouse and **[Eel both in Assalah. You can hire snorkelling gear from all the dive centres - keep in mind that some of the reefs have unexpected currents - so keep your wits about you.
Dahab is one of the best places in Sinai to arrange camel safaris into the dramatic mountains lining the coast, especially the spectacular **Ras Abu Gallum Protectorate**. Further afield, the desert area around Nuweiba is home to some of the South Sinai coast’s most interesting sights, including the **Coloured Canyon**.
All tour operators in Dahab also offer tours to Mt Sinai and St Katherine’s Monastery.

St Katherine Protectorate
St Katherine Protectorate incorporates a 4350-sq-km area of high-altitude desert and protects a wealth of historic sites sacred to the world’s three main monotheistic religions. Rising up out of the desert and jutting above the other peaks is the towering 2285m Mt Sinai (Gebel Musa). Tucked into a barren valley at Mt Sinai’s foot is the ancient St Katherine’s Monastery. Approximately 3.5km from here is the small town of Al Milga, which is also called Katreen and is known as the ‘Meeting Place’ by local Jabaliyya Bedouin.
- The ancient monastery of **[St Katherine](http://www.sinaimonastery.com/)** traces its founding to about AD 330, when Byzantine empress Helena had a small chapel and a fortified refuge for local hermits built beside what was believed to be the burning bush from which God spoke to Moses. Today St Katherine’s is considered one of the oldest continually functioning monastic communities in the world. If the monastery museum is locked, ask at the Church of the Transfiguration for the key.
- Known locally as Gebel Musa, **Mt Sinai** is revered by Christians, Muslims and Jews, all of whom believe that God delivered his Ten Commandments to Moses at its summit. The mountain is easy and beautiful to climb, and offers a taste of the magnificence of southern Sinai’s high mountain region. For pilgrims, it also offers a moving glimpse into biblical times. All hikers must be accompanied by a local Bedouin guide (hired from the monastery car park).
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Nueiba
Stretching over 15km, Nuweiba lacks a defined centre or cohesive ambience, and functions primarily as a port for the Aqaba-bound ferry to Jordan. Tarabin (Nuweiba’s beach-front area) is home to a scattering of low-key beach camps but due to a lack of tourism trade many have been left to go to seed.
The coastline stretching north from Nuweiba to Taba though, is Egypt’s last bastion of the traditional beach camp. Ideal for those who want to seriously veg out, this stretch of shore is all about back-to-basics beach living.

Taba
If you’re entering Egypt overland from Israel and the Palestinian Territories, the scruffy border town of Taba, loomed over by the monolithic Taba Hotel and backed by barren hills, will be your first taste of the Sinai. With its narrow shore lapped by the azure blue waters of the Gulf of Aqaba, this coastline has been bigged-up by developers as the new Sharm El Sheikh for years. A combination of security worries and a heavily destructive flood in 2014 have continued to put the brakes on Taba’s dreams of sun-and-fun holidaymaker hordes though.
For fully resort-based holidays Taba provides good beach-break deals. Though for sand-between-your-toes beach-hut bliss, hop a bit further south to the beach camps along the Taba–Nuweiba road.