Egypt Travel Guide

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2019 2019 Fodor’s Go List Destination

Fodor's Essential Egypt
Whether you want to cruise the Nile, explore the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, or see the...

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To say the least, Egypt is rich with temples: soaring lotus-bud columns, enormous stone portals laced with delicate carvings, elaborate underground tombs, windswept desert monasteries, and richly decorated mosques. But as extraordinary as these sights are, they will probably not be the things that linger in your memory after you return home. It is the rhythm of life in Egypt–-from the Mediterranean feel of Alexandria to the electric pace of Cairo to the timelessness of desert villages–-that is unforgettable. In a world that seems to get smaller and more homogeneous by the day, Egypt, outside a few pockets, is still a place that exists for its residents, not its visitors. It is the real thing. As a visitor you will have to learn how to accommodate Egypt and not hope that Egypt, with 5,00... Read More

Fodor's Essential Egypt
Whether you want to cruise the Nile, explore the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, or see the...

View Details

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The Best Hotels in Africa

La Maison Bleue El Gouna, Egypt

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FODOR'S FINEST

The Best Hotels in Africa

La Maison Bleue El Gouna, Egypt

Find a Hotel

FODOR'S FINEST

The Best Hotels in Africa

La Maison Bleue El Gouna, Egypt

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Cairo

On first impression, there is hardly a superlative too extreme to capture the epic scale of this city of some 15 million—or 14, or 16;...

Luxor and the Nile Valley

The ultimate proof of Herodotus's claim that "Egypt is a gift of the Nile" is visible on a flight from Cairo to Upper Egypt. From...

Alexandria

There is a wonderful Italo Calvino story about a city so removed from its own history that it is as if the modern metropolis sits...

Luxor

Known in antiquity as Thebes, Luxor takes its name from the Arabic al-Uqsur (the palaces). It is a town that merits both poetry and a...

Aswan and Lake Nasser

Egyptians today take for granted modern control of the Nile: they open their faucets complacently, even if they don't always obtain the desired results. But...

Sharm el-Sheikh

In the mid-1980s, Sharm El-Sheikh, at the Sinai's southern tip, had one hotel, two dive centers, and a snack bar. Today this bustling little town...

Aswan

For thousands of years Aswan was the "Southern Gate," the last outpost of the Egyptian empire. Its name comes from the ancient Egyptian swenet ("making...

Side Trips from Cairo

In order that the living could view the grandeur of the dead god-kings—and, in many cases, be buried alongside them—ancient Egyptians used the sites in...

El Gouna

El Gouna is the dream of an Egyptian businessman who has utterly transformed a secluded bay and its surrounding resources. In 10 years, this virgin...

Hurghada

Hurghada is an old fishing town that became a popular base for diving in the 1960s. As a result of the 1967 war between Egypt...

The Fayyum

The Fayyum is one of the largest and most fertile of all Egyptian oases, with an overall population of about 2 million people. Unlike the...

Dahab

The drive from Sharm to Dahab snakes through the mountains of south Sinai offering you a peek at the precipitous peaks of the interior. Dahab...

Saqqara

Approached through orchards of waving palm trees, Saqqara is best known for being the site of the earliest stone pyramid constructed in Egypt, the Step...

Taba

Taba borders Israel and is a sister city of the Israeli resort town of Eilat. It has been important since biblical times as a stopover...

The Monasteries of Saint Anthony and Saint Paul

Egypt's oldest monasteries stand at the forefront of Christian monastic history. Isolated in the mountains near the Red Sea, they have spectacular settings and views...

Bur Sa'id (Port Said)

Seaside Bur Sa‘id is a charming and lively town with a decidedly European feel—and fading glamour from the era of the big ocean liners. Much...

Nuweiba

Nuweiba serves as both a crucial Gulf of Aqaba port and a resort with a couple of hotel areas and a quaint town center. Its...

El-Quseir

Until the completion of the Suez Canal, el-Quseir was a crucial port, principally because of the hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) and Middle East trade. With...

Abu Simbel

Abu Simbel began as a small village of a few houses clustered at some distance from the temples of Abu Simbel. Now it is a...

Dahshur

Named for the pinkish limestone of which it is made, the Red (North) Pyramid belonged to the 4th-Dynasty pharaoh Sneferu (2575–2551 BC), father of Khufu...

Al Minya

The best place for a base in Middle Egypt is the city of Al Minya, untouristed until now. Its name has varied only slightly through...

The Wadi Natrun Monasteries

One of the many Egyptian contributions to Christianity was the idea of going off into the wilderness to subject yourself to all manner of deprivation...

Ismailiya

Halfway between Bur Sa‘id and Suez, this quaint city on Lake Timsah was founded by and named after Khedive Isma‘il for those working on the...

St. Catherine's Monastery

The very image of the walled monasteries pictured in luxurious medieval tapestries, Saint Catherine's rests at the foot of Mount Sinai, nestled in a valley...

Abydos

The East Bank drive from Luxor to Abydos takes you north along the canals and farm roads that form the backbone of rural life in...

Bur Safaga (Port Safaga)

Like other cities on the Red Sea, this commercial town has been undergoing a transformation, slowly metamorphosing into a holiday resort. Like other cities on...

Daraw Camel Market

Known for its Sunday camel market, Daraw is otherwise a hot, dusty, and flyblown place...

Edfu

Although the town itself is somewhat dull, Edfu's temple, dedicated to Horus, would make even Cecil B. DeMille gasp. It is the most intact of...

Abu Sir

Abu Sir is the site of four pyramids—three of which are obvious, the fourth one less so—all dating to the 5th Dynasty (2465–2323 BC), as...

Al-Ashmunayn (Hermopolis)

The site features a late-Roman basilica, the only surviving large building of its kind in Egypt, as well as a giant statue of the god...

Tuna al-Gebel

Tuna al-Gebel was the necropolis of Hermopolis—a large and scattered site, its focal point being a cluster of Greco-Roman tombs. These tombs, built literally as...

Tel el Amarna

Little remains of the magnificent town of Akhetaten, which was founded by the apparently monotheist pharaoh Akhenaton in the late 18th Dynasty...

Dendera

The prime point of interest in Dendera, a small village north of Luxor, is the Temple of Hathor. The countryside along the way is pleasantly...

Kom Ombo

Kom Ombo, a fertile area, is interesting because it supports not only its original Egyptian inhabitants, but also a large Nubian community that was resettled...

El-Kab

El-Kab, on the East Bank of the Nile, is the site of an impressive though imperfectly preserved town, temple area, and tombs...

Esna

The town of Esna enjoyed some notoriety in the 19th century, when quite a number of singers, dancers, prostitutes, and other similar folk were exiled...

Philae

Whereas most ancient temples are surrounded by modern habitations, the temple of Philae stands alone on an island a few miles south of Aswan...

Jabal Moussa (Mount Sinai)

Mount Sinai rises above Saint Catherine's Monastery to the spot where Moses is supposed to have received the Ten Commandments...

Ain Sukhna

The waters of Ain Sukhna (the name means "hot spring") originate at Jabal Ataka, a mountain on the Red Sea Coast. The turquoise water is...

Beni Hasan

This magnificent cemetery site is on the East Bank of the Nile...

Memphis

Little is visible of the grandeur of ancient Memphis, save for what is found in the museum and some excavated areas (not open to the...

The Aswan Dams

Two large dams have been built in Egypt to control the flow of the Nile and to preserve its flow for later irrigation of crops...

Interior Lake Nasser Monuments

All of Lake Nasser's interior monuments—those located apart from Aswan and Abu Simbel—can only be visited on a multiday lake cruise. They are set in...

New Kalabsha

This rocky island, redolent of fish, is uninhabited save for a few dogs, foxes, and the antiquities guards that care for the temple and monitor...

Marsa Alam

The far southern enclave of the Egyptian Red Sea Coast, Marsa Alam, has flourished since the opening of an international airport in 2001. The Port...

Cairo

On first impression, there is hardly a superlative too extreme to capture the epic scale of this city of some 15 million—or 14, or 16;...

Luxor and the Nile Valley

The ultimate proof of Herodotus's claim that "Egypt is a gift of the Nile" is visible on a flight from Cairo to Upper Egypt. From...

Alexandria

There is a wonderful Italo Calvino story about a city so removed from its own history that it is as if the modern metropolis sits...

Luxor

Known in antiquity as Thebes, Luxor takes its name from the Arabic al-Uqsur (the palaces). It is a town that merits both poetry and a...

Aswan and Lake Nasser

Egyptians today take for granted modern control of the Nile: they open their faucets complacently, even if they don't always obtain the desired results. But...

Sharm el-Sheikh

In the mid-1980s, Sharm El-Sheikh, at the Sinai's southern tip, had one hotel, two dive centers, and a snack bar. Today this bustling little town...

Aswan

For thousands of years Aswan was the "Southern Gate," the last outpost of the Egyptian empire. Its name comes from the ancient Egyptian swenet ("making...

Side Trips from Cairo

In order that the living could view the grandeur of the dead god-kings—and, in many cases, be buried alongside them—ancient Egyptians used the sites in...

El Gouna

El Gouna is the dream of an Egyptian businessman who has utterly transformed a secluded bay and its surrounding resources. In 10 years, this virgin...

Hurghada

Hurghada is an old fishing town that became a popular base for diving in the 1960s. As a result of the 1967 war between Egypt...

The Fayyum

The Fayyum is one of the largest and most fertile of all Egyptian oases, with an overall population of about 2 million people. Unlike the...

Dahab

The drive from Sharm to Dahab snakes through the mountains of south Sinai offering you a peek at the precipitous peaks of the interior. Dahab...

Saqqara

Approached through orchards of waving palm trees, Saqqara is best known for being the site of the earliest stone pyramid constructed in Egypt, the Step...

Taba

Taba borders Israel and is a sister city of the Israeli resort town of Eilat. It has been important since biblical times as a stopover...

The Monasteries of Saint Anthony and Saint Paul

Egypt's oldest monasteries stand at the forefront of Christian monastic history. Isolated in the mountains near the Red Sea, they have spectacular settings and views...

Bur Sa'id (Port Said)

Seaside Bur Sa‘id is a charming and lively town with a decidedly European feel—and fading glamour from the era of the big ocean liners. Much...

Nuweiba

Nuweiba serves as both a crucial Gulf of Aqaba port and a resort with a couple of hotel areas and a quaint town center. Its...

El-Quseir

Until the completion of the Suez Canal, el-Quseir was a crucial port, principally because of the hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) and Middle East trade. With...

Abu Simbel

Abu Simbel began as a small village of a few houses clustered at some distance from the temples of Abu Simbel. Now it is a...

Dahshur

Named for the pinkish limestone of which it is made, the Red (North) Pyramid belonged to the 4th-Dynasty pharaoh Sneferu (2575–2551 BC), father of Khufu...

Al Minya

The best place for a base in Middle Egypt is the city of Al Minya, untouristed until now. Its name has varied only slightly through...

The Wadi Natrun Monasteries

One of the many Egyptian contributions to Christianity was the idea of going off into the wilderness to subject yourself to all manner of deprivation...

Ismailiya

Halfway between Bur Sa‘id and Suez, this quaint city on Lake Timsah was founded by and named after Khedive Isma‘il for those working on the...

St. Catherine's Monastery

The very image of the walled monasteries pictured in luxurious medieval tapestries, Saint Catherine's rests at the foot of Mount Sinai, nestled in a valley...

Abydos

The East Bank drive from Luxor to Abydos takes you north along the canals and farm roads that form the backbone of rural life in...

Bur Safaga (Port Safaga)

Like other cities on the Red Sea, this commercial town has been undergoing a transformation, slowly metamorphosing into a holiday resort. Like other cities on...

Daraw Camel Market

Known for its Sunday camel market, Daraw is otherwise a hot, dusty, and flyblown place...

Edfu

Although the town itself is somewhat dull, Edfu's temple, dedicated to Horus, would make even Cecil B. DeMille gasp. It is the most intact of...

Abu Sir

Abu Sir is the site of four pyramids—three of which are obvious, the fourth one less so—all dating to the 5th Dynasty (2465–2323 BC), as...

Al-Ashmunayn (Hermopolis)

The site features a late-Roman basilica, the only surviving large building of its kind in Egypt, as well as a giant statue of the god...

Tuna al-Gebel

Tuna al-Gebel was the necropolis of Hermopolis—a large and scattered site, its focal point being a cluster of Greco-Roman tombs. These tombs, built literally as...

Tel el Amarna

Little remains of the magnificent town of Akhetaten, which was founded by the apparently monotheist pharaoh Akhenaton in the late 18th Dynasty...

Dendera

The prime point of interest in Dendera, a small village north of Luxor, is the Temple of Hathor. The countryside along the way is pleasantly...

Kom Ombo

Kom Ombo, a fertile area, is interesting because it supports not only its original Egyptian inhabitants, but also a large Nubian community that was resettled...

El-Kab

El-Kab, on the East Bank of the Nile, is the site of an impressive though imperfectly preserved town, temple area, and tombs...

Esna

The town of Esna enjoyed some notoriety in the 19th century, when quite a number of singers, dancers, prostitutes, and other similar folk were exiled...

Philae

Whereas most ancient temples are surrounded by modern habitations, the temple of Philae stands alone on an island a few miles south of Aswan...

Jabal Moussa (Mount Sinai)

Mount Sinai rises above Saint Catherine's Monastery to the spot where Moses is supposed to have received the Ten Commandments...

Ain Sukhna

The waters of Ain Sukhna (the name means "hot spring") originate at Jabal Ataka, a mountain on the Red Sea Coast. The turquoise water is...

Beni Hasan

This magnificent cemetery site is on the East Bank of the Nile...

Memphis

Little is visible of the grandeur of ancient Memphis, save for what is found in the museum and some excavated areas (not open to the...

The Aswan Dams

Two large dams have been built in Egypt to control the flow of the Nile and to preserve its flow for later irrigation of crops...

Interior Lake Nasser Monuments

All of Lake Nasser's interior monuments—those located apart from Aswan and Abu Simbel—can only be visited on a multiday lake cruise. They are set in...

New Kalabsha

This rocky island, redolent of fish, is uninhabited save for a few dogs, foxes, and the antiquities guards that care for the temple and monitor...

Marsa Alam

The far southern enclave of the Egyptian Red Sea Coast, Marsa Alam, has flourished since the opening of an international airport in 2001. The Port...

Cairo

On first impression, there is hardly a superlative too extreme to capture the epic scale of this city of some 15 million—or 14, or 16;...

Alexandria

There is a wonderful Italo Calvino story about a city so removed from its own history that it is as if the modern metropolis sits...

Luxor

Known in antiquity as Thebes, Luxor takes its name from the Arabic al-Uqsur (the palaces). It is a town that merits both poetry and a...

Sharm el-Sheikh

In the mid-1980s, Sharm El-Sheikh, at the Sinai's southern tip, had one hotel, two dive centers, and a snack bar. Today this bustling little town...

Aswan

For thousands of years Aswan was the "Southern Gate," the last outpost of the Egyptian empire. Its name comes from the ancient Egyptian swenet ("making...

El Gouna

El Gouna is the dream of an Egyptian businessman who has utterly transformed a secluded bay and its surrounding resources. In 10 years, this virgin...

Hurghada

Hurghada is an old fishing town that became a popular base for diving in the 1960s. As a result of the 1967 war between Egypt...

The Fayyum

The Fayyum is one of the largest and most fertile of all Egyptian oases, with an overall population of about 2 million people. Unlike the...

Dahab

The drive from Sharm to Dahab snakes through the mountains of south Sinai offering you a peek at the precipitous peaks of the interior. Dahab...

Saqqara

Approached through orchards of waving palm trees, Saqqara is best known for being the site of the earliest stone pyramid constructed in Egypt, the Step...

Taba

Taba borders Israel and is a sister city of the Israeli resort town of Eilat. It has been important since biblical times as a stopover...

The Monasteries of Saint Anthony and Saint Paul

Egypt's oldest monasteries stand at the forefront of Christian monastic history. Isolated in the mountains near the Red Sea, they have spectacular settings and views...

Bur Sa'id (Port Said)

Seaside Bur Sa‘id is a charming and lively town with a decidedly European feel—and fading glamour from the era of the big ocean liners. Much...

Nuweiba

Nuweiba serves as both a crucial Gulf of Aqaba port and a resort with a couple of hotel areas and a quaint town center. Its...

The Wadi Natrun Monasteries

One of the many Egyptian contributions to Christianity was the idea of going off into the wilderness to subject yourself to all manner of deprivation...

Al Minya

The best place for a base in Middle Egypt is the city of Al Minya, untouristed until now. Its name has varied only slightly through...

El-Quseir

Until the completion of the Suez Canal, el-Quseir was a crucial port, principally because of the hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) and Middle East trade. With...

Ismailiya

Halfway between Bur Sa‘id and Suez, this quaint city on Lake Timsah was founded by and named after Khedive Isma‘il for those working on the...

Abu Simbel

Abu Simbel began as a small village of a few houses clustered at some distance from the temples of Abu Simbel. Now it is a...

Dahshur

Named for the pinkish limestone of which it is made, the Red (North) Pyramid belonged to the 4th-Dynasty pharaoh Sneferu (2575–2551 BC), father of Khufu...

Bur Safaga (Port Safaga)

Like other cities on the Red Sea, this commercial town has been undergoing a transformation, slowly metamorphosing into a holiday resort. Like other cities on...

Abydos

The East Bank drive from Luxor to Abydos takes you north along the canals and farm roads that form the backbone of rural life in...

Daraw Camel Market

Known for its Sunday camel market, Daraw is otherwise a hot, dusty, and flyblown place...

El-Kab

El-Kab, on the East Bank of the Nile, is the site of an impressive though imperfectly preserved town, temple area, and tombs...

Abu Sir

Abu Sir is the site of four pyramids—three of which are obvious, the fourth one less so—all dating to the 5th Dynasty (2465–2323 BC), as...

Philae

Whereas most ancient temples are surrounded by modern habitations, the temple of Philae stands alone on an island a few miles south of Aswan...

Ain Sukhna

The waters of Ain Sukhna (the name means "hot spring") originate at Jabal Ataka, a mountain on the Red Sea Coast. The turquoise water is...

Tel el Amarna

Little remains of the magnificent town of Akhetaten, which was founded by the apparently monotheist pharaoh Akhenaton in the late 18th Dynasty...

Jabal Moussa (Mount Sinai)

Mount Sinai rises above Saint Catherine's Monastery to the spot where Moses is supposed to have received the Ten Commandments...

Kom Ombo

Kom Ombo, a fertile area, is interesting because it supports not only its original Egyptian inhabitants, but also a large Nubian community that was resettled...

Edfu

Although the town itself is somewhat dull, Edfu's temple, dedicated to Horus, would make even Cecil B. DeMille gasp. It is the most intact of...

Beni Hasan

This magnificent cemetery site is on the East Bank of the Nile...

Al-Ashmunayn (Hermopolis)

The site features a late-Roman basilica, the only surviving large building of its kind in Egypt, as well as a giant statue of the god...

Esna

The town of Esna enjoyed some notoriety in the 19th century, when quite a number of singers, dancers, prostitutes, and other similar folk were exiled...

Tuna al-Gebel

Tuna al-Gebel was the necropolis of Hermopolis—a large and scattered site, its focal point being a cluster of Greco-Roman tombs. These tombs, built literally as...

Dendera

The prime point of interest in Dendera, a small village north of Luxor, is the Temple of Hathor. The countryside along the way is pleasantly...

Memphis

Little is visible of the grandeur of ancient Memphis, save for what is found in the museum and some excavated areas (not open to the...

The Aswan Dams

Two large dams have been built in Egypt to control the flow of the Nile and to preserve its flow for later irrigation of crops...

New Kalabsha

This rocky island, redolent of fish, is uninhabited save for a few dogs, foxes, and the antiquities guards that care for the temple and monitor...

Interior Lake Nasser Monuments

All of Lake Nasser's interior monuments—those located apart from Aswan and Abu Simbel—can only be visited on a multiday lake cruise. They are set in...

Marsa Alam

The far southern enclave of the Egyptian Red Sea Coast, Marsa Alam, has flourished since the opening of an international airport in 2001. The Port...

Cairo

On first impression, there is hardly a superlative too extreme to capture the epic scale of this city of some 15 million—or 14, or 16;...

Alexandria

There is a wonderful Italo Calvino story about a city so removed from its own history that it is as if the modern metropolis sits...

Luxor

Known in antiquity as Thebes, Luxor takes its name from the Arabic al-Uqsur (the palaces). It is a town that merits both poetry and a...

Sharm el-Sheikh

In the mid-1980s, Sharm El-Sheikh, at the Sinai's southern tip, had one hotel, two dive centers, and a snack bar. Today this bustling little town...

Aswan

For thousands of years Aswan was the "Southern Gate," the last outpost of the Egyptian empire. Its name comes from the ancient Egyptian swenet ("making...

El Gouna

El Gouna is the dream of an Egyptian businessman who has utterly transformed a secluded bay and its surrounding resources. In 10 years, this virgin...

Hurghada

Hurghada is an old fishing town that became a popular base for diving in the 1960s. As a result of the 1967 war between Egypt...

The Fayyum

The Fayyum is one of the largest and most fertile of all Egyptian oases, with an overall population of about 2 million people. Unlike the...

Dahab

The drive from Sharm to Dahab snakes through the mountains of south Sinai offering you a peek at the precipitous peaks of the interior. Dahab...

Saqqara

Approached through orchards of waving palm trees, Saqqara is best known for being the site of the earliest stone pyramid constructed in Egypt, the Step...

Taba

Taba borders Israel and is a sister city of the Israeli resort town of Eilat. It has been important since biblical times as a stopover...

The Monasteries of Saint Anthony and Saint Paul

Egypt's oldest monasteries stand at the forefront of Christian monastic history. Isolated in the mountains near the Red Sea, they have spectacular settings and views...

Bur Sa'id (Port Said)

Seaside Bur Sa‘id is a charming and lively town with a decidedly European feel—and fading glamour from the era of the big ocean liners. Much...

Nuweiba

Nuweiba serves as both a crucial Gulf of Aqaba port and a resort with a couple of hotel areas and a quaint town center. Its...

The Wadi Natrun Monasteries

One of the many Egyptian contributions to Christianity was the idea of going off into the wilderness to subject yourself to all manner of deprivation...

Al Minya

The best place for a base in Middle Egypt is the city of Al Minya, untouristed until now. Its name has varied only slightly through...

El-Quseir

Until the completion of the Suez Canal, el-Quseir was a crucial port, principally because of the hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) and Middle East trade. With...

Ismailiya

Halfway between Bur Sa‘id and Suez, this quaint city on Lake Timsah was founded by and named after Khedive Isma‘il for those working on the...

Abu Simbel

Abu Simbel began as a small village of a few houses clustered at some distance from the temples of Abu Simbel. Now it is a...

Dahshur

Named for the pinkish limestone of which it is made, the Red (North) Pyramid belonged to the 4th-Dynasty pharaoh Sneferu (2575–2551 BC), father of Khufu...

Bur Safaga (Port Safaga)

Like other cities on the Red Sea, this commercial town has been undergoing a transformation, slowly metamorphosing into a holiday resort. Like other cities on...

Abydos

The East Bank drive from Luxor to Abydos takes you north along the canals and farm roads that form the backbone of rural life in...

Daraw Camel Market

Known for its Sunday camel market, Daraw is otherwise a hot, dusty, and flyblown place...

El-Kab

El-Kab, on the East Bank of the Nile, is the site of an impressive though imperfectly preserved town, temple area, and tombs...

Abu Sir

Abu Sir is the site of four pyramids—three of which are obvious, the fourth one less so—all dating to the 5th Dynasty (2465–2323 BC), as...

Philae

Whereas most ancient temples are surrounded by modern habitations, the temple of Philae stands alone on an island a few miles south of Aswan...

Ain Sukhna

The waters of Ain Sukhna (the name means "hot spring") originate at Jabal Ataka, a mountain on the Red Sea Coast. The turquoise water is...

Tel el Amarna

Little remains of the magnificent town of Akhetaten, which was founded by the apparently monotheist pharaoh Akhenaton in the late 18th Dynasty...

Jabal Moussa (Mount Sinai)

Mount Sinai rises above Saint Catherine's Monastery to the spot where Moses is supposed to have received the Ten Commandments...

Kom Ombo

Kom Ombo, a fertile area, is interesting because it supports not only its original Egyptian inhabitants, but also a large Nubian community that was resettled...

Edfu

Although the town itself is somewhat dull, Edfu's temple, dedicated to Horus, would make even Cecil B. DeMille gasp. It is the most intact of...

Beni Hasan

This magnificent cemetery site is on the East Bank of the Nile...

Al-Ashmunayn (Hermopolis)

The site features a late-Roman basilica, the only surviving large building of its kind in Egypt, as well as a giant statue of the god...

Esna

The town of Esna enjoyed some notoriety in the 19th century, when quite a number of singers, dancers, prostitutes, and other similar folk were exiled...

Tuna al-Gebel

Tuna al-Gebel was the necropolis of Hermopolis—a large and scattered site, its focal point being a cluster of Greco-Roman tombs. These tombs, built literally as...

Dendera

The prime point of interest in Dendera, a small village north of Luxor, is the Temple of Hathor. The countryside along the way is pleasantly...

Memphis

Little is visible of the grandeur of ancient Memphis, save for what is found in the museum and some excavated areas (not open to the...

The Aswan Dams

Two large dams have been built in Egypt to control the flow of the Nile and to preserve its flow for later irrigation of crops...

New Kalabsha

This rocky island, redolent of fish, is uninhabited save for a few dogs, foxes, and the antiquities guards that care for the temple and monitor...

Interior Lake Nasser Monuments

All of Lake Nasser's interior monuments—those located apart from Aswan and Abu Simbel—can only be visited on a multiday lake cruise. They are set in...

Marsa Alam

The far southern enclave of the Egyptian Red Sea Coast, Marsa Alam, has flourished since the opening of an international airport in 2001. The Port...

Sharm el-Sheikh and Red Sea Coast

For centuries, European traders and Arab merchants had to sail around the Cape of Good Hope to travel east to Asia from Europe and the...

Western Desert Oases

A few hundred years ago the only outsiders interested in Egypt's oases were occasional desert raiders bent on stealing the fruits from the orchards, destroying...

Luxor and the Nile Valley

The ultimate proof of Herodotus's claim that "Egypt is a gift of the Nile" is visible on a flight from Cairo to Upper Egypt. From...

Aswan and Lake Nasser

Egyptians today take for granted modern control of the Nile: they open their faucets complacently, even if they don't always obtain the desired results. But...

Side Trips from Cairo

In order that the living could view the grandeur of the dead god-kings—and, in many cases, be buried alongside them—ancient Egyptians used the sites in...

The Theban Necropolis

At the edge of cultivated land across the Nile from what the ancients called Thebes—the City of 100 Gates—lies their City of the Dead, arguably...

Lake Nasser

...

Sharm el-Sheikh and Red Sea Coast

For centuries, European traders and Arab merchants had to sail around the Cape of Good Hope to travel east to Asia from Europe and the...

Western Desert Oases

A few hundred years ago the only outsiders interested in Egypt's oases were occasional desert raiders bent on stealing the fruits from the orchards, destroying...

Luxor and the Nile Valley

The ultimate proof of Herodotus's claim that "Egypt is a gift of the Nile" is visible on a flight from Cairo to Upper Egypt. From...

Aswan and Lake Nasser

Egyptians today take for granted modern control of the Nile: they open their faucets complacently, even if they don't always obtain the desired results. But...

Side Trips from Cairo

In order that the living could view the grandeur of the dead god-kings—and, in many cases, be buried alongside them—ancient Egyptians used the sites in...