Co-Author: Kankana Debnath
One of the countries that we always wanted to visit was Egypt. The pyramids, the stories of the pharaohs always captured our imagination.
In October, 2022 we visited Egypt and we have to say, we were just spellbound by this magical historical country.
In this article, we will share our experience of this trip and in the embedded YouTube videos, we will provide a virtual tour of the places.
Cairo: We started our trip from Cairo, the capital of Egypt. Cairo is a densely populated city and has the museums. Close to Cairo is the city of Giza which has Pyramids, including the The Great Pyramid. The Great Pyramid is the oldest and the only surviving “Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.” Built more than 4500 years ago, the sheer size and the beauty of the structure is just jaw dropping. The Great Pyramid has 2 more pyramids close by and the Sphinx is just in front of the pyramids. There are camel tours also available from this place. Below are the pictures and YouTube video of The Pyramids:
In Cairo, we also visited the Egyptian Museum. The Egyptian Museum provides a great insight on the Pharaonic Era. It also has excavated relics of historic Egypt including the Mummies and it should not be missed if you are in Cairo. Below are the pictures and YouTube video of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo:
In Cairo, we stayed in the Pyramids Park Resort. Below are the pictures and YouTube video:
Aswan: From Cairo, we took the overnight train to travel to Aswan. The Train was pretty good with Air-conditioned Coupe for 2 people. The sleepers are quite spacious and they provide Dinner and Breakfast. Since there are dedicated trains for tourists and they are pre-booked, there was no overcrowding and looked safe to us. On reaching Aswan, first we saw the High Dam. The massive High Dam on the River Nile is one of the World’s largest embankment dams and it creates the reservoir, Lake Nasser. Lake Nasser is 5250 square kilometres and spreads into neighbouring Sudan as well. Below are the pictures and YouTube video of the High Dam:
Then we visited the Philae Temple. It is Greco-Roman temple on an Island. The temple was moved from a lower region to the present one as the Lake Nasser was formed. Below are the pictures and YouTube video of the Philae Temple:
The Nile Cruise: At Aswan, we boarded the Nile Cruise. We spent 3 nights in the cruise before deboarding in Luxor. One interesting thing to observe while on the cruise is the passing of the ship through the Esna Lock. The ship goes through the Esna Dam and as the Water Levels are different between the 2 sides of the Dam, the ship goes through the lock for water adjustment. Below are pictures and YouTube video of the Nile Cruise:
Also, remember to watch the interesting YouTube video and picture of the passing of the cruise through the Esna Lock below:
Before the cruise left Aswan, we visited Abu Simbel. Abu Simbel is about 300 Kms from Aswan and it gets really hot there, we left very early in the morning. The entire route goes through the desert. There are 2 massive rock cut temples on the side of Lake Nasser. Similar to the Philae Temple, this temple was also moved when the High Dam was built. Below are the pictures and YouTube video of Temples of Abu Simbel and its surroundings:
The cruise then took to Kom Ombo Temple and Crocodile Museum. The Kom Ombo Temple and Crocodile Museum is just by the River Nile. Below are the pictures and YouTube video of Kom Ombo Temple and Crocodile Museum:
The next morning, we reached Edfu. Edfu Temple is also a Greco-Roman Temple and it is very well preserved. Below is the picture and YouTube video of the Edfu Temple:
Luxor: Often known as “World’s Greatest open-air museum” is home to the famous Karnak Temple and the Luxor Temple. The beauty of this city is hard to describe. This place is filled with history and amazing temples. Also, it is worth to visit the Souk.
Close to Luxor is also the Valley of Kings which contains the tombs of the Kings of Egypt. The place is awe-inspiring. There are plenty of tombs including the famous Tomb of Tutankhamun. Below are pictures and YouTube video of the Valley of Kings:
From there, we visited the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, one of rare temples dedicated to a queen. Below are pictures and YouTube video of the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut:
Then we visited famous Karnak Temple. Karnak Temple was constantly added and modified by different rulers resulting in a mix of different architectural styles. Below are pictures and YouTube video of the Karnak Temple:
The last temple that we visited was the Luxor Temple situated on the bank of River Nile. Below are the pictures and YouTube video of the Luxor Temple:
Alexandria: On our last day of our trip, we visited Alexandria which is situated by the Mediterranean Sea. We saw the Catacomb and Pompey’s Pillar.
Below are pictures and YouTube video of the Catacomb:
Below is the picture and YouTube video Pompey’s Pillar:
Then we went to the Citadel of Qaitbay. The view from the Citadel of the Mediterranean Sea, the Coast Line and the City is Alexandria overall is outstanding. The Citadel was built after the Lighthouse of Alexandria collapsed after an earthquake. The Lighthouse of Alexandra was the 2nd monument of Egypt which was considered of the “Seven wonders of the Ancient World” apart from The Great Pyramid. Below are the pictures and YouTube video of the Citadel of Qaitbay:
The ideal time to visit Egypt is the during November to January as it gets very hot in the Summer. We visited in October and still in some places, the temperatures were over 40 degrees Celsius.
