The coral reefs of the Red Sea are renowned among scuba divers for both the soft corals on display and the vast amount of sea life, ranging from colorful reef fish and nudibranchs to sharks, dolphins, turtles, rays, and even dugongs.įor divers, the most famous town to base yourself in is Sharm el-Sheikh on the Sinai Peninsula, closest to the reefs of Ras Mohammed National Park, as well as the reefs of the Straits of Tiran. Diving the Red Sea Divers enjoying the underwater beauty of the Red Seaīelow the Red Sea's surface is another world as fascinating as the temples and tombs on land. To wander through Ramses II's colossal monument without the crowds, overnight in Abu Simbel village itself and visit the temples after midday.Ħ. Most people arrive in Abu Simbel on organized day trips from Aswan, which all have an early morning start to get to the temple complex at 8am or 9am.Īfter 11am, nearly everyone has cleared out and headed back to Aswan. Today, exploring Abu Simbel is just as much about admiring the triumph of this international effort to save the temple complex as it is about gaping in wonder at Ramses II's awe-inspiring building works, itself. Justly famous for its megalithic proportions, Abu Simbel is also known for the incredible engineering feat carried out by UNESCO in the 1960s, which saw the entire temple moved from its original setting to save it from disappearing under the rising water of the Aswan Dam. This is Ramses II's great temple, adorned with colossal statuary standing guard outside, and with an interior sumptuously decorated with wall paintings. Kick off your sightseeing with a 6am start at the Valley of the Kings, and you'll get to experience the interiors of Luxor's famed New Kingdom tombs with hardly anyone else (except the handful of other wily early risers) there.Įven in a country festooned with temples, Abu Simbel is something special. All of Luxor's archaeological sites open at 6am, but hardly any visitors (and no large tour operators) take advantage of this. The Valley of the Kings is one of Egypt's most visited sites but, if you are willing to get up extra early, you can beat the crowds. Spend a few days here exploring the colorful wall art of the tombs and gazing in awe at the colossal columns in the temples, and you'll see why Luxor continues to fascinate historians and archaeologists. The west bank's lush farmland and barren cliffs are where the vast majority of Luxor's tourist attractions sit, with so many tomb and temple sights that it has been called the biggest open-air museum in the world. Luxor's east bank is home to the modern city, with its vibrant souq the two temples of Karnak and Luxor and the museum. This is ancient Thebes, the power base of the New Kingdom pharaohs, and home to more sights than most can see on one visit. Read More: Pyramids of Giza: Attractions, Tips & Toursįamed for the Valley of the Kings, Karnak Temple, and the Memorial Temple of Hatshepsut, the Nile-side town of Luxor in Upper Egypt has a glut of tourist attractions. The tombs of 6th dynasty high officials Qar and Idu and the tomb of Meresankh III (who was one of Pharaoh Khafre's wives) are all open to the public. If you can, reserve time to explore the funerary complexes of the eastern cemetery (on the east side of the Pyramid of Khufu). Most visitors limit their site visit to the three pyramids and the Sphinx, but there is plenty more to see on the Giza Plateau. This means you can have finished exploring the interior tunnels and burial chambers of the Pyramid of Khufu by the time the tour buses start pulling in at 8:15am. To beat the crowds, get here around 7:30am and enter through the main Pyramid of Khufu site entrance (rather than the Sphinx entrance). Today, sitting on the desert edge of Cairo's sprawl, these megalithic memorials to dead pharaohs are still as wondrous a sight as they ever were and an undeniable highlight of any Egypt trip. Having awed travelers down through the ages, these tombs of the Pharaohs Khufu (Cheops), Khafre (Chephren), and Menkaure (Mycerinus), guarded by the enigmatic Sphinx, are usually top of most visitor's lists of tourist attractions to see in Egypt and often the first sight they head to after landing. The last surviving wonder of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Pyramids of Giza are one of the world's most recognizable landmarks.
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