Luxor, once the ancient capital of Thebes, now has the most spectacular collection of antiquities in the world. It is the greatest open-air museum in the world, filled with monuments of ancient civilisation. The town it self is centred on the remains of Luxor and Karnak Temples. 

Where shadows of sunset through the city of the dead are the tombs of the Nobles, the Valley of the Kings and Queen Hatshepsut’s Temples. King Tutankhamen’s tomb is the most famous tomb in the Valley of the Kings, and Queen Hatshepsut was the only woman rule over Egypt as a Pharaon. 

The northern hills of the West Bank are filled with rock-carved tombs of Princes dating from the Old Kingdom to the Roman period. At night they are illuminated with concealed spot light and can be seen from Aswan.

Amenhotep III (18th Dyn) built a mortuary temple in Thebes that was guarded by two gigantic statues on the outer gates. All that remains now are the 19.5m statues of Amenhotep. Though damaged by nature and ancient tourists, the statues are still impressive. Long after Amenhotep the Greeks decided that the statue represented their hero, Memnon, son of Tithonus, and Eos, who fought in defense of Troy and was slain by Achilles. The north statues, of Amenhotep's mother Mutemuia and Queen Tiy, were shattered by an earthquake. The fallen remains produced a musical sound under certain weather conditions. The Eqyptians thought that this music came directly from the gods. To be granted a song meant that you were very much in favor of the gods. Visitors came from miles around to hear the music, including Emperor Hadrian, in 130 A.D. The music stopped in 199 A.D. when the statue was repaired.   

East Bank

East bank of the Nile, in the city of the living, the Luxor temple and Karnak temples designed in old centuries to greet the sunrise.
The Temple of Karnak is built on a massive scale, covering one hundred acres. It is actually three main temples, smaller enclosed temples, and several outer temples. This vast complex was built and enlarged over a thirteen hundred years period. The three main temples of Mut, Monthu and Amun are enclosed by enormous brick walls

Hurghada

Hurghada was founded in the early 20th century, and until a few years ago, remained a small fishing village. But today, it has gone on to become the foremost tourist resort of the Red Sea coast and an international center for aquatic sports. If it takes place in or on the water you can do it here: windsurfing, sailing, deep-sea fishing, swimming, but, above all, snorkeling and diving. The unique underwater gardens offshore are some of the finest in the world, justifiably famous amongst divers. The warm waters here are ideal for many varieties of rare fish and coral reefs, which may also be observed through glass bottom boats. This area has many fine accommodations, usually offering warm and efficient service. Restaurants are mostly along the main road. While in Hurghada, don't miss the museum and aquarium, with their complete collections of flora and fauna of the Red Sea. 

Today, Hurghada is known as a party town, particularly among Europeans.  Locals and others will tell you that life begins at night in Hurghada, with the many, many clubs. They are particularly frequented by the young, but certainly many others of all ages. One may often find a rousing party centered around the visitors from a tour group taking over the action of a particular bar.  They are easy to find along the main street, along with loads of inexpensive and expensive hotels. 

One of the Local Evening Hot Spots just a bit still too Early

Small Pubs, Restaurants and Internet Cafes line the Main Street as well as around the McDonald’s Restaurant near the Helnan Regina hotel .

It is also a beach resort, where thousands of older Europeans and others come with their families to enjoy the sun and fun of private resort beaches, some all inclusive.  Many of these hotels offer so many activities and facilities that one may never need to leave the resort.  Often, the larger resorts have zoos, playgrounds, discos, bars, a number of pools and even small theaters.

Hurghada is also a city under development.  Many new hotels and construction are taking place, and we can expect to see some great new hotels, restaurants and other facilities in the near future.  Actually this is a busy section of the Red Sea in general.  Safaga is just south of Hurghada, and Soma Bay with its beautiful Sheraton is even closer to the South.  To the North is El Gouna, a highly organized resort community.  Together, these communities and resort areas offer just about everything a visitor might wish for, from raucous parties to isolated scuba diving, with golf, bowling and fishing in between.

Gouna

Located 22 Km (12 1/2) north of Hurghada under the silhouettes of sharp edged mountains and bordering the crystal waters of the Red Sea lies El Gouna, the region's most exclusive destination.  Built on clusters of islands surrounded by turquoise lagoons, El Gouna spreads over 11 kilometers of the most pristine beachfront.

El Gouna seems to have something for everyone including secluded beaches and exclusive hotels for those seeking the getaway holidays, desert safaris and the world's best diving for the more adventurous, endless in-house entertainment for those traveling with the family, and a great night life for the wild at heart.

El Gouna began with a romantic vision: friends, boats and a passion for the sea..  What started out as a dream and a small marina evolved into a fully comprehensive resort, with Egypt's most luxurious villas, internationally renowned hotels, a wide range of picturesque restaurants and a vibrant, bustling village.

And yet from a resort, El Gouna was to evolve even further - into a town with a life and soul of its own.  El Gouna is no longer simply a tourist destination but a town attracting visitors and residents from all parts of the world.  Private businesses are thriving, from the boutique and restaurant owner, to those investing in El Gouna's industrial sector which includes a brewery, a winery and a water bottling company.  Although difficult to imagine, El gouna's growth has been carefully planned with beauty and functionality as its top priorities.

In spite of having grown into a self-sufficient town resort with powerful infrastructure and extensive community support facilities, El Gouna has done so with great care for its surroundings.  El Gouna was recently awarded the "most environmentally friendly resort in Egypt" for its endless efforts in this area.

El Gouna has grown into a diverse community where the initial spontaneity and sense of adventure continue to live on.

Kafr El Gouna : The Kafr is the heartbeat of El Gouna; a town center with endless activity during the day and few hours of sleep at night.  It is here that guests and residents come together.

Set on an island, this town center is built in the traditional Egyptian style of inner courtyards, endless alleys and rolling domes.  The subtle tones of the Kafr's pastel colored buildings give a spectacular contrast to the bright turquoise of its surrounding lagoons.

The Kafr provides everything one would expect of a lively downtown area; colorful shops, art galleries, cafes, a wide selection of restaurants from local delicacies to fine French and Italian dinning, bars, discotheques, a cinema as well as the more practical services such as a school, travel agencies and a post office.

Safaga

Safaga, is a working port located 60 KM south Hurghada with several tourist villages specializing in diving holidays, a handful of hotels and some excellent fish restaurants. Its unspoiled beaches and stiff breezes made it the ideal venue for the 1993 World Windsurfing Championships. Day trips to Tobia Island or Mons Claudianus in the Red Sea Mountains can be arranged with local guides .  

Sharm El Sheikh

Sharm el-Sheikh, one of the most accessible and developed tourist resort communities on the Sinai peninsula. All around are Bedouins, colorful tents, mountains and sea. There are small, intimate hotels with modern designs, as well as larger hotel complexes belonging to International chains, plus about all the amenities one could expect of a tourist center, including casinos, discos and nightclubs, golf courses and health facilities. In fact, with diving and snorkeling, windsurfing and other water sports, horses and camel riding, desert safaris, and great nearby antiquities attractions, it is almost impossible for a visitor to ever suffer from boredom.

Four miles south the southern section of the town stands on a cliff overlooking the port. and is a great view.

Na'ama Beach is one of the center of the tourist activities. Located just north of Sharm, this area is developing into a resort town of its own.  Most hotels at Na'ama Bay have their own, private beaches with comfortable amenities such as chairs, shades and even bars.

Shark's Bay is also nearby, and again is a growing resort community with more and more to offer, along with several diving centers.

The small harbor known as Sharm el-Moiya is located next to the civil harbor, has accommodations for boats, and includes a Yacht Club with rooms. 

For those who live to shop, the Sharm El-Sheikh mall provides shops with both foreign and local products, including jewelry, leather goods, clothing, pottery and books. 

It has been said that this is a must visit for all diving enthusiasts.  There are many diving sites along the 10 mile beach between Sharm el-Sheikh and Ras Nusrani.

Port Said

The origins of Port Said is that of a working camp founded in 1859 by Said Pasha to house men working on the Suez Canal.  By the late 19th century, it was an important port where all the major maritime powers had consulates.  Much of the city was built on a section of Lake Manzala which was reclaimed by landfill. 

The City was damaged during the Suez Crisis, and again during the wars of 1967 and 1973, but the city has largely been rebuilt and today is a pleasant city of 400,00 people.  It is also considered a summer resort by Egyptians and the beach is lined with vacation bungalows. The main street, with most commercial enterprises, is Sharia Palestine. 

This is where the huge ships wait to enter the Suez Canal, and it can be a sight to behold.  But also often missed, but of interest is the colonial architecture of the 19th century in the town center.

There is a National Museum in Port Said, which houses artifacts from most periods of Egypt's past, including pharaonic and prehistoric.  Located on Sharia Palestine, the museum also houses Islamic and Coptic exhibits, including textiles, manuscripts and coins.  There is a also a room devoted to artifacts of the Khedival family.

There is also a Military Museum located on Sharia 23rd of July. Along with some small displays of pharaonic and Islamic wars are artifacts from the Suez Crises and the 1967 and 1973 wars.

Across the Canal from Port Said is Port Fuad, which is really only a bedroom community to Port Said. However, if time permits is is a very pleasant place to take a stroll among the gardens and sprawling residences located there.

So what does New York and Port Said, Egypt have in common?  Originally, American's very own statue of Liberty was to be placed not in New York but at Port Said.  The Statue of Liberty was really inspired by the huge statues at Abu Simbel.  Auguste Bartholdi, the sculptor of the statue designed the American Lady of Liberty as 'Egypt carrying the light of Asia'.  However, the Khedive Ismail decided that the project was too expensive, so the 'Light of Asia' was sent to the US instead, where she became the Statue of Liberty.  

Bahariya Oases

Set in a depression covering over 2000 sq. km., Bahariya Oasis is surrounded by black hills made up of ferruginous quartzite and dolorite. Most of the villages and cultivated land can be viewed from the top of the 50-meter-high Jebel al-Mi'ysrah, together with the massive dunes which threaten to engulf some of the older settlements. The Oasis was a major agricultural center during the Pharaonic era, and has been famous for its wine as far back as the Middle Kingdom. During the fourth century, the absence of Roman rule and violent tribes in the area caused a decline as some of the oasis was reclaimed by the sand. Wildlife is plentiful, especially birds such as wheatears; crops (which only cover a small percentage of the total area) include dates, olives, apricots, rice and corn. 

There are a number of springs in the area, some very hot, such as Bir ar-Ramla but probably the best is Bir al-Ghaba, about 10 miles north east of Bawiti.  There is also Bir al-Mattar, a cold springs which poors into a concrete pool. Otherwise near the Oasis is the Black and White deserts, though traveling to the White desert seems not practical from the oasis. The Black Desert was formed through wind erosion as the nearby volcanic mountains were spewed over the desert floor. Finally, there are the ruins of a 17th Dynasty temple and settlement, and nearby tombs where birds were buried.

Farafra Oases

Farafra, known as Ta-iht or the Land of the Cow in pharaonic times, is a single village. The most isolated of the New Valley Oases it is renowned for its strong traditions and piety.  According to folklore, the villagers once lost track of time and had to send a rider to Dakhla so they could hold the Friday prayers on the right day. The oldest part of the village, on a hillside, is next to peaceful walled palm groves; a short ride away there are hot sulphur springs at Bir Setta and swimming at El-Mufid Lake. 

Mostly inhabited by Bedouins, the small mud-brick houses all have wooden doorways with medieval peg locks. As in other oases, many of Farafra's houses are painted blue (to ward off the Evil Eye) but here some are also decorated with landscapes, birds and animals, the handiwork of local artist, Badr. A combination house, museum and studio exhibiting his paintings and ceramics is situated in a garden full of sculptures made from objects found in the surrounding desert. Another local, known as Mr. Socks, sells beautiful hand-knitted camel-hair sweaters, socks and scarves. Day trips by jeep and camel treks from here to the White Desert, Bahariya, Dakhla and Siwa can be arranged through Saad's Restaurant.

Dakhla Oases

The Dakhla Oasis lies to the northwest of Kharga and is also about 310 km to the southeast of Farafra. This oasis consists of 14 settlements and has a population of about 70,000 people. Dakhla is the farthest oasis out of Cairo and is considered one of Egypt's most beautiful oasis. Dakhla sits in a depression surrounded by pink cliffs. There are about 30,000 acres of cultivated land. Most of its 70,000 or so residents are farmers who constantly fight the battle of the dunes that threaten their fields and orchards. The fields and gardens are filled mostly with mulberry trees, date palms, figs and other citrus fruits. Dakhla has retained most of its culture and charm even though it has increased in size by about double and government funding and technical training has revitalized the economy. Dakhla is the only place in Egypt where new water wheels which are driven by buffaloes are constructed. They are made of palm timber and clay jars and are called saqiyas. The oasis is connected to Kharga by a 120 mile (200 km) road that has buses running daily. Research has found that the Oasis has been inhabited since prehistoric times, and that there was once a huge lake here.  There are neolithic rock paintings that indicate that the lake was frequented by elephants, buffaloes and ostriches. As the lake dried up, the inhabitants migrated to the Nile valley and were probably some of its first settlers.  

Dakhla Oasis is dominated on its northern horizon by a wall of rose-Colored rock. Fertile cultivated areas growing rice, peanuts and fruit are dotted between sand dunes along the roads from Farafra and Kharga in this area of outstanding natural beauty. The capital, Mut, named after the ancient goddess of the Theban Triad, houses the Museum of the Inheritance, a traditional house, with an intricate wooden combination lock. Rooms, with sculpted clay figures, are arranged to show different aspects of Dakhlan culture and family life. Al-Kasr, about 35 km. from Mut, was originally a Roman settlement which later became the medieval capital of Dakhla. The old town is a labyrinth of mud-walled alleys narrowly separating houses with elaborately- carved wooden lintels; there is also an Ayyubid mosque. Climb to the rooftop of the 10th century madrassa (school) for wonderful views of the surrounding area. Bir al-Gabel, a palm-fringed salt lake where you can camp and picnic, is on the road back to Mut. 

Other day trips from Mut could include the 1st-century al-Muzawaka tombs and Deir al Hagar, a temple which was originally dedicated to the Theban Triad and later rebuilt by the Romans. After exploring the temple, bathe in the hot sulphur spring nearby. Visit Bashendi to see Roman tombs and a factory where carpets are still woven with scenes of Dakhlan life. At nearby Balaat village, a trading post with ancient Nubia, archeologists are still uncovering dozens of 6th dynasty mastabas.

Kharga Oases

Kharga used to be the last but one stop on The Forty Days Road, the infamous slave-trade route between North Africa and the tropical south. Today, it is the biggest New Valley oasis and its modern city houses 60,000 people, including 1,000 Nubians who moved here after the creation of lake Nasser. Outside the main center is the Temple of Hibis, built on the site of an 18th dynasty settlement of Saites, Persians and Ptolemies One of the few Persian monuments in Egypt, the 6th century BC temple is well-preserved with painted vultures and huge reliefs of Darius greeting Egyptian gods on the outer walls. Ten kilometers away, the Necropolis of al-Bagawat contains 263 mud-brick chapels with Coptic murals, including the Chapel of Peace with images of Adam and Eve and the Ark on its dome and the Chapel of the Exodus with frescoes of pharaonic troops pursuing the Jews led by Moses, out of Egypt. Pharaonic monuments include the al-Hhuwaytah Temple which dates from 522 BC and the Temple of Amenebis.

The thermal springs at Bulaq and Nasser villages to the south, are famous for water temperatures of up to 43 C and reputed to be suitable for the treatment of rheumatism and allergies. Camping facilities are available near both villages. Further south is Baris Oasis, the second largest settlement in Kharga. Houses designed in traditional Nubian style by Hassan Fathy remain uninhabited- local people refused to live in them because of their similarity to tombs and building stopped in the late 1960s. Ancient monuments include the Temple of Dush, dedicated to Isis and Serapis. Its name derives from Kush, the ancient Sudanese capital which traded with Egypt along the Nile. Archeologists are still unearthing the ancient city of Kysis and elaborate system of clay pipes and abandoned Christian church, suggest that Kysis was abandoned when its underground springs dried up but the exact date remains a mystery.

Fayoum Oases

Near to Cairo and easily accessible, Fayoum contains a large lake at its center which creates a unique landscape, unlike any of the other oases. It is an aera of lush green fields, reminiscent of ancient tomb paintings. Wadi El Rayan, just to the north, is a place of great beauty, famous for its spectacular waaterfalls.