EGYPT

Location - Middle East/North Africa; Capital - Cairo; Population - 99 million; Currency - Egypt Pound MORE EGYPT

I booked a great value for money package to Egypt, covering a week of all-inclusive winter sun in Hurghada sandwiched around a 7 day Nile cruise. An easyjet flight to Hurghada was followed 36hrs later by a transfer to the boat at Luxor - January 2020.

10 Egyptian pounds

Our boat was 10km south of the centre, a disadvantage for wandering through town but the plus was a calmer, more rural feel - Luxor

Several locals were out fishing on the Nile - Luxor

Boat is also the quickest way to cross the river, as the nearest connecting bridge is a 25km return trip to Luxor

A gorgeous sunset over the Nile, next to our MS Emilio cruise ship - Luxor

Wonderful colours on the Nile - Luxor

Disembarking the MS Emilio for a tour of Luxor. Most cruise ships consist of four floors: the lower is the communal restaurant, ground is reception and bar, first and second are living quarters, with an upper sun-deck and pool - Luxor

The entrance to Karnak, originally built around 2,000-1,700BC but destroyed and rebuilt over the centuries. The main structure of Karnak is the Temple of Amun-Ra - Luxor

First up is a walk past the avenue of ram-headed sphinxes - Luxor

Not sure what the statues standing beneath the sphinxes signify - Luxor

Heading into the Great Hypostyle Hall from the Great Court - Luxor

From the Great Court turn right to the Temple of Ramses III - Luxor

Hieroglyphics adorn pillars of the Great Hypostyle Hall - Luxor

Cartouches are inscriptions within an oval, indicating the text contained in it is a royal name. Do I know what these two say? No! I've forgotten.. - Luxor

The hieroglyphic in the centre is called ankh, or the key of life, representing the symbol of life - Luxor

The pillar on the left is the 30m tall Obelisk of Hatshepsut - Luxor

The Sacred Lake lies within the grounds of the Temple of Amun-Ra, Karnak - Luxor

Luxor Temple looks very atmospheric when lit up at night. By the way there used to be 2 obelisks at the entrance but the other is in the Place de la Concorde in Paris - Luxor

Luxor Temple dates back to the reigns of Amenhotep III, Ramses II as well as Tutankhamun between the 13th-14th centuries BC - Luxor

After the Great Court of Ramses II is the entrance to the Colonnade of Amenhotep III - Luxor

One of the few statues of boy-king Tutankhamun, left, with his wife Ankhesenamun - Luxor

During the Roman era, Romans recreated hieroglyphics to garner local support, though sometimes with varying results - on the left see the man (Alexander the Great?) with an extra hand, thought to be a result of running out of space. On the right are Roman frescos painted over the original hieroglyphs - Luxor

These hieroglyphics detail prisoners or slaves linked at the neck - Luxor

The 14th century Abu al-Haggag Mosque. The original mosque entrance was where the orange/brown rectangle is, showing how far ground level had risen since Luxor Temple was built - Luxor

Next to the temple is an avenue of human-headed sphinxes stretching all the way to Karnak 3km away - Luxor

Away from the temple is the hustle and bustle of the town with plenty of cars, taxis, tuk-tuks and horse carriages - Luxor

A recreation area popular with families lies next to Luxor Temple - Luxor

The Winter Palace Hotel is steeped in history and to this day is still quite grand - Luxor

The Winter Palace Hotel grounds - Luxor

The main entrance to the souk, or bazaar/market - Luxor

There's souvenirs aplenty in the fairly compact souk - Luxor

Walking along the Nile Corniche which is, of course, riverside - Luxor

Head a short walk south along the Nile Corniche and there's a couple of cafe-restaurants overlooking the river - Luxor

A felucca, a traditional sailing boat, heads upriver - Luxor

Back on the boat there's various entertainment, though none finish late, as most days are early starts. At least they are if you're taking one of the many tours, otherwise kick back and relax on board - Luxor

In the bar a belly dancer put on a (terrible!) show, followed by a whirling dervish spinning in his illuminated dress (pictured). There was a far better dervish display in the first Hurghada hotel I stayed at, who was top quality - Luxor

My cabin with a view - excellent! All come with en suite bathroom, TV reception when docked. The MS Emilio was great value-for-money, though there's better boats - the Acamar looked real classy - Luxor

A phantom visitor's in my cabin. Cleaners get very inventive with towels and anything else at their disposal! - Luxor

By the way, if you take an inclusive package with cruise, check whether your cruise is all-inclusive, not just your Red Sea coast hotel, otherwise you have to pay for all drinks on board. It might be a good deal paying in your own country, but upgrading from full-board to all-inclusive when on the boat isn't worth it. Smuggle it on board! As a guide, the boat prices were 1.5l water: LE30, glass of local (decent) wine: LE95, local Stella beer: LE50, fancy cocktail: LE135.

Hot air balloons have beaten us to an early morning tour of the Valley of the Kings on the West Bank - Luxor

First up on the West Bank tour were the Colossi of Memnon, two 18m statues of Amenhotep III - Luxor

The very new looking Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir-al-Bahri is a memorial to the female pharaoh Hatshepsut - Luxor

The temple was converted by Christians to a monastery, when it was given the name Deir al Bahri (Monastery of the North) - Luxor

Brightly coloured reliefs adorn the walls of the Temple of Hatshepsut - Luxor

A very bad photo of archaeologist Howard Carter's house, where he lived while searching for Tutankhamun - Luxor

Balloon flights over the West Bank start around 05:00-06:00 so wake early! - Luxor

The Valley of the Kings is the site of 63 royal burial chambers, this one being that of Ramses IV - Luxor

Ramses IV was the fifth son of Ramses III and died in 1,147BC - Luxor

Some of the paintings are so bright and vivid, and they usually tell a story. Don't forget to look up at the ceilings - Luxor

Traces of Coptic and Greek graffiti can be found in the tomb of Ramses IV, which amazingly was used as a makeshift hotel centuries ago - Luxor

Ramses IX ruled between 1,129 and 1,111BC, the eighth pharaoh of the Twentieth dynasty - Luxor

Cartouches in the tomb of Ramses IX, as indicated by the hieroglyphics inside an oval with outer line at right angles - Luxor

Queues in these tombs are long but at least it allows you to walk slowly, taking in the hieroglyphics, paintings and the odd piece of ancient graffiti - Luxor

Ramses III's tomb is very impressive, with a pillared burial chamber - Luxor

Ramses III (father of Ramses IV, his tomb pictured earlier) ruled from 1,186 to 1,155BC - Luxor

A three-headed serpent in Ramses III's tomb represents the devil (I think) - Luxor

Horus (right), often represented as a falcon-headed man, was god of the sky and kingship. The more I learnt about the gods the more confused I became.. - Luxor

The entrance to the most famous of the pharaohs (unless you're a Ramses II fan), boy-king Tutankhamun (extra ticket required from main ticket office) - Luxor

Walking down to the tomb of Tutankhamun, who took the throne when 8 or 9 years old and reigned from approx 1,336 to 1,327BC at the end of the 18th dynasty - Luxor

His tomb has to be one of the smallest of all the pharaohs, and much has been said of the hastiness of his burial and paintings - Luxor

That said, it's amazing (and voyeuristic?) to see his body in the tomb in which he was buried thousands of years before. I'd say put him back in his sarcophagus - Luxor

After several years of digging, Howard Carter and his team discovered Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922 and made headlines worldwide - Luxor

There's many dark spots on the decorative work, a possible result of a speedy painting over plaster that was yet to fully dry, causing a fungus which luckily is dead - Luxor

This statue, here exhibited in London during the Tutankhamun treasures tour, is of Tutankhamun himself and was one of a pair likely standing outside his tomb. However, as was often the case, his successor Ay replaced Tut's name with his own. Then the next successor comes along.. - Luxor

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LINKS

www.egypt.travel - Egypt tourist board

https://enr.gov.eg - Egyptian rail

https://go-bus.com - Go Bus are a reputable private bus company, bookable online

www.touregypt.net

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