Aswan
The modern annexe of the museum has reopened with a delightful collection of objects, from weapons, pottery and utensils to statues, encased mummies and…
Must-see attractions in Egypt
Mediterranean Coast
Agiba means ‘miracle’ in Arabic, and Agiba Beach, about 24km west of Marsa Matruh, is just that. It is a small, spectacular cove, accessible only via a…
Mediterranean Coast
The Commonwealth War Cemetery is a haunting place where more than 7240 tombstones stand in regimented rows between beautifully tended desert plants. Most…
Giza
The artisans of the Wissa Wassef Art Centre, who work in open studios, are known for their distinctive tapestries depicting rural scenes. Crude imitations…
Northern Nile Valley
You will see the ruins of Akhetaten – temples and private or administrative buildings – scattered across the plain of Tell Al Amarna, but the main sights…
Madrassa & Mausoleum of As Salih Ayyub
Cairo
This complex was built between 1242 and 1244 by the last Ayyubid sultan of Egypt, Al Salih Najm Al Din Ayyub, who died defending Egypt against the…
Cairo Outskirts & the Nile Delta
Trying to create a true smooth-sided pyramid, Sneferu’s architects began with the same steep angle and inward-leaning courses of stone they used to create…
Alexandria
This stately mosque was built over the tomb of a revered 13th-century Sufi saint, Abu Abbas Al Mursi, from Murcia in Spain. Several successive mosques…
Tomb of Mentuherkhepeshef (KV 19)
Luxor
The only tomb of a prince that you can visit in the Valley of the Kings (others are closed), this was decorated for Prince Rameses Mentuherkhepeshef (c…
Cairo
Created by French-Tunisian street artist eL Seed, this mammoth mural of swirling Arabic calligraphy covers 50 buildings in Manshiyet Nasr and quotes St…
Southern Nile Valley
The Temple of Amada, moved about 2.6km from its original location, is the oldest surviving monument on Lake Nasser. It was built jointly by 18th-dynasty…
Aswan
Starting from the southern end, Sharia As Souq appears very much like the tourist bazaars all over Egypt, with slightly less persistent traders than…
Luxor
Only half decorated at the time of the king's death and open since antiquity, this is not the most interesting tomb in the valley, but it is one the most…
Umm Kulthum Museum & Monastirli Palace
Cairo
Set in a peaceful Nileside garden, Monastirli Palace was built in 1851 for an Ottoman pasha whose family hailed from Monastir, in northern Greece. The…
Western Desert
The town of Hebet (‘the Plough’, now corrupted into Hibis) was the capital of the oasis in antiquity, but all that remains today is the well-preserved…
Northern Nile Valley
If the guardian allows, you can follow a cliffside track that leads southeast for about 2.5km and then some 500m into a wadi to the rock-cut temple called…
Cairo Outskirts & the Nile Delta
About 500m northwest of Deir Anba Bishoi, Deir El Sourian is the most picturesquely situated of the monasteries. It is named after wandering Syrian monks…
Cairo
Sharia Al Gamaliyya was the heart of a trading district in medieval Cairo, and a major thoroughfare. Today it's more like a back alley with a real local…
Red Sea Coast
Perched about 300m above St Anthony's Monastery on a cliff just outside the monastery walls is the cave where St Anthony is believed to have spent the…
Cairo
Just outside the walls of the Coptic enclave, the 9th-century Ben Ezra Synagogue occupies the shell of a 4th-century Christian church. Tradition marks…
Alexandria
The Alexandrian-Greek poet Constantine Cavafy spent his last 25 years in an apartment above a brothel on the former Rue Lepsius, a flat now preserved as…
Luxor
If you can't afford entry to the Tomb of Nefertari, the valley’s showpiece is the tomb of Amunherkhepshef, with beautiful, well-preserved reliefs…
Aswan
This is a small but charming museum run by Mohamed Sobhi, a Nubian guide, and his family, who have dedicated part of their large house to the traditions,…
Bahariya Oasis
This small mound amid the houses of Bawiti is likely built upon centuries of debris. There are two well-preserved 26th-dynasty tombs here, which were…
Western Desert
About 13km to the southeast of Baris, Qasr Ad Dush is an imposing Roman temple-fortress completed around AD 177 on the site of the ancient town of Kysis…
Tomb of Akhethotep & Ptahhotep
Cairo Outskirts & the Nile Delta
This joint mastaba for Akhethotep and his son Ptahhotep has two burial chambers, two chapels and a pillared hall. The painted reliefs in Ptahhotep’s…
Alexandria
About 1km east of Montazah, Mamoura is the ‘beachiest’ of Alexandria’s beaches. There’s a cobblestone boardwalk with a few ice cream shops and food stalls…
Giza
In this cemetery, on the eastern flank of the Queen's Pyramids, you can still see the perfectly smooth limestone facing along the bases of some structures…
Aswan
Fekra is a farm located on 40,000 sq m of land on the lake between the old dam and the High Dam, and overlooks Philae Island. The Fekra Cultural Centre –…
Luxor
The tomb of Queen Titi has a corridor leading to a square chapel, off which is the burial chamber and two smaller rooms. The paintings are faded, but you…
Southern Nile Valley
Daraw has one of the largest camel markets in Egypt. Most of the camels come in caravans from Sudan’s Darfur and Kordofan along the Darb Al Arba’een …
Northern Nile Valley
The tomb of Panehsy, chief servant of the Aten in Akhetaten, retains the decorated facade most others have lost. Inside, scenes of the royal family,…
Sinai
One of Sinai's most impressive sites, this ruined Pharaonic temple is surrounded by ancient turquoise mines and starkly beautiful landscapes. Turquoise…
Cairo Outskirts & the Nile Delta
The only remaining evidence of Memphis is this noteworthy open-air museum, built around a magnificent fallen colossal limestone statue of Ramses II. Its…
Bahariya Oasis
Gebel Dist is an impressive pyramid-shaped mountain visible from most of the oasis. A local landmark, it is famous for its fossils; dinosaur bones were…
Western Desert
This restored sandstone temple is one of the most complete Roman monuments in Dakhla. Dedicated to the Theban triad of Amun, Mut and Khons, as well as…
Western Desert
Qila Al Dabba is Balat’s ancient necropolis. The five mastabas (mud-brick structures above tombs that were the basis for later pyramids), the largest of…
Siwa Oasis
This fairly secluded pool is on a small island in the salty Birket Siwa, accessible across a narrow causeway. Nicknamed ‘Fantasy Island’ for its idyllic…
Church of St Simeon the Tanner
Cairo
The Church of St Simeon the Tanner, is carved into a cave on a ridge of Muqattam Hill. Thought to be the biggest church in the Middle East, it seats 17…
Cairo
Cairo’s main train station, built in its current style in 1892, is an attractive marriage of Islamic style and industrial-age engineering – at least on…
