By now you’ve read our intro to Egypt with all our tips and tricks about the country including currency, food, and tours. Here we’d like to share specific things to do in different cities.
Things to Do in Cairo
The Great Pyramids of Giza are world famous for their history. Built almost 4,500 years ago, they’ve withstood the test of time. The Great Pyramids are almost 2,000 years older than the Great Wall of China. Located on the western banks of the Nile in Giza, the entrance ticket gets you into the complex which houses the three pyramids (one for dad, son and grandson). Interesting to note: it was tradition that a son couldn’t build a pyramid bigger than his fathers hence the three descending sizes for the dad, son and grandson. The complex also houses the Sphinx. An extra ticket is needed if you want to go inside the main pyramid but you need to buy it outside the complex. While it may sound exciting to enter the great pyramid, many tourists are disappointed to find out that there aren’t many hieroglyphics inside. The walls are relatively blank and you have the crouch down in crowded hot tunnels so if small spaces don’t work well for you, maybe skip it. Honestly just look up a video online to see the inside. The temples mentioned later in this article are much more stunning and worth the additional price.
There are two ways to enter the complex. One is by car/bus through the northern driving entrance. Although there was a line of cars, it went quickly. The second is through the lower/south walking entrance. Many locals and school groups use this entrance so it gets very crowded with long wait lines. You also have to walk up the big hill to get close to the pyramids so be careful which one you choose depending on the weather as it can get too hot walking that far in the summer. If you have access to a car, have it drive you to the three pyramids instead of walking as it will save you time and a lot of sweat. Pro tip: Make sure to take the road towards the smallest pyramid to get the classic view of all three. This photo op is not to be missed!
The Sphinx – located at the southern exit of the complex, the Sphinx was built by the son. The entrance is an open air temple where the people performed the mummification process on the king before laying him to rest in his pyramid. Yes this entire temple is just for one king’s mummification process. We learned that all kings had four structures built in their lifetime: two for living and two for death. One palace where they lived, one temple to worship gods while they were alive, one temple to be mummified, and one tomb to be buried in. The two for living were always on the east bank of the river to symbolize life (sun rises in the east) and the two for death were always on the west bank because the sun sets in the west and symbolizes death. Sphinx was designed by the son to be half lion and half human and stands as a great symbol of power. After he died, his body was mummified in the temple and then laid to rest in the middle pyramid. In recent years, a company started hosting nightly light shows, concerts and even parties at the base of the Sphinx with a view of the pyramids. If you’re in the area at night, don’t miss seeing everything lit up! It’s quite a sight!
Egyptian Museum in Cairo – holding many artifacts including King Tutankhamun’s famous mask and sarcophagus, two well preserved mummies (you can see their hair still!), statues of Pharaohs, ancient papyrus (the oldest paper still intact) and many hieroglyphics. It’s a great place to see so many wonders of the ancient world. The museum is older and some of the displays lack good signage but they are currently working on opening the new Grand Egyptian Museum which is located by the Great Pyramid complex in Giza. Many of the artifacts will be moved to the new museum when completed.
Khan el-Khalili Bazaar – we’ve been to markets all over the world and we think this one might be our favorite. Why? The architecture of the buildings, the many roads to explore, the fact that it didn’t smell and it’s not dark and dingy. In between tourists goods, you’ll find local shoppers, mosques, and cafes. While vendors can be excited to sell you goods (maybe too pushy), if you politely decline a few times, they tend to leave you alone. Feel free to haggle a lot here. They’ll act like they don’t like it but we got the price down by almost 75%. Most of these goods are not real or authentic but they aren’t hiding it. Most are just trinkets and souvenirs. Grab a coffee or tea at any local cafe to rest your feet and prepare for more shopping!
If you want real, authentic papyrus check out Golden Eagle Papyrus. This store is amazing. They’ll give you a demonstration on how to make the papyrus and then they’ll display their beautiful artwork. It’s obviously more expensive but it’s real and the people are so talented. If you buy fake papyrus in the market, they use banana leaves. They told us you can spot the difference because real papyrus can be rolled up for easy transportation where fake papyrus will break if you try to roll it so vendors sell flat in plastic sleeves.
Things to Do in Luxor
Luxor is an amazing city! Its close proximity to many temples and sites makes it easy to see everything. Also the city is much more well taken care of than Aswan, has a nice river walk with shops and restaurants, the market area has a variety of things for sale, the temples are the highlight on display as you walk through the city and don’t get me started on the food! We spent two days here but I wished we had spent longer to see more. Also the sites we liked the most are located here. The best bang for your buck is staying in Luxor due to the proximity of the sites! However, be warned that many people will stop you and try to sell you things. It’s definitely annoying but don’t make eye contact and keep walking.
Valley of the Kings – Located on the west bank of the Nile in Luxor, this might be one of the most impressive things to visit as 63+ kings/pharaohs were buried here. Many of the tombs were robbed so while the bodies/mummies and treasures no longer remain, the tombs themselves are very impressive. After the Pharaohs started to realize that the pyramids were getting robbed so frequently, they decided to hide their tombs in a mountain valley where no one could find them. The entrances are normal rock structures that you’d mistake for the side of a mountain but underneath are massive tunnels that lead to different chambers that housed treasures, offerings and the body of a pharaoh in a sarcophagus.
Pro Tip: After you enter, you can pay an additional price to ride the golf cart to the entrance but it’s only 350 meters so it’s an easy walk. The ticket allows you to choose any three tombs to visit. There are generally only 9-10 open at a time and they rotate which ones are open, closing some for restoration and opening others in its place. You can walk through the valley and choose which three you want to visit. Before entering a tomb, a guard will punch your ticket so if you want to see more than three, buy another ticket to see three more. However, here are our recommendations for the best three tombs to visit. 1. Rameses IV tomb is one of the most intact and colorful. The tunnel descending to the tomb is filled with beautifully colored hieroglyphics and scenes. His sarcophagus remains at the end as a large stone box. 2. Merenptah tomb is very deep at 180 meters below ground. When building this tomb, the designer created a well in the middle to throw off robbers with a wall behind the well to keep the actual tomb hidden. It must have worked for a while but eventually someone discovered the fake wall and ransacked the tomb. 3. Tausert and Setnakht is the only tomb in the Valley of Kings to house both a queen and king together. She was actually married to two kings. Her first husband’s tomb is just a few meters away. After he died, she built herself a tomb next door instead of in the Valley of Queens (a few kilometers away in another valley). Her second husband added on to her tomb after she died and he was buried behind her. It’s pretty evident though the difference. Her tomb is fabulous, colorful and rich in stories while his is bland and kind of boring.
Speaking of women, Hatshepsut is the only other female buried in the Valley of the Kings as she was the first female pharaoh. More about her and her temple below.
Also the famous King Tutankhamun tomb is located here in the Valley of the Kings. It was the only tomb discovered here that was not ransacked by robbers. The reason is another king built his tomb just above King Tutankhamuns and the rumble from the second king’s construction accidentally buried the entrance so no one ever robbed it! While the mummy of Tutankhamun still remains in his tomb, all the treasures and sarcophagus are on display in other museums in Cairo.
Hatshepsut Temple – As the first female pharaoh, Hatshepsut needed to leave her mark and that she did with this temple. Similar to the temple near the Sphinx, the temple was used for her mummification process and bringing offerings to her in the afterlife. She was buried in the Valley of the Kings to establish herself as equals with the men pharaohs. Her temple is grand. Its three stories are built into the side of a mountain. While it’s not carved into the mountain, the temple appears to be one with the mountain. It has a very grand entrance. They believe that a canal was dug bringing water from the Nile to support the gardens and trees that adorned the entrance. She ruled for 21 years and the walls of the temple depict the voyage she sent to trade with ancient lands and people. The voyage brought back many goods including henna and incense trees. They actually found a root system of two incense trees that they believe she got in this trade. There are scenes depicting a celebration with the Egyptian army. She never went to war and her rule seemed peaceful. However the king after her (her stepson) did a lot of battle possibly because she may have lost land in her rule. Interesting to note, her stepson took revenge on her after she died by scraping off many of her pictures and her names in locations like Karnak Temple. Pro tip: you can pay extra to take the golf carts to the entrance but it’s only about 200 meters so walking is definitely possible. If you do take the golf carts back, sit in the last row facing backwards for a good view of the temple as you drive back!
Memnon Statues – these two large statues are almost all that remains from a great temple built nearby on the west bank. While it’s a quick stop for a photo only, the impressive size at 17 meters is striking. For size comparison, Abu Simbel statues are almost 20 meters so comparable in size but these have fallen apart and have been put back together. It’s a free stop and quick so if you’re in the area, it’s worth the stop.
Alabaster shops in West Bank – while visiting all above three things on the west side, take a stop at Hassany For Alabaster 2. The people are so warm and welcoming. They give you a demonstration on how they hand make alabaster vases, statues and products. They show you the real handmade vs the machine made vs the fake. There is no hassle here so the shopping experience is much better. You can negotiate the price and get a deal if you buy multiple things. The most interesting thing is that this group of people once lived in houses on top of the Tombs of the Nobles. As the government started excavating this area, they moved the people just down the hill and allowed them to keep producing their goods.
Luxor Temple is a must see at night. It’s absolutely stunning when lit up in all its glory. After Valley of the Kings, this was our favorite! The original temple was built by one pharaoh and then subsequent pharaohs added on more grandiose features like bigger columns, courtyards and massive entrances. Over the years, many people groups have added their own culture to the temple like Romans painting the facade of one room, Alexander the Great depicting himself as a pharaoh and writing his name in a cartouche in hieroglyphics, and the Muslims building a mosque (that’s still in use today) two stories high but at the time it was ground level due to all the silt from the flooding of the Nile. Also within the last three years they opened the Sphinx way, a 3 kilometer promenade connecting Luxor Temple and Karnak Temple. With over 1,200 sphinxes lining this walkway, lit up at night, it makes an impressive sight! We definitely recommend visiting at night to get the full grandness of the temple. The lighting is just perfect to show how large everything is and the pictures are just stunning.
Karnak Temple is the largest temple in Egypt. The original temple has been added onto by many pharaohs so there are 9 temples in all here. The columns are so high, the art work so detailed. Make sure to look up as the beams are also beautifully painted. Amid the offering chart on the wall, you can see the ancient counting system in a detailed list on the back side of the inner temple. The complex has two intact and still standing obelisks. Fascinating to learn that this specific place has provided so much information to historians for two reasons. 1. Remember Hatshepsut, the first female pharaoh? She built herself an obelisk here (one of the two still standing). After her death, her stepson in his rage, built walls around it so no one could see it or honor her. Luckily for us, that helped preserve the obelisk! You can see the two different colors now, one that was exposed to the sun and the section that was covered by walls. 2. The outer entrance wall that was added by the last pharaoh was never completed. They aren’t sure why but when they left it, they left a ramp behind it which has provided so much insight into how these tall structures were actually completed.
Overall I’d recommend a visit to Karnak temple as its grand size really dwarfs you and puts into perspective what the ancient Egyptians were able to accomplish. Also although this temple is more in ruins than others we visited, they are doing a great job of preserving so many sections. It’s definitely worth a visit!
Market – the market in Luxor is a gauntlet of people trying to sell you things. Most of the items here are fake so if you do buy, bargain the price down. We found out that 40-50 years ago, the merchant actually sold real items from the ancient temples! But today, it’s all trinkets or cheap knock offs. They can still make great presents and souvenirs, just don’t pay full price. Amidst these small, cheap stalls stands a beautiful store called pr.ba which sells the most classy of Egyptian goods. The store even smells amazing on the inside. Prices are higher here and there is no negotiating because her stuff is designer goods from Cairo but if you want a nicer bag, towel, plate, or jewelry, this is your store!
Things to Do in Aswan
Aswan is a town of 3 million located south of Cairo and Luxor on the Nile. From Cairo you can either fly direct with a quick 1.5 hour flight or you can take the sleeper trains for a 15 hour ride! From Luxor you can train or drive in 3 hours or take the Nile River cruise over 3-4 days. Overall, we didn’t enjoy Aswan very much. There are a few things to do here (see below) but I would recommend skipping the town. The low economic state can be seen throughout the town with trash on the side of the road and many crumbling buildings. If you come, use it as a jumping off spot to see Abu Simbel (also something I may pass on, see below). Finally many cruise boats either depart or arrive here from Luxor. There is an international airport here so if you’re cruising from Luxor south, you can fly out from here.
Philae temple – located on an island, this temple was moved after it was partially submerged in water after the first dam was built in 1902. In a multi year project, engineers cut the temple into over 40,000 blocks that they transported just a few islands away to its new home and reassembled it. The hieroglyphics are impressive! To get here, you need to take a motor boat operated by the local Nubian people just a 10-15 minute boat ride away. As with always, be prepared to tip the boat driver even if your guide pays him the fee.
The High Dam – The High Dam was the second dam built to help with flooding. A visit to the high dam is not the most visually appealing because it’s hard to see a lot but the structure itself is wildly impressive. You are able to drive on top of the dam and get out to see both sides. There are some pictures and drawings showing you what’s below the surface here. The dam was built in the 1970s to prevent flooding on the Nile and it also provided more agricultural opportunities for the people. This dam created a massive lake behind it called Lake Nasser now. While it’s interesting to see the low river height compared to the high lake height, I don’t know if the drive out here is worth the visit.
The Unfinished Obelisk – located in a red granite quarry in Aswan, this obelisk was started and never completed. While visually it’s just a rock in the ground, what they learned about how the ancient Egyptians carved the obelisk is much more interesting. It’s fascinating as it’s the only indication we currently have to study how the ancient people made such amazing structures. Researchers have been able to tell that the ancient people carved the obelisks from one piece of red granite using black dolerite, a harder stone. The carvings are done in a circular shape. Again, visually this was less than stunning but engineering wise it’s super interesting.
Felucca sailing – the local Nubian people have been using felucca sail boats for transportation and a way of life for years. However now you can take a ride on them to cruise the Nile. Powered by wind only, it’s such a relaxing way to see the sunset and enjoy the Nile River. You are able to enjoy this in Luxor as well.
Abu Simbel Temple – about a 3 hour drive south of Aswan sits an incredible temple carved into the rock. King Ramses II built it for himself and three gods. He also built a second smaller temple next to it for his most beloved wife Nefertari who was Nubian, hence the location so close to Sudan. The road to Abu Simbel is heavily regulated as our guide had to register us with the police a few days in advance so when we passed checkpoints we were on a list. Also the road is very bumpy with lots of potholes and speed bumps. It is possible to visit on your own but the only way to get there is by public bus which takes 5-6 hours one way. You’d have to stay overnight and the village is very small with nothing besides the temple and a few local restaurants. So we advise a guide and driver to make the most of your time. Most tours leave Aswan between 4:30-5am. The temples reminded me a lot of the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang China or Petra in Jordan. It’s shocking how massive the outside statues are and how detailed the artwork and carvings are inside given these were built around 1,200 BC (over 3,000 years old!). The temple to Nefertari is so gorgeous. She is depicted as elegant, regal and many times she is the same size as the king which shows how much he loved and honored her. So the big question is… is it worth the 6 hour round trip drive to see it? That depends on you. While I was not blown away, it is a unique experience to see such a temple with such large statues carved into the mountains. If you’ve seen something similar, I’d skip it. We preferred Luxor for Valley of the Kings for the vibrant color, hieroglyphics and Luxor Temple for the big size lit up at night and closer location of both.
