Arrival in Cairo. The city is charged with a chaotic energy that somehow works. It is fascinating yet you must admit that it is an acquired taste. Your chauffeur seems to handle himself rather well. As you get closer to your hotel, you can see the pyramids in the horizon. They look wonderful in the sunset, they have stood the test of time. Now you see why.
The Mena House used to be a hunting lodge. Today it is a luxurious hotel that can confidently boast of the best view in town. You wake up and look out the window: the pyramids of Giza are all yours to contemplate from the comforts of your suite. A day of archaeological exploration awaits. First the Pyramids and the Sphinx. Your guide is a perfect interpreter of the ancient and a master storyteller. When you continue to the Egyptian Museum, with its enormous collection of ancient artifacts, you see that the history and the identity of this country runs very deep, almost to the impenetrable mists of time.
In its long history, Egypt has seen many rulers and many cultures come and go by the banks of the Nile. The city of Alexandria once was the cultural and scientific epicentre of the world. Its famous library remains a powerful symbol of human knowledge, and of its fragility. The Citadel of Qaitbay is a beautiful fortress that stands on the very place where once the great lighthouse towered over the city. In Alexandria you discover a new side to Egypt, one that reconciles the modern and the ancient.
Egypt flourished around the Nile. The mysterious city of Luxor has a wealth of sites that allow you to immerse yourself in the Ancient World. You visit Karnak and Luxor Temples. Your clever guide knows all the best times to visit, not only because you avoid the crowds, but you also get to see the monuments under the best light. You can appreciate the beauty of Ancient Egypt only in the magnificent ruins that remain… Imagine what it must have been!
Near Luxor, on the West Bank of the Nile, rests the Valley of Kings. Here, funerary chambers and tombs were built near the realm of the gods of the underground. It is an awe-inspiring site, most famous for the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun. Egyptian life revolved around the afterlife. It is good thought that they left behind such worldly delights. From the Colossi of Memnon to the Amun Temple in Edfu.
At the edge of the Ancient Kingdoms, near the first cataract of the Nile, the city of Aswan holds many sites of wonderment and beauty. It is your last taste of a legendary time. You travel deep into Upper Egypt, near the Sudanese border. The temples of Abu Simbel are baffling. Why would someone build such a thing, so far away from everything? Then it becomes obvious: they were striving for immortality.
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