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Egypt: The Holiday
Fallingman
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hi Guys'n'Gals.
My girlfriend and I are currently plannig 2 weeks in Egypt, and I was wondering if anyone has any words of wisdom.
Normally, I dont go for "resort" type holidays, but this one will hopefully be a great combination of exploration and relaxation.
The Breakdown so far:
3 Nights in Sharm El Sheikh - An all inclusive resort - thing. *sigh* Relaxing though...
A 7 night cruise down the Nile from Luxor - This will be the highlight for me, and has daily excursions to cool sights
4 nights relaxing back at Sharm with a day trip to Cairo - to see the Pyramids and Museum
So:
I hear that Cairo is good and al, but you dont want to be tehre too long, and that the Luxor area is much more interesting in terms of general Egyptian coolness.
Anyone been on one of these cruises? I'm well aware that we'll never really escape the tourist traps, but would this be particularly bad?
I'm really excited about this, but just want to get some "reviews" before saying Yay/Nay.
EDIT:
Update on the Nile Cruise:
Luxor’s West Bank
Home to probably the best known of Egypt’s attractions, the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, as well as Hatchepsut’s Temple; embark on a journey through lush green fields into the desert, with its brightly-coloured houses ahead; then, as you get closer, you’ll notice black holes in the giant sandstone, these are the tombs: a magnificent site which must be seen to be believed.
Luxor’s East Bank
A bustling market town built around the striking Luxor Temple, with its courtyard and sanctuaries dedicated to the Theban gods. The Temple of Karnak, also waits to be explored.
Kom Ombo
Previously known as Pa-Sebak, after the crocodile god of the region, Kom Ombo is famous for its unique and spectacular riverside temple.
Abu Simbel
This site lies 280km south of Aswan and was lost for 600 years, due to the shifting landscapes of the Nile and deserts, until the Swiss explorer J.L. Burckhardt rediscovered it by chance in 1813.
Feluccas
These traditional canvas sailing boats are a great way to gracefully cruise around the islands of the Nile, relaxing and enjoying the picturesque surroundings.
Aswan High Dam
Built in the 1960s to control the flow of the Nile, reclaim more land around the river for cultivation and provide power through electricity, this is now a major tourist attraction and the resulting lake and fertile surroundings are extremely beautiful.
Unfinished Obelisk
Thought to have been made on the orders of the 19th dynasty pharaoh, only three of the obelisk’s sides were finished before a crack appeared in the stone and it was abandoned; the tools left behind offer a unique insight into how Egypt’s ancient monuments were constructed.
Philae Temple
A popular attraction in the 19th century, when the construction of the Old Dam and reservoir saw the temple swamped by water six months a year and tourists had to glide around it in rowing boats. It looked destined to be lost forever with the completion of the High Dam, until UNESCO came to the rescue and moved the temple, stone by stone, to nearby Agilika Island, 20 metres higher.
My girlfriend and I are currently plannig 2 weeks in Egypt, and I was wondering if anyone has any words of wisdom.
Normally, I dont go for "resort" type holidays, but this one will hopefully be a great combination of exploration and relaxation.
The Breakdown so far:
3 Nights in Sharm El Sheikh - An all inclusive resort - thing. *sigh* Relaxing though...
A 7 night cruise down the Nile from Luxor - This will be the highlight for me, and has daily excursions to cool sights
4 nights relaxing back at Sharm with a day trip to Cairo - to see the Pyramids and Museum
So:
I hear that Cairo is good and al, but you dont want to be tehre too long, and that the Luxor area is much more interesting in terms of general Egyptian coolness.
Anyone been on one of these cruises? I'm well aware that we'll never really escape the tourist traps, but would this be particularly bad?
I'm really excited about this, but just want to get some "reviews" before saying Yay/Nay.
EDIT:
Update on the Nile Cruise:
Luxor’s West Bank
Home to probably the best known of Egypt’s attractions, the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, as well as Hatchepsut’s Temple; embark on a journey through lush green fields into the desert, with its brightly-coloured houses ahead; then, as you get closer, you’ll notice black holes in the giant sandstone, these are the tombs: a magnificent site which must be seen to be believed.
Luxor’s East Bank
A bustling market town built around the striking Luxor Temple, with its courtyard and sanctuaries dedicated to the Theban gods. The Temple of Karnak, also waits to be explored.
Kom Ombo
Previously known as Pa-Sebak, after the crocodile god of the region, Kom Ombo is famous for its unique and spectacular riverside temple.
Abu Simbel
This site lies 280km south of Aswan and was lost for 600 years, due to the shifting landscapes of the Nile and deserts, until the Swiss explorer J.L. Burckhardt rediscovered it by chance in 1813.
Feluccas
These traditional canvas sailing boats are a great way to gracefully cruise around the islands of the Nile, relaxing and enjoying the picturesque surroundings.
Aswan High Dam
Built in the 1960s to control the flow of the Nile, reclaim more land around the river for cultivation and provide power through electricity, this is now a major tourist attraction and the resulting lake and fertile surroundings are extremely beautiful.
Unfinished Obelisk
Thought to have been made on the orders of the 19th dynasty pharaoh, only three of the obelisk’s sides were finished before a crack appeared in the stone and it was abandoned; the tools left behind offer a unique insight into how Egypt’s ancient monuments were constructed.
Philae Temple
A popular attraction in the 19th century, when the construction of the Old Dam and reservoir saw the temple swamped by water six months a year and tourists had to glide around it in rowing boats. It looked destined to be lost forever with the completion of the High Dam, until UNESCO came to the rescue and moved the temple, stone by stone, to nearby Agilika Island, 20 metres higher.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Fallingman on
0
Posts
Sharm -> Cairo to see the pyramids is about a 6 hour trip each way. Take a book or 5.
really? How did you get there?
The Aswan Dam was one of my favourite things to see, but I'm an electrical engineering student and thus a big geek. The monument the Russians and Egyptians built was fantastic.
I have a feeling you'll be flying from Sharm El Sheikh to Cairo. Other people in our tour group went there after a few days in Cairo and I'm pretty sure it wasn't considered safe to drive.
I'd agree about not staying in Cairo too long. The only thing actually in Cairo that we saw was the Museum and the giant marketplace whose name I forget.
I was a bit intimidated at first by the number of Tourist Police I saw everywhere. Subconsciously it kind of made me worry that maybe there was something I should have been afraid of. I never actually felt in danger though.
Where are you from? Is this the only forseeable chance you'll have of seeing Egypt? I think its worth going to check out the Pyramids just the once. I didn't think I'd be as impressed by them as I was until I got there.
This is the one chance for the moment, as I'll be picking other weird and wonderful destinations over retracing my steps...
Thanks for the review of the cruise - I'm truly psyched about this trip now. We'll go to Cairo. Its a half-hour flight apparently, and the idea of not seeing the pyramids kind of offends me ;-) Though, the museum is supposed to be spectacular, so we'll check it out too.