Walk Like An Egyptian

Egypt – what a classic destination! Once upon a long, long time, travelling was kind of invented here twice: Firstly, when people travelled to the holy places and temples of their Gods. Secondly, when a certain Thomas Cook made it possible to comfortably travel the Nile in the 19th century, thus starting a travel empire that lasted for about a century and a half (before sadly collapsing in 2019 – maybe top management had forgotten to pray to the old Egyptian Deities for too long).

However, one of the most enigmatic characters of Egyptian Antiquity is certainly Tut-Anch-Amun. The story of Howard Carter finally discovering this last grave of an ancient king after years of failure and disappointment still reads like a thriller and certainly had been read by the makers of archaeology adventures like Indiana Jones. The famous iconic gold mask ranges among the greatest pieces of egyption art ever – and is one of the many higlights of the Egyption National Museum in Cairo – an absolut Must-See for every traveller in Egypt.

 

The Pyramids of Giza

When you’re in Cairo, there is no way around the Great Pyramids of Giza. Certainly there’s no denying: The pyramids are huge, gigantic, unique. Some people may say they are sooo cliché – but actually standing in front of them they’d probably go quiet. Very quiet. These monuments between the moloch that is Cairo and the eternity that is the Sahara Desert are just overwhelming. (Just try to ignore the obtrusive souvenir salesmen and camel riders).

Luxor and the Valley of the Kings

Going up the river Nile way down South, you reach Luxor and the Valley of the Kings – the next two highlights of Egypt. “I see wonderful things”, Howard Carter is reported to say to Lord Carnarvon when first spying through a small hole in the door of the grave of King Tut Anch Amun that he just discovered after years of digging in vain.  Yet, there is also the tragic history of Luxor as a place of terrorist attacks, and especially the massacre at the Temple of Hatschepsut in 1997 shouldn’t go unmentioned. Due to these and similar events these days most of the tourist places in Egypt are secured by heavily armed police and military  – I haven’t seen so many real machine guns in my life, which is a little creepy, admittedly. 

 

The Red Sea

But of course there is always the sunny side of Egypt: Especially the marvellous Red Sea with its beautiful beaches and diving zones.

And there is so much more to this fascinating country – you should really come and see for yourself!