In direct contrast to the busy streets of Cairo, Aswan is a place to catch your breath. Here, the river runs like a wide blue ribbon through streets of colorful houses. Palm trees sway in the breeze, and people enjoy the coolness of the river’s water, a relief from the heat of the desert.
While you’re here, take a cruise from Aswan to Luxor or vice versa. We enjoyed the five-day river cruise with Oberio Cruise which included room, meals, sight seeing passes with a english speaking Egyptologists (tour guide). This is one of the best ways to see ancient Egyptian cities, temples and learn all about its history.
Plan
Day 1
Nubian Museum
On our first day of the cruise, we stopped at the Nubian Museum. The museum is filled with interesting artifacts and information on the Nubians.
Day 2
Philae Temple
Located on Agilkia Island, Philae Temple is a very interesting place to visit and it has drawn visitors for thousands of years. Although the temple was build for the Egyptian god Isis, many civilizations added to the complex.
Kom Ombo
Kom Ombo is a temple for two gods, which isn’t typical at all! Everything is perfectly symmetrical.
Day 3
Temple of Edfu
This ancient Egyptian temple stands majestically on the banks of the Nile. It was built well over a thousand years ago, but it is still in great shape! You can walk inside to see the various rooms.
Luxor
Luxor is the site of ancient Thebes, a city that was grand and powerful in its glory days. Today, the city is still a marvelous destination! Although the mud houses of Thebes have long since melded with the dust of the streets, a striking modern community that has grown up in its place. The entire city is a massive open-air museum filled with temples, tombs, and monuments of the past.
Day 4
Valley of the Kings
You’ll never be around so many kings at once. For 500 years, Egypt’s pharaohs and their nobles were buries in rocky tombs beneath the burning desert ground. There are over 60 tombs that have been discovered here—that’s a lot of mummies! There are a few tombs open daily, so you can actually go inside and see things you’ve only glimpsed in history books.
Luxor Temple
This is the iconic temple that all tourists to Egypt want to see. You know—the one with the huge obelisk and the two massive, enthroned statues. It used to be connected to Karnak temple by a lane of sphynxes. It’s amazing how much has survived since the temple was built back in 1400 BC!
Karanak Temple
This is one of the coolest temples in Egypt! It’s a mash of the ruins of temples, chapels, and various other buildings that have toppled into one another over the centuries. The area is pretty large, and it is fairly well preserved for being thousands of years old. You can still see the elaborate carvings left by the original artists as well as the remnants of stunning architecture and design.
Tomb of Tutankhamen
Of course, you can’t see Luxor without visiting the Tomb of Tutankhamen. The boy king who died so young has become entrenched in global legends and lore. This tomb was discovered less than a hundred years ago. It escaped the greedy hands of tomb robbers through the ages, and was found to be practically untouched. The tomb was filled with gold and precious art, some of which is still there! Visiting this tomb is quite the experience.
Valley of Queens
Like the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of Queens contains the tombs of royalty. This is where the wives of pharaohs were buried for hundreds of years. The most famous tomb belongs to Queen Nefertari. It’s only open to visitors once in a while, so you’ll be lucky if you can see it. If not, there are plenty of other tombs that are also beautiful to see!
Tombs of the Nobles
The Tombs of the Nobles are less flashy than those of the kings and queens, but they are still impressive. You can take a tour of these while you’re in Luxor.
Temple of Hatshepsut
This incredible ancient building is more than a temple—it’s also a funerary shrine. The temple is dedicated to Amun, a sun deity in the ancient Egyptian religion. The temple is beautiful on the outside, but it is even better on the inside. You can tour it and see classic Egyptian art all over the walls.
Day 5
When we had seen the sights of Luxor, we packed up and headed back to Cairo. Our trip to Egypt was a whirlwind of fascinating sights and experiences! Although we had sore feet and tired eyes, we were sad to leave the magic of Egypt behind us. Perhaps we will return again someday to see even more!