Egypt Guide
Things not to miss
1 Aswan • Aswan has been Egypt's gateway to Nubia since ancient times, and its islands, bazaars and riverside restaurants can keep you happy in between excursions to sites such as Abu Simbel.
2 Mount Sinai • This awesome peak is revered as the site where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God.
3 Dahab • Sinai chill-out zone, renowned for its diving, beach cafés, and camel and Jeep safaris into the rugged interior.
4 Islamic Cairo • City of a thousand minarets, teeming with life, and chock-full of architectural masterpieces and historic monuments. Head for Khan el-Khalili Bazaar, or the Citadel.
5 Ras Mohammed • Egypt's oldest marine nature park boasts spectacular shark reefs and the wreck of the Dunraven.
6 The Pyramids and Sphinx at Giza • The world's most famous monuments have inspired scholarly and crackpot speculations for centuries.
7 Siwa Oasis • With its unique culture, hilltop citadel and spring-fed pools, Siwa is rated by many as the best of Egypt's oases.
8 Al-Qasr • A labyrinth of shadowy lanes and covered passageways, dating back to medieval times, that was once the capital of Dakhla Oasis.
9 The White Desert • A tract of weird wind-eroded rock formations in Farafra Oasis, often visited on overnight safaris from the neighbouring oasis of Bahariya.
10 The Egyptian Antiquities Museum • A statue of Taueret, the pregnant hippopotamus-goddess of fertility, is just one of the highlights of this amazing collection, which includes Tutankhamun's treasures, monumental statues from the Old Kingdom and the Amarna era, and a dozen royal mummies.
11 Feluccas • These lateen-sailed boats can be hired for an afternoon lazing on the Nile, or a two- or three-day journey from Aswan, visiting the temples at Kom Ombo and Edfu.
12 Abu Simbel • The monumental sun temple of Ramses II is the most spectacular of the Nubian antiquities that were relocated to higher ground on the shores of Lake Nasser.
13 Alexandria • With its dazzling new library, and the chance to dive the ruins of Cleopatra's Palace and the Pharos Lighthouse, this Mediterranean port city founded by Alexander the Great is making waves again.
14 Catacombs of Kom es-Shoqafa • Beneath the Karmous quarter of Alexandria are the spookiest tombs in Egypt, with a bizarre fusion of pharaonic, Greek and Roman funerary motifs, reflecting the city's ancient diversity.
15 Red Sea monasteries • Secluded in the desert highlands, the monasteries of St Paul and St Anthony are the oldest in Egypt, if not the world, dating back to the dawn of Christian monasticism.
16 Abydos • One of the most ancient cult-centres in Egypt, Abydos' mortuary temple of Seti I contains magnificent bas-reliefs, the finest to have survived from the New Kingdom.
17 St Catherine's Monastery • Secluded beneath Mount Sinai, St Catherine's harbours the burning bush that appeared to Moses, and other holy relics.
18 Na'ama Bay • Egypt's premier resort, teeming with bars, clubs and luxury hotels, and with magnificent coral gardens nearby.
19 The Great Sand Sea • This vast sea of dunes once swallowed up an entire Persian army, but you can safely explore its edge from Siwa Oasis, or join a deep-desert safari to traverse the Sand Sea.
20 Valley of the Kings • The descent into the Underworld, the Judgement of Osiris and the rebirth of the pharaoh are vividly depicted on the walls and ceilings of the royal tombs.