#2 Find peace at Deir al-Adhra (Monastery of the Virgin)
Twenty-one kilometres (13 miles) north of Al Minya on the east bank of the Nile brings the curious traveller to an extraordinary monastery, the Deir al-Adhra (Monastery of the Virgin), perched on top of a cliff, 130 metres (426ft) above the river, and approached by 166 steps hewn into the rock.
It is said to have been founded in AD 328 by St Helena, mother of Byzantine Emperor Constantine, a dubious attribution, but one that corresponds in date at least to the archaeological evidence and the plan of the church.
Coptic tradition says that the Holy Family rested here on their flight from the Holy Land, and many miracles are ascribed to its picture of the Virgin, said to weep holy oil.
Visitors are welcome (although a donation is expected) and a priest will likely show you around.
#3 Gawp at the cliff-cut tombs of Bani Hasan
The Middle Kingdom tombs at Bani Hasan help to explain the shift of power from Memphis to Thebes, and the change in burial patterns from the Old Kingdom pyramids at Giza and Saqqara to the tucked-away royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings at Thebes in Luxor.
Approached by a battered old ferry, 39 Middle Kingdom tombs have been cut into the cliffs above the village of Bani Hasan. The powerful feudal lords who are buried here ruled almost independently of the Middle Empire during the 11th and 12th dynasties (2040–1782 BC).
Twelve of the tombs are decorated with scenes similar to those at Saqqara, but are painted in fresco rather than carved in relief. Four tombs are open to the public, including the tomb of Baqet, an 11th Dynasty monarch, which in addition to scenes of hunting and harvesting depicts a catalogue of 200 wrestling positions.
#4 See some of the finest reliefs in Egypt at the Temple of Seti I, Abydos
The Temple of Seti I is entered through a mostly ruined pylon leading into the First Hypostyle Hall, which was completed by Seti’s son Ramesses II.
Beyond this is the Second Hypostyle Hall with 24 papyrus columns, decorated with some of the finest reliefs in the whole country. These exquisite reliefs on fine white limestone show Seti engaged in performing a multitude of rites in honour of Osiris and the company of gods.
The reliefs on the walls on the right are particularly noteworthy. Further on are the seven sanctuaries of the six mentioned gods and of Seti himself; these would have contained their barques behind closed wooden doors.
Seti himself died before the temple was completed, leaving his son Ramesses II to finish the decoration of the courtyards and colonnades, in a clearly less sophisticated way.