egypt’s Twin Centres
Egypt’s well-developed infrastructure makes two- centre holidays easy to organise
Cairo and with far smaller crowds in the peak season. They include Saqqara, 32 km (20 miles) outside the city, with the Stepped Pyramid of Djorser, Dahshur, beyond Cairo’s southern outskirts and famous for its Red Pyramid, and the fascinating Bent Pyramid and Maidum, 48 km (30 miles) from Dahshur that has a dramatic collapsed pyramid.
Twin cities
Internal flights can twin Cairo with any Red Sea resort, but the northern resort of Ain Soukhna is just 90 minutes away by road. Alternatively Cairo can be twinned with a visit to Alexandria, with two-day train excursions for those on a tight time schedule or longer stays taking in the city and adjoining White Med coast.
Alexandria, Egypt’s historic second
city, has impressive cultural attractions including a Roman amphitheatre, a National Museum – housed in a former palace and with a notable collection of mummies – and Bibliotheca Alexandria, a complex of museums and art galleries in a striking contemporary building. Extending west from Alexandria is the White Med where travellers can explore charming fishing villages and historical sites such as El Alamein, scene of the decisive Allied victory during the Second World War, and relax with a stay at the other three main resorts of Marsa Matruh, Ghazala and Almaza.
Temples and tombs
Domestic flights or an overnight train from Cairo will take visitors to Luxor or Aswan, starting point for a classic seven- night Nile cruise visiting all the major temples and tombs en route. Cruise and stay options can also include shorter three- or four-night cruises and afterwards many people choose to relax with a stay on the Red Sea. Those staying for two weeks can fit in a stay in Cairo with a cruise and time on the beach in resorts such as Sharm el Sheikh, Hurghada, Makadi Bay, Soma Bay, El Gouna or Marsa Alam. A good choice for a twin-centre
land stay is Luxor and Hurghada as the road transfer is only four hours. Luxor, with the Winter Palace hotel and other colonial era buildings, a vibrant shopping district and the unmissable historic attractions of the Valley of the Kings and Karnak offers a huge amount to see and do; afterwards it’s a tempting option to relax for a while on the beach at Hurghada. For those looking for a completely different experience, the Egyptian deserts that make up 95% of the country and be twinned with a city or resort-based stay. The vast Western Desert, extending from the Nile Valley in the east to Egypt’s
western border and the Mediterranean coast in the north to the southern border, covers dunes, oases and valleys with stunning rock formations. The Eastern Desert, between the Nile Valley and Red Sea, includes the Red Sea Mountains chain. At an altitude of 900 metres (2,952 ft) above sea level they’re tipped as the next hot hiking spot after the already popular Mount Sinai. In both deserts visitors can sleep under the stars in a Bedouin camp or relax in style in a luxurious oasis retreat.
Ancient or modern, land or water; in Egypt it really is possible to enjoy the best of both worlds.
www.egypt.travel
19
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24