- Luxor
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Egypt
A lovely hotel set on an island in the Nile, around 10 minutes from the centre of Luxor. The views are stunning - especially at sunset, unobstructed (no huge Nile cruise ships anchor there) - sit on your terrace with a cocktail and enjoy.
A welcome escape from the hustle (and hassle) of Luxor!
Crocodile Island, Luxor
The building housing this wonderful collection of antiquities is purpose-built for the job. Although the number of items on display there is fewer than in Cairo Museum, I think that these exquisite pieces have been selected for their importance and beauty. The lighting of all exhibits is really superb. This gem is not to be missed, but if you're pushed for time you could go in the evening as they stay open quite late.
Konish el-nil, East bank
Great food at resonable prices. Staff are friendly and have a sense of humour, and the whole place is spotless. Ask for Captain Nemo - he can fix anything from boat rides to balloon trips and airport transfers. If he can't do it he knows someone who can, he knows everyone.
Opposite the Nile Palace is Passport Street, next door to Murphys Bar.
Although millions of tourists visit the west bank at Luxor every year the area is so rich in archaeology that it is not difficult to find quiet and equally spectacular monuments away from the hordes.
Just across the road from the bazaars and the coach-park at the Hatshepsut temple a jumble of mud-brick remains marks the cemetery of el-Asasif, site of some of the largest and most spectacular tombs anywhere in the country.
Three of its tombs are open to the public: that of Kheruef of the 18th Dynasty, and those of Pabasa and Ankh-hor of the 26th. Their subterranean ‘sun-courts’ are unique to this area, and each of the tombs preserves beautiful relief decoration of varying styles.
I would highly recommend taking a walk from here back to the road through the crumbling remains of tombs yet to be investigated; at the road I recommend hailing one of the local service taxis and riding back to the river with the locals for a few piasters, rather than taking a private car for 100 times the price.
Egypt decided some years ago that it was relatively unsafe to allow tourists to travel outside the established tourist centres; as a result several isolated, but nonetheless spectacular sites in between Cairo, Luxor and Aswan are infrequently visited.
For those looking for archaeological adventures away from the hordes, I highly recommend making arrangements (in hotels or with taxi drivers) to join the daily convoy down-river (north) from Luxor to see Dendera and Abydos. The former is the site of one of Egypt’s best preserved monuments, the Ptolemaic and Roman temple of Dendera, with scenes of Cleopatra VII (the Cleopatra) and her son Ceasarion; at the latter the atmospheric temple of Sety I and his son Ramesses the Great features some of the most beautiful relief decoration anywhere in Egypt.
The drive is fairly lengthy but provides an excellent opportunity to see the Egyptian countryside.
I would like to recommend a restaurant I discovered in Luxor. It is called Sofra Restaurant & Café. Both food and ambience were excellent and it was the highlight of the trip to Luxor for some people I was travelling with. We were so impressed that we went there four times in one week.
90 Mohammed Farid street, El Manshia
and near by the train station in Luxor
Phone 095 2 35 97 52
www.sofra.com.eg
Fabulous food, great staff, well stocked bar and spotless kitchens!
We enjoyed many a night here in February this year. Try the duck or kebabs. Tell them Caroline and Paul sent you, they assure us you will get a free drink!
Opposite Meridian Hotel, next to Murphys Irish bar. Passport Office Street.
Private double sleeping berth, with dinner and breakfast, for $60 each way. It is fantastic to watch Egypt go by in the night and very romantic though the train is a bit 'grubby' but after a bottle of wine (sold on board!) you won't notice!
It is cheaper to book it yourself than through the travel agents in Luxor itself. The train leaves Luxor around 9pm and gets into Cairo at about 7am.
Email to reserve - www.sleepingtrains.com
And specify you want to pick your tickets up in Luxor (the office is on Platform 1). You have to pick up/pay for your tickets the day before (sometimes 24 hours).
For a romantic sunset over the Nile it's hard to beat the Movenpick. Situated at the far southern end of the resort there aren't any other hotels nearby to spoil the view.
The sunset concert mixed with the sound of the evening chorus of birds and the sight of fellucas sailing gracefully by is hard to beat. It's open to non-residents so just turn up and watch the sun go down with your partner.
Movenpick, Crocodile Island, Luxor
Great rugs, provided you actually get to go home with the one you 'bought'. Be very careful that the one you agree to buy is not switched for another, half-finished reject. If the merchant wants to take your rug out of your sight, don’t agree and don’t let him bind it all up with twine either. Do your deal and take your rug – don’t have it pulled out from under you.
A donkey trip gives you the best views and is the most fun, slightly ridiculous way to see the valley of the kings. We made the mistake of booking through a hotel, who take massive commissions (up to 80% of fee). The donkey trip guides are VERY poor, so why not book direct and cut out the fat? Then they get a fairer deal and you get a cheaper price. Call Abdl on this number: 095/2060352, or 010 472 9416. He will meet you at your hotel and take you on a great 5-6 hour trip which should cost about £4 sterling each.
Call him on 095/2060352 or 010 472 9416
We were pestered as we were crossing the Nile by a man who wanted to offer a guided tour of all the temples and tombs, we tried to get rid of him, but one of his tricks was to pull out a book with written testimonies by all the people who he has shown around Luxor. We didn’t give the book much notice, as all the testimonies were written by people who came from places such as Paris, New York, London and Tokyo. We presumed these were just generic transcripts copied in different peoples handwriting.
He challenged us to name where we came from and he would find somebody from the book, my home town is originally Stourbridge in the west midlands, not the largest of towns, I told him that’s where I came from and to my disbelief he pulled out a written reference form somebody in my hometown.
A great way to get around the west bank at your own pace is by bike. You can hire a bike from any number of places on the west Bank and they only cost a couple of quid for the day.
The only thing to remember is that the cycle to the Valley of the Kings is tough as it will be uphill all the way, although the cycle back downhill was really really great fun. Be prepared for local kids having a good laugh at you as you cycle by.
Be sure that if you are thinking of taking a trip on any of the caleshes that the horse or donkey is well looked after, that they are well shod and that the driver doesn't make the horse gallop on the road surface.
We visited a donkey and horse rescue centre and some of the injuries the animals receive are horrendous. It's worth visiting these centres as they provide free veterinary care for all animals and they rely on donations to survive.
Luxor is great - lots to see and do - but it's nice to get away from the hassle. We went on an overnight trip to the Red Sea which you can book locally and is not too expensive. There you can experience some of the best diving in the world and chill out by the sea - well worth it if you have time.
This colonial-era hotel in Aswan, about 80 miles south of Luxor, is famed for Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile. The glamour has faded but it remains a lovely retreat from the heat and hawkers where you can take scones and tea on a palm-fringed balcony.
Sofitel Old Cataract Hotel, Abtal El Tahrir Street, Aswan;
tel: 00 20 97 316000
For many tourists, the way to see the West Bank temples and tombs appears to be the highly priced offerings from their tour company.
Typical costs are £39 per person for a visit to the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepshut's temple and the Valley of the Queens. Included in this price are the ticket prices (approximately £9.50 per person).
To hire an air-conditioned minibus and a guide, and to visit temples and tombs that you wish to see, will cost at most 200LE (£20) for up to six people (total price), so adding the cost of the tickets, the trip will probably cost an individual in this situation about £12.
The other plus of this is that you can actually spend as long as you wish at a site, and not have to rush back to take in the obligatory visit to an alabaster or papyrus shop, for which the tour leader on the coach can make up to 50% of your purchase price in commission.
Great restaurant outside the Sheraton Hotel - good selection of food reasonably priced, British run.
Many people bring their mobile phones when they come on holiday to Luxor. Calls to the UK on a UK-based network attract high roaming charges, and the recipient of the call has to pay similar charges to the caller. A simple solution to this is to buy a Holiday Sim Card pack, from the Vodafone shop at the bottom of Television Street. The cost is 25LE, and it will give you an Egyptian phone number, which means that you pay a lower international call charge, and the recipient pays nothing. The card has a life of 6 weeks, and can be topped up with pay-as-you-go cards that are readily available throughout the city. If your phone needs 'unlocking' there are several phone shops where this can be done at a cost of between 30-50LE.
Even before the tragic incident at Hatshepsut in November 1997, where about 90 tourists were massacred by Islamic fundamentalists, security of tourists was an important issue in Egypt. Since then however, the authorities have introduced heightened security measures aimed at protecting visitors, and therefore the all-important tourist industry.
The impression you receive as a tourist is that your safety is of paramount importance and that no risks will be taken. This has naturally taken on even greater significance in the current international crisis. Now, at all the main sites there are greater numbers of police, although compared to some other countries their presence is by no means overbearing.
Within Luxor town itself it is perfectly safe for tourists to wander round, although it is unwise to linger in or around the town of Qena, considered to be a fundamentalist stronghold. For trips to other towns such as Hurghada or Aswan, tourists must now travel on specific police-escorted convoys. There are sometimes just two or three convoys per day, so if driving yourself make sure you know the departure times or you will be turned back at the first checkpoint.
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