BLOG: Travel five hours and be awestruck

There aren’t many places in the world where you only need to travel five hours to be awestruck. And Egypt, despite the troubles, still delivers, writes Diane Evans.

Egypt has long been on my wish list and while some UK holidaymakers may be choosing alternatives, I jumped at the chance to join an YouTravel educational to the Nile, Luxor and El Gouna, an upmarket ‘private’ town near Hurghada.  Not only was I keen to get an insight into early civilisation, I also wanted to see for myself how the political uncertainty was affecting tourism.

The former took my breath away and the latter, I have to say, was barely noticeable apart from the lack of tourists in some spots. It really is business as usual for the vast majority of Egyptians and apart from visible security wherever you go and armed check points on roads – just in case – you don’t feel inhibited or in danger.

We flew to Luxor with EgyptAir which surprised some by being  a ‘dry’ airline (not serving alcohol) but the flight’s not long and the food on board was good. The itinerary avoided Cairo and joined M/S Emilio – one of the Nile cruise ships in Luxor. There’s 300 of these almost identical ships, although only around 10 are in action on the Nile at any one time –  so make sure you make note of the décor and staff before you leave for the excursions as it could get confusing. Bizarrely they’re also often moored alongside each other with you having to walk through two or three ships to get to your own.

Our first visit was a step back in time to the Valley of the Kings – reverse back 3,000 years to 1500BC. It was an early morning start as it gets very hot at the height of the day and our guide Mohammed, who was bursting with information, gave us a potted history on the coach journey there.

All the Pharoahs would spend their lives on the East Bank of the Nile preparing for the ‘after life’. From their ascension to their death, their tombs would be carved into the limestone rock at the Valley of the Kings complete with columns, plaster and colourful hieroglyphics and all without a crane or JCB in sight. Here they would be buried in a sarcophagus with all their riches around them.

The only fly in the ointment is that the ‘workers’ were able to find these hidden tombs and raid them years later. Apart from one infamous Pharoah – Tutankhamun – whose tomb was discovered intact by Brit archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922. This tomb was an extra 100 Egyptian pounds (£10) to visit on top of the usual ticket to visit three tombs but was worth it. Unfortunately no cameras are allowed inside the site.

The 62 ‘caves’ which have surprisingly high ceilings differ in length and decoration and despite there now being a map of the whole area, they were built years apart with no master plan so often crossed over each other.

It’s impossible to imagine the work put into them especially as my calves were aching after visiting four so make sure you have a decent pair of shoes and plenty of water. At the moment the West Bank closes at 5pm but there are plans to open it in the evening which would allow more visitors when it’s cooler and boost tourism to the area.

On our way back to the boat we took a detour to the Hatchepsut temple which is an iconic site seen from miles around and the Colossi of Memnon. Outside the coach there’s a number of adept salesmen though so best to go everywhere in twos or you could end up buying more than you bargained for.

Back on board, it’s time to relax on the journey downstream to Esna and Edfu. It’s an effortless way to travel and the only disturbance to the peace are hawkers tying their boats to the ship and throwing up kaftans for you to try on. The Nile was cleaner and greener than I was expecting and in a near perfect climate, with a swimming pool and bar on deck, why wouldn’t you?

We were only on for a couple of nights but usual trips are either three or four nights one way or a seven-night round trip. It’s a great way to get from A to B, taking in the history en route. The food was fantastic – with not a stomach upset among us – and the general standard of cabins and service was very good. YouTravel’s confidence in the market will see it sell 25 ships to its German and UK market in 2015 compared to 10 this year (two of which were for Brits). Among them will be some top-end luxury ships with fewer passengers.

We transferred back up to Luxor which was a contrast of stunning, historical sites and run down concrete buildings. Tourism has declined here with many ships now mooring on the outskirts and passengers being taken straight from the airport on board. It has a friendly and bustling feel about it with markets, horses and carts and friendly locals.

By night we went to a sound and light show at the Karnak temple which, despite the Scooby-Doo soundtrack and pucker English accents, gave us a taste of its grandeur. It spans 65 acres – with us only seeing a fraction – and again leaves you awestruck. It’s a must-see. In the centre, the Egyptians are still restoring the incredible Avenue of Sphinxes between Luxor and Karnak temple.

In response to demand, YouTravel is putting together more cruise and stay twin centres themselves complete with transfers to make the agents’ life easier. Having soaked up the culture and most of the drink on board, we went for some relaxation in resort, sampling the upmarket, luxury resort of El Gouna near Hurghada.  By road, it took some time to get there but it was worth the wait…