A Sharm el Sheikh holiday,

- is essentially about relaxation and enjoying the fabulous waters of the Red Sea and the abundance of water sports that are on offer. There is also a variety of optional excursions and trips that you can take part in. These are detailed below:

 

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From Sharm el Sheikh you can take part in the following excursions:

Giza Plateau & Sphinx From Cairo you will be able to visit the Pyramids of Giza - The Great Pyramid of Khufu, the Pyramids of Khafra and Menkaura, the Giza Necropolis and the majestic Sphinx with its unwavering gaze towards the sunrises of the last four and a half thousand years.

Sakkara & Pyramid Complex of Djoser The Pyramid Complex of Djoser is just a short journey away from Cairo at Sakkara and you can see some of the earliest buildings ever constructed from stone, including the Stepped Pyramid, designed by the famous architect - Imhotep.

Egyptian Museum at Cairo The greatest collection of Egyptian antiquities is, without doubt, that of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. It is a place of true discovery and, even after many visits, I continue to make new and delightful discoveries every time I venture into its many galleries. To be sure, the museum can be daunting in the sheer numbers of its antiquities on show, but there is an order within its layout and it is a dream come true for anyone wanting to study Egyptian antiquities.

Coptic Cairo Old Cairo is so named because it is the oldest part of Cairo, and in fact, predates what is now Cairo. Some Egyptologists believe that there was a settlement here as far back as the 6th century BC. Later, the Romans built a fortress here which we call Babylon. Some of these Roman walls still exist. Later, it became a Christian stronghold, with as many as 20 churches built within an area of one square mile. There are only five remaining, but these are certainly a must see when visiting Cairo, along with the earliest Mosque ever built in Egypt.

Islamic Cairo Tucked away amid the modern urban area of Cairo lies one of the world's oldest Islamic cities, with its famous mosques, madrasas, hammams and fountains. Founded in the 10th century, it became the new centre of the Islamic world, reaching its golden age in the 14th century.

Alexandria Founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BC, Alexandria became the capital of Graeco-Roman Egypt, its status as a beacon of culture symbolized by Pharos, the legendary lighthouse that was one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The setting for the stormy relationship between Cleopatra and Mark Antony, Alexandria was also the center of learning in the ancient world. But ancient Alexandria declined, and when Napoleon landed, he found a sparsely populated fishing village.

Al-Alamein The north coast of Egypt is becoming more and more of a tourist destination, and the area of al-Alamein is becoming more popular, with several major resorts nearby. Al-Alamein takes its name from the twin peaked hill known as Tell al-Alamein, upon which it stands. Prior to the battles that took place there and near there during World War II, al-Alamein was simply a sleepy stop along the modern north coast railway. But it does actually have some ancient history associated with it. Al-Alamein is the site of the Gaucum of Ptolemy and the Leucasis, Leucaspis, or Locabsis of the Romans.

Golfing in Cairo The Oberoi Golf Course is a shared fairway designed with nine fairways and eighteen tees and greens. It will provide one with some great photo opportunities and a challenging round of golf. The front nine yardage markers are on the left hand side of the fairway and the back nine markers are on the right hand side of the fairway. This is one of the most historical golf courses in Egypt, established in 1889. The most spectacular part of this golf course is not the course itself, but the Great Pyramids that loom over the course in the background. One's eyes are always drawn to them, and it is a nice spot to view them because everything is calm and quiet, not like on the Plateau itself. It is one of the only golf courses where one can play and view one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World at the same time.

Suez Canal The canal allows two-way water transportation, most importantly between Europe and Asia without circumnavigation of Africa. Before its opening in 1869, goods were sometimes offloaded from ships and carried over land between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. The canal comprises seven parts, north and south of the Great Bitter Lake, linking the Mediterranean Sea to the Gulf of Suez on the Red Sea. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 created the first salt-water passage between the Mediterranean and Red seas. The Red Sea is about 1.2 m higher than the Eastern Mediterranean, so the canal serves as a tidal strait that pours Red Sea water into the Mediterranean.

St Catherines Monastery & Mt Sinai The oldest record of monastic life at Sinai comes from the travel journal written in Latin by a woman named Egeria about 381-384. She visited many places around the Holy Land and Mount Sinai, where, according to the Hebrew Bible, Moses received the Ten Commandments from God. The monastery was built by order of Emperor Justinian I between 527 and 565, enclosing the Chapel of the Burning Bush ordered to be built by Helena, the mother of Constantine I, at the site where Moses is supposed to have seen the burning bush; the living bush on the grounds is purportedly the original. The site is sacred to Christianity and Islam.

Sekem - an eco-friendly village The SEKEM initiative was founded to realise the vision of sustainable human development. SEKEM aims to contribute to the comprehensive development of the individual, society and environment. A holistic concept encompassing integrated economic, social and cultural development forms the key SEKEM vision.

Dakhla Oasis In pharaonic times the oases were places of wells, orchards, vineyards and farms as attested in many of the New Kingdom tombs in the Nile Valley. Dakhla especially seems to have been very fertile and known to be a centre for the production of wine, fruit, grain and minerals which were extracted from its inhabitants in the form of taxes. There are remains of Ptolemaic structures in Dakhla, with more evidence from this period emerging with recent excavations, but so far there is little evidence of Greek occupation. The Romans however, left many important remains in Dakhla, including the recently restored Temple of Amun at Deir el-Hagar. There are only two of the fortress-temples (so prominent in Kharga) and much of the Roman architecture and art is quite different to that seen in the southern oasis.

Karnak Temple In ancient Egypt, the power of the god Amun of Thebes gradually increased during the early New Kingdom, and after the short persecution led by Akhenaten, it rose to its apex. In the reign of Ramesses III, more than two thirds of the property owned by the temples belonged to Amun, evidenced by the stupendous buildings at Karnak. Although badly ruined, no site in Egypt is more impressive than Karnak. It is the largest temple complex ever built by man, and represents the combined achievement of many generations of ancient builders. The Temple of Karnak is actually three main temples, smaller enclosed temples, and several outer temples located about three kilometers north of Luxor, Egypt situated on 100 ha (247 acres) of land. Karnak is actually the sites modern name. Its ancient name was Ipet-isut, meaning "The Most Select (or Sacred) of Places".

Luxor Temple Many festivals were celebrated in Thebes. The Temple of Luxor was the center of the most important one, the festival of Opet. Built largely by Amenhotep III and Ramesses II, it appears that the temple's purpose was for a suitable setting for the rituals of the festival. The festival itself was to reconcile the human aspect of the ruler with the divine office. During the 18th Dynasty the festival lasted eleven days, but had grown to twenty-seven days by the reign of Ramesses III in the 20th Dynasty. At that time the festival included the distribution of over 11,000 loaves of bread, 85 cakes and 385 jars of beer.

Valley of the Kings The Egyptian belief that "To speak the name of the dead is to make him live again" is certainly carried out in the building of the tombs. The king's formal names and titles are inscribed in his tomb along with his images and statues. Beginning with the 18th Dynasty and ending with the 20th, the kings abandoned the Memphis area and built their tombs in Thebes. Also abandoned were the pyramid style tombs. Most of the tombs were cut into the limestone following a similar pattern: three corridors, an antechamber and a sunken sarcophagus chamber.

Valley of the Queens The Valley of the Queens is located on the West Bank at Luxor (ancient Thebes). There are between 75 and 80 tombs in the Valley of the Queens, or Biban al-Harim. These belong to Queens of the 18th, 19th and 20th Dynasties. One of five wives of Ramesses II, Nefertari was his favorite and the tomb here has been is said to be one of the most beautiful in Egypt. The tomb is completely painted with scenes though out. In most of these, Nefertari, known as 'the most beautiful of them', is accompanied by gods. She is usually wearing a golden crown with two feathers extended from the back of a vulture and clothed in a white, gossamer gown. Be sure not to miss the side room where one scene depicts the queen worshipping the mummified body of Osiris.

Tombs of the Nobles - Luxor The Tombs of the Nobles is a very interesting site on Luxor's west bank, but often neglected. The reason is of course that no kings or queens had their tomb or temple built here. It is all devoted to persons now only remembered by the most detailed historical works. There are 400 tombs here. But what you can see here is a great change from the almost repetitive images in the temples and the great tombs. The noblemen who had their tombs built here used a different artwork and were concerned with other matters than the royalty. There is quite little of scenes depicting judgment and resurrection, and more imagery of earthly life and its continuation in the afterlife.

Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut The mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut is one of the most dramatically situated in the world. The queen's architect, Senenmut, designed it and set it at the head of a valley overshadowed by the Peak of the Thebes, the "Lover of Silence," where lived the goddess who presided over the necropolis. A tree lined avenue of sphinxes led up to the temple, and ramps led from terrace to terrace. The porticoes on the lowest terrace are out of proportion and coloring with the rest of the building. They were restored in 1906 to protect the celebrated reliefs depicting the transport of obelisks by barge to Karnak and the miraculous birth of Queen Hatshepsut.

Hot-air Balloon Ride over the Theban Necropolis (Luxor) Luxor life passes by at a far more sedate pace than Cairo and after your visits you can relax as you watch life go by, virtually unchanged since Pharaonic times. No visit to Luxor would be complete, however, without a hot-air balloon ride at dawn over the Great Theban Necropolis.

Abu Simbel Not only are the two temples at Abu Simbel among the most magnificent monuments in the world but their removal and reconstruction was an historic event in itself. When the temples (280 km from Aswan) were threatened by submersion in Lake Nasser, due to the construction of the High Dam, the Egyptian Government secured the support of UNESCO and launched a world wide appeal. During the salvage operation which began in 1964 and continued until 1968, the two temples were dismantled and raised over 60 meters up the sandstone cliff where they had been built more than 3,000 years before. Here they were reassembled, in the exact same relationship to each other and the sun, and covered with an artificial mountain. Most of the joins in the stone have now been filled by antiquity experts, but inside the temples it is still possible to see where the blocks were cut. You can also go inside the man made dome and see an exhibition of photographs showing the different stages of the massive removal project.

Nile Cruise A Nile River Cruise holiday on the river Nile can be a memorable experience. If you are looking for a relaxing vacation, surrounded by the luxuries of comfort, avail the big ships that substitute as Luxury Nile River Cruises floating hotels. Spacious rooms, modern amenities and lip smacking gourmet…it will indeed be a trip to remember.

Holiday Extensions

It is also possible to combine your holiday in Sharm el Sheikh with an extension in either Cairo or Luxor, or why not enjoy a traditional Nile Cruise? Please see the itineraries for our other holidays and let us know in the Booking Enquiry form if you would like to include one of these as an extension to your Sharm el Sheikh Holiday.

 

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Fantastic Prices from ONLY £ 290 B&B and £ 375 All Inclusive

 

 

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