In addition to visiting the pyramids, visitors can fly a hot air balloon to see the ancient city or experience a luxury cruise down the Nile River.
In early May, Mr. Ly Thanh Co, who works in the media industry in Ho Chi Minh City, traveled to Egypt for 12 days. He shared that this trip was like a "dream come true" because since childhood he had heard and read many mythical stories about the mysterious land on the Nile River but had not had the opportunity to visit.
Mr. Co spent about 80 million VND for a nearly two-week trip to Egypt, including 30 million VND for a round-trip airfare from Ho Chi Minh City to Cairo, 40 million VND for a 10-day, 9-night land tour, and the remaining 10 million VND for expenses such as hot air balloon flights and tickets to visit monuments and museums.
The male tourist said that this was his first time visiting Egypt. He did not understand much about the country, and the process of booking rooms and local travel services was quite complicated, so he chose to book a local tour to consult their schedule and listen to the cultural and historical stories at each destination.
After 12 days in the "land of the Pharaohs", Co has summarized 10 experiences suitable for first-time tourists traveling to Egypt.
Hot air ballooning in Luxor
From above, visitors can admire the entire ancient architectural complex. The hot air balloon will fly along the West Bank of the Nile from North to South. Visitors will admire the "Valley of the Kings", the Hatshepsut Temple, and the Amenhotep III Temple in the West. "Only by going up high can you clearly observe the fertile green plain and the barren desert lying side by side but creating a contrasting, surprisingly realistic scene," said Mr. Co.
View of the "valley of the kings" from a hot air balloon.
Luxor is known as the "Valley of the Kings" because from the 16th to the 11th century BC, the Egyptians built many tombs for Pharaohs and royal officials. The valley is located on the west bank of the Nile River, in the center of the Theban Necropolis. In addition, Luxor is also considered a giant open-air museum when it owns the ruins of the ancient Karnak and Luxor temple complexes.
He shared that the cost of a hot air balloon flight in Luxor is about $120 per person. This is almost half the price of a flight in Cappadocia, Türkiye.
Admire the pyramids
These giant stone structures have been considered cultural symbols of Egypt for centuries. Mr. Co said that pyramid attractions sell tickets to serve tourists. On this trip, he visited the Giza pyramids. This is the oldest structure in the list of the 7 wonders of the ancient world and also the only one remaining.
Mr. Co at the Giza pyramids during a trip to Egypt in May.
"The Giza Pyramid is a masterpiece of human architecture. For more than 4,000 years, this place has retained its mysterious atmosphere thanks to a series of stories about thousand-year-old mummies and the mysterious curses after the death of ancient Pharaohs," said Mr. Co.
Cruise along the Nile
Co's most "valuable and expensive" experience during her 12 days in Egypt was a cruise down the legendary Nile River. There are two cruises, one from Luxor to Aswan or one from Aswan to Luxor. Co chose the departure from Aswan because Luxor is close to Cairo, making it convenient to travel to tourist attractions. The cost per night on the cruise is about 170 USD (about 4 million VND).
Along the way, the male tourist can admire the peaceful countryside and small towns along the Nile. To enjoy the blue sky of the ancient land, he can move to the top deck of the yacht, "sip cocktails and lie on the sun loungers".
Diving with dolphins in the Red Sea
Egypt is not only a dry desert but also a "paradise for diving lovers". In the Red Sea, in the Red Sea province, tourists can dive to explore coral reefs under the turquoise water. The town of Marsa Alam has the largest concentration of dolphins, also known as "the home of dolphins". If lucky, tourists can encounter and swim with dolphins while diving.
Visit the Black Desert, camp overnight in the White Desert
As its name suggests, the Black Desert is home to hundreds of mountains that are “covered in black powder”. These mountains are distributed along a stretch of about 30 km in western Egypt, between the Bahariya Oasis in the north and about 100 km from the White Desert in the south. Located in an area formed by volcanic eruptions dating back to the Jurassic period 180 million years ago, most of the mountain slopes are covered in a distinctive black color. There are also fossils of shrubs and forests here, suggesting that vegetation once flourished.
Meanwhile, the White Desert, also known as Farafra, is located in the northern Farafra Oasis, about 570 km from the capital Cairo, covering an area of over 3,000 km2. This place used to be a sea, but after the sea receded, the remaining rocky outcrops were eroded over time, creating the unique landscape it is today. The desert surface is covered with pure white sand dunes and giant natural stone structures.
The White Desert landscape is an overnight campsite for tourists visiting Egypt.
In the White Desert, there is an overnight camping service, where visitors sleep in tents set up in the middle of the white sand. "This service is included in the land tour I booked in advance. Lying in the middle of the vast desert, looking at the starry sky, I felt like I was floating in the middle of the Milky Way. It's been a long time since I've seen such a starry sky," said Mr. Co.
See 100,000 artifacts at the Egyptian Museum
Located in the heart of Cairo, the Egyptian Museum is a must-see for visitors interested in ancient history. Since 1902, it has been a repository of artifacts unearthed at legendary archaeological sites such as the Valley of the Kings and Luxor. Local guides share that the museum holds more than 100,000 artifacts in a 15-hectare space. Visitors can see the treasures of the legendary King Tutankhamun and the mummies of the pharaohs.
Visit ancient temples
During the trip, Mr. Co had the opportunity to visit 4 ancient temples in Egypt. These structures are thousands of years old, and still retain their architectural and historical value. Located in the most remote place in Egypt, 300 km from Aswan city, Abu Simbel temple is considered an open-air museum, a testament to the brilliant civilization that existed on the banks of the Nile thousands of years ago.
Karnak Temple in the ancient city of Luxor, about 800 km from the capital Cairo, is the largest and most important temple architectural complex among the temples and tombs of ancient Egypt, with the longest construction history, spanning over 30 generations of Pharaohs and over 1,000 years of construction and expansion.
People visit the Karnak temple in Luxor city in early May.
This place is dedicated to the sun god Amun-Ree. The most attractive feature of Karnak temple is the magnificent pylon (entrance gate) with many giant arches. According to the concept of ancient Egyptians, stone pillars are flowers growing from the ground. This is the reason why the top of stone pillars in ancient temples often have soft carvings of patterns.
Traveling to the banks of the Nile in Upper Egypt, visitors can visit the temple of Kom Ombo, built during the Ptolemaic period, starting in 332 BC. The temple was built on the foundation of an earlier temple, dedicated to two gods Sobek - the crocodile god and Horus - the falcon-headed god.
The ancient Egyptians believed that the god Sobek was responsible for the fertility of the Nile and protected those who lived and worked along its banks. Meanwhile, Horus was also an important god in ancient Egyptian culture, believed to be associated with the pharaohs.
Finally, there is the Philae Temple, located on a rocky island in the middle of the Nile, 12 km south of Aswan. Because it is located in the middle of the river, visitors must travel by boat to reach the temple. The site was submerged after the first Aswan Dam was built in 1906, and it was not until the 1970s that several countries, along with UNESCO, attempted to save the temple by moving each block from the original structure on Philae to Agilika Island.
Bich Phuong
Photo: Ly Thanh Co
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