04Experiences

Experience

A Nile cruise between Luxor and Aswan

The finest way to see Upper Egypt is to travel with it slowly, as visitors have for centuries. About 220 km of river separate Luxor and Aswan, and along the way stand two great temples of the Ptolemaic era. The first is Edfu on the west bank, one of the best preserved temples in Egypt, built between 237 and 57 BC, with a towering pylon, a colonnaded court and roofed halls. The second is Kom Ombo, whose name means 'mound of gold': a rare double temple in which every court, hall and sanctuary is duplicated on either side of a single axis. Between the two, fields, palms and villages slide past on both banks, for the valley is the only farmland in the country. In Luxor and Aswan the felucca, a wooden sailing boat for about ten passengers, remains the most peaceful way onto the water, and Luxor is also famous for its hot-air balloons. Go in winter, when the days are mild.

about 220 km

Luxor to Aswan

0–57 BC

Temple of Edfu built

about 10

Passengers on a felucca