We checked out of the Hotel Sheraton and boarded the coach with Marco for our last trip.

We drove out of Cairo to Saqqara and the Step Pyramid of Djoser. It is the earliest Egyptian pyramid, built by the architect Imhotep around 2630 BC, surrounded by a vast mortuary complex.

It looked busy so we stopped first at the Tomb of Kagemni.

The carvings and paintings were outstanding.

The Step Pyramid was built in stages. A square mastaba was first built with further layers added until it reached a height of 6 mastabas (60 metres).

The burial chamber lies at the bottom of a shaft in the centre of the pyramids.

The Step Pyramid is considered to be a giant stairway which King Djoser would climb after being resurrected to join the sun god, Ra, in the sky.

Our Egyptian adventure over, we drove back to Cairo and to the airport.

Today we visited Coptic Cairo, a historic, spiritual district in Old Cairo hosting some of Egypt’s most revered churches within the Roman era Babylon Fortress.

The Coptic Orthodox Church was established by Saint Mark in the 1st century, making it one of the oldest Christian communities.

We went inside the Church of St Sergius and Bacchus.

The church was built on top of the crypt where Joseph, Mary and Jesus were said to have sheltered after fleeing to Egypt.

Next was the 7th century ‘Hanging Church’ suspended over 12 pillars.

Then we visited the Coptic museum – full of religious artefacts.

Arriving back at our hotel we had free time to get a light lunch and pack ready for our departure tomorrow.

We are looking forward to a farewell meal tonight with our 38 fellow travellers, our tour guide, Linda, and our local guide Marco, at the nearby Kebabgy Grill in the Sofitel Hotel overlooking the River Nile.

Sadly we left our cruise ship and took a short flight to Abu Simbel.

Abu Simbel is two huge temples hewn out of the rock, in the 13th century dedicated to Ramases II and his favourite wife Nefertari.

Following the construction of the High Dam in the 1960s it was realised that the temples would flood as the water rose. Many countries offered solutions to save the temple and the Swedish engineering company, Vattenbyggnadsbyran, came up with the best solution. They cut the temples into huge blocks and raised them 64 feet.

This picture was interesting as the extra legs of the horse and arms of the man appear to be to show movement.

In the smaller of the two temples, dedicated to Nefertari, the God of motherhood is shown as a cow with cows ears.

We flew back to Aswan and remained on the plane as some passengers got off and others got on. Then we flew back to Cairo.

Traffic was very busy when we landed and it was a long time before we finally arrived back at the Sheraton Hotel, Giza, on a different floor but with the same view.

Our coach took us to see the ‘unfinished obelisk’, the largest known obelisk. It was commissioned by Queen Hatshepsut during the 18th dynasty. It was abandoned after cracks appeared as it was being prepared.

It was quite an arduous climb (for me!)

We drove past the British dam of 1902 on our way to the Aswan High Dam.

Our coach took us across the top of the dam. Photography was frowned upon but we managed to snap a few showing Lake Nasser to the south of the dam with the River Nile continuing towards Cairo. There are no crocodiles in this part of the river but crocodiles and hippos are found in the lake.

We passed the Lotus Flower Peace Monument, symbolising the partnership between Egypt and the Soviet Union, who helped fund the construction of the dam.

We stopped off at an essential oils/perfumery where a Nubian specialist gave us an interesting talk.

We travelled by boat to the Philae Temple on an island in the reservoir between the British and the High Dam.

Marco – our cheerful local guide!

After a seafood buffet lunch back on the ship we were back on the water but this time in a felucca, a traditional wooden sailing boat. After a peaceful sail along the Nile we arrived at Kitchener Island where we explored the botanical gardens.

After a relaxing return journey we arrived back at our ship as the sun was setting.

Before our last dinner on board our ship we were treated to some entertainment.

Our Nile cruise is over and we return to Cairo tomorrow.

We woke up to find ourselves docked in Edfu. Our coach took us to Edfu temple. Some of the tourists travel there in a horse and carriage but they look in such poor condition that Great Rail Journeys stopped using them.

Off the coach, we first had to walk through the ‘Valley of the Vultures’.

Edfu temple is dedicated to Horus, the falcon headed God. He killed his brother, symbolised here by a hippo.

We returned to the ship and enjoyed a BBQ on the top deck as we continued cruising up the Nile, passing many different vessels and even a train!

We docked opposite Kom Ombo Temple.

This temple was dedicated to Horus and to the crocodile headed god, Sobek.

The columns and walls of the temple are intricately carved. These pictures show the medical instruments in use at the time, and the birthing chair.

Archaeological digs continue.

Mummified crocodiles were on display in the adjacent museum.

To get back to our ship we had to walk through 5 other ships!

In the evening we had an Egyptian buffet followed by music, dancing and games.

We have now docked at Aswan, ready for another exciting day tomorrow.

We left the ship and travelled to West Luxor, crossing the River Nile.

First stop was the Valley of the Kings.

We visited the tomb of Rameses IV.

The next tomb belonged to Tutankhamun.

Rameses III came next.

Then Rameses IX,

and the tomb of Merenptah.

Next we briefly visited one of the many alabaster cottage industries in the area to see souvenirs being made.

Back on the coach we travelled to Hatshepsut’s temple. She was an Egyptian queen.

Our last stop was the Valley of the Queens – which also includes many kings. The tomb of Amonchopeshfu, eldest son of Rameses III is famous for its beautiful wall paintings.

On the drive back to the ship we saw sundried tomatoes being made.

We got back to the ship just in time for lunch and disembarkation. We are heading south, up river.

We sat on deck for a while and we are now waiting for Marco, our Egyptian guide, to talk to us about modern Egypt.

Cocktails with the Captain later!

We left our hotel in Luxor, with its beautiful view of the Nile, and travelled to Luxor Temple.

The temple was built around the time of Tutankhamun, and later, Ramesses II.

An avenue of Sphinxs joins Luxor Temple with Karnak temple 3.5km away.

The walls and columns of the temple are covered with hieroglyphics and drawings which would have been very colourful when new.

The Romans added a church inside the temple around 5AD. They reused some of the stone from the original columns resulting in some drawings being upside down!

One picture shows a gathering around a table that looks similar to the painting of The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci.

The drawing below depicts the one armed and one legged fertility god. The story goes that all the men except him were killed which made him very popular with the ladies, who bore him many children.

We carried on to our ship, ‘Sunray’, and enjoyed an excellent Moroccan buffet.

After lunch we were off again – to Karnak Temple.

Karnak Temple followed Luxor Temple, begun in the middle kingdom (2000 – 1700 BC) and developed for another 2000 years with around 30 pharaohs contributing to it.

It is a massive site, the largest of all temples.

After our visit we headed back to our ship, stopping briefly at a papyrus art gallery.

We are back on the ship looking forward to dinner.

We left our hotel in Giza for the train to Luxor. We set off at 10.30am and arrived at 8.30pm. The journey was comfortable if not the cleanest. We had a substantial packed lunch provided by the Crowne Hotel which was enough for lunch and tea.

It was difficult taking photos due to the speed of the train and angle of the sun, but here goes …..

We were pleased to get on our coach and travel ten minutes to the Sonesta St George Hotel.

After walking 10,000+ steps yesterday I only managed 2,500 today but we travelled over 300 miles.

Only one night here then off on our Nile Cruise tomorrow!

Today we went by coach to Giza. The Great Sphinx was our first stop.

My dad was in Egypt in 1951/2 during his National Service so we are retracing his steps.

We walked around The Great Pyramid of Giza the last remaining 7th Wonder of the Ancient World.

Andy took the opportunity to climb the stone steps and enter inside the pyramind.

2km away from the Great Pyramid is the Great Egyptian Museum (GEM) which opened in late 2025 as the world’s largest archaeological museum dedicated to a single civilisation showcasing 100,000 artifacts including the entire Tutankhamun collection for the first time. All 5000+ items from the boy King’s tomb are displayed.

The museum is massive and would take several days to do it justice. We focused on the Tutankhamun exhibits.

The boy King’s organs were removed and placed in canopic jars, apart from the heart which is left in the body to be weighed prior to entering the afterlife.

Tutankhamun’s mummified body was placed inside 3 nested coffins which were placed inside a stone sarcophagus.

Buried with him were all the things he may need in the afterlife including many shabtis who would become servants to him.

This is the head of Anubis, the jackal shaped god who is god of the afterlife and protector of the dead.

His gold throne would be needed in the afterlife.

This boat was found in kit form buried near the Great Pyramid, ready to take the King across the river to the afterlife.

The first ever Great Rail Journeys group to visit the Great Egyptian Museum – January 2026.

We left our hotel and went to the fort built on the site of the Pharos Lighthouse, one of the seven ancient wonders of the world.

Back on the coach we headed west following the Mediterranean coast to El Alamein where we stopped to visit the Commonwealth War Cemetery. The battle of El Alamein was a major allied victory in North Africa and a turning point for British fortunes in WW2

We visited the museum nearby featuring many military vehicles.

We continued along the coast road to a hotel that, although closed for the winter, had offered to provide us with lunch.

For many miles we drove past hundreds of resorts and hotels that were all empty – used only in the summer months. Turning off the coast road we drove through desert to Wadi El-Natrun a fertile valley and then to a Coptic Christian Monastery where we were shown around by one of the monks.

After a long day our driver, Raphaelo, took us back to Cairo but this time to the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

We had dinner in a restaurant in the nearby shopping centre.