Most beautiful places to visit in Egypt:
Did you visit Egypt before? if no, this’s a list for the best and the famous places that you should visit during your tour in Egypt. The best way to experience Egypt is to explore the Nile, from the awe-inspiring Pyramids on the outskirts of the capital of Cairo in the north to the great temples in the far south of the country.
1- Egyptian Museum 2- Pyramids of Giza
3- Mosque of Al-Azhar 4- Karnak Temple
5- Luxor Temple 6-Temple of Hatshepsut
7- Valley of the Kings 8- Cruising the Nile River
9- Abu Simbel 10-Temple of Philae
11- Kom Ombo Temple 12- Temple of Horus
13-Unfinished Obelisk 14-Medinet Habu
15-Aswan High Dam 16-Library of Alexandria
1- Egyptian Museum
No way to say my tour of Egypt is complete without a visit to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. With more than 120,000 artifacts, the museum houses an incredible exhibition of the glorious reign of ancient Egypt. Mummies, sarcophagi, pottery, jewelry and, of course, the treasures of King Tutankhamun, everything is there.
The king boy’s death mask – found in his tomb – is made of solid gold and has been described as the most beautiful object of all time.
2- Pyramids of Giza
One of the best places to visit in Egypt that you can’t miss. Located on the outskirts of Cairo, on the esplanade known as the Giza Plateau, the Great Pyramids of Giza are the must-see landmark of ancient Egypt.
Being one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, it is the only one that remains standing to this day! In contemplating this colossal structure, there is no way to escape the sensation of being dwarfed… The two smallest – but still enormous – pyramids in Giza are those of Khafre and Menkaure.
A few steps to the east are three small piles of roar (20 m high): the pyramids of the queens, the tombs of Khufu’s wives and sisters. Nearby, on the Giza plateau, is also the Great Sphinx and the Solar Boat Museum.
The site is also where the Sound & Light Show takes place in Giza, and where every newcomer to Egypt experiences Giza’s first camel rides.
3- Mosque of Al-Azhar
Located in the heart of Islamic Cairo, the Al-Azhar mosque, and university house not only the oldest university in the world but also the birthplace of the black dresses of graduates.
The costume worn by students from all over the world at their graduation ceremony seems to have been inspired by the flowing robes of Islamic scholars who graduated from Al-Azhar. The University is now distributed in different buildings, but the mosque, founded by Jawhar al-Siqilly, the Fatimid conqueror of Egypt, in the year 970, is still a real wonder and attraction not to be missed when visiting Cairo.
Moreover, thanks to its geographical location, it is the ideal place to start your journey of exploration of Islamic Cairo.
4- Karnak Temple
The complex of the Karnak Temple houses three main temples, several small closed temples, and several open-air temples – combining the achievements of several generations of ancient builders over a period of 1500 years.
Thirty or so different pharaohs have contributed to the construction process of this site, allowing it to reach dimensions, complexity, and diversity never been seen before. After all, it was the holiest place in the New Kingdom.
The Temple of Amen, the main structure of the complex, is the largest place of worship ever built. It is surrounded by two other gigantic temples, dedicated respectively to Amon’s wife, Mut, and his son, Khonsu, although today it may seem seriously ruined, Karnak still has many features that make it one of the largest and most impressive ancient sites of all.
5- Luxor Temple
One of the best places to visit in Egypt is Luxor Temple is a place that cannot be missed during an expedition to Egypt located at East Bank; it is a testimony to the continuous history of Egypt, from the eighteenth dynasty of ancient Egyptians to the fourteenth century A.D., when a mosque commemorating Abu Al-Haaga, responsible for bringing Islam to Luxor, was erected throughout the mosque.
Many of the pharaohs have played a role in the construction of this temple over the years, including Tutankhamon, Hatshepsut, Ramses II, and Amenhotep III; walking through the temple you can see the contribution of each of them, where you can usually find statues and their sculpted paintings in the walls.
6- Temple of Hatshepsut
The temple of Hatshepsut is one of the most beautiful of all temples in ancient Egypt. It is located in Deir el-Bahri (“the monastery of the north”), at the upper end of the valley under the mountain top (and the nature pyramid) “Decent” (today is known under the Arabic name el-Quran – “The Horn”).
It lies directly on the rock, which forms a natural amphitheater around it so that the temple itself seems to develop from the living rock. The design of the temple is reminiscent of that of the death temple of Montuhotep, its neighbor.
7- Valley of the Kings
The west bank of Luxor has been a royal burial ground since about 2100 BC, but it was the new kingdom of the pharaohs (1550-1069 BC) that chose this isolated valley dominated by a pyramid-shaped pyramid reminiscent of the pyramid of the Al Quran mountain top (the Horn).
Once called the Great Necropolis of millions of years Pharaoh, or the place of truth, the Valley of Kings has 63 magnificent royal tombs.
The tombs have suffered greatly from treasure hunters, floods and, in recent years, mass tourism: carbon dioxide, friction, and moisture produced by an average of 2.8 g of sweat left by each guest have influenced the bas-reliefs and stability of the paintings, which were made on the plaster placed above the limestone.
8- Cruising the Nile River
For many visitors, a multi-day Nile cruise upon this famed waterway that saw the rise of the Paranoiac era is a highlight of their Egypt trip.
Cruising the Nile is also the most relaxing way to see the temples that stud the banks of the river on the route between Luxor and Aswan, plus sunrise and sunset over the date-palm-studded river banks, backed by sand dunes, is one of Egypt’s most tranquil vistas.
9- Abu Simbel
Abu Simbel is something special even in a country celebrated in the temples. It is a large temple of Ramses II, decorated with a colossal statue standing outside with a guard, and the interior richly decorated with wall paintings. Abu Simbel, known for its megalithic proportions, is also known for his incredible feat of transferring the entire temple from its original environment – set up to disappear underwater because of the Aswan Dam – in the 1960s into a massive UNESCO action that lasted four years.
10- Temple of Philae
The Philae Temple is located in one of the most important monuments of the Aswan “Nubi City”. It was a rocky island called in hieroglyph “Apo”, which means ivory. It is located 12 km south of Aswan, on the island of Aglika, down from the dam of Aswan and Lake Nasser.
Originally located near the first Nile Falls in Upper Egypt, it was moved to the nearby island of Agilkia as part of the UNESCO’s Nubia Campaign project.
It was a sacred place as an ancient pilgrimage center for the cult of Isis. This amazing temple was reopened in 1980.
Although Philae a small island it is one of the most place picturesque in the whole of Egypt. It was one of the cemeteries of Osiris. In the 19th century, William John Bankes brought Philae obelisk to England.
11- Kom Ombo Temple
The Temple of Kom Ombo, located on the bank of the Nile about 50 kilometers from Aswan, was the second temple we visited on the Nile cruise, after the Temple of Philae. This temple built by Ramses II has the peculiarity of being a double temple, as it has two symmetrical parts, one in honor of the god Sobek and the other of the god Haroeris.
Sobek was a god with a crocodile head and a human body, while Horus had a hawk’s head. As a curiosity inside the temple, you can see a crocodile mummy and on the outside, you can see reliefs with surgical instruments of the time.
12- Temple of Horus at Edfu
The Temple of Edfu is the second largest temple in Egypt after the Temple of Karnak.
Built-in the period of Ancient Egypt, this temple is dedicated to the gods Horus, This temple has the particularity of being one of the best-preserved in the country,
It should be noted that for many centuries the temple was covered by up to 12 meters of sand and mud. Until in 1860, a French Egyptologist (Auguste Mariette) began to recover it. Thanks to this, today it is preserved in this incredible state, being the best example of a temple of Ancient Egypt.
Also if you are passionate about Horus “the Falcon” (the god of heaven, war, and hunting) here you will find many sculptures and reliefs dedicated to him.
13- Unfinished Obelisk
The unfinished obelisk is a clear example of how halfway through work, due to a mistake, what has been done so far is worthless and we have to start all over again.
The quarries north of the city of Aswan were very important in ancient Egypt, as a lot of stone was extracted from this city to make the Egyptian constructions. The obelisks from the European cities of Rome, London, and Paris, and from the North American city of New York, are made of Aswan granite.
In one of those quarries, there is an unfinished obelisk that was destined to be the couple of the Karnak Obelisk (currently in the city of Rome). The unfinished obelisk was cracked in the process and was abandoned. If that mishap had not happened, it would have gone down in history as the largest carved mineral on earth.
14- Medinet Habu
If we have to emphasize something of this temple, it would be its relief. In addition to its good state of preservation, they narrate the historical fact of the defeat of the Peoples of the Sea under the reign of Ramses III. All of this in more than 7000 square meters of walls.
But the temple, architecturally speaking, would also be worth visiting, because, with more than 150 meters long, it has several pylons, patios, statues, and columns, which make a delightful walk among its shadows, while we enjoy the famous reliefs.
15- Aswan High Dam
A megastructure that took 11 years to build (from 1959 to 1970), and that changed the landscape of a region, and many of the good things about the Nile River forever.
Its construction was decided in the face of the continuous and unpredictable floods of the Nile River, which destroyed crops and produced everything from catastrophic floods to long droughts.
16- Library of Alexandria
The Library of Alexandria is located in the city of Alexandria, which was inaugurated on October 15, 2002. It is one of the places of interest in Egypt, full of history, whose visit will leave you with pleasant memories and great cultural enrichment.
This space has various cultural sections, such as the Academic Research Center, the Planetary Science Center, the Permanent Exhibition Rooms and the Internet Archive. Don’t forget to visit the museum area, where you will be able to appreciate a great variety of antiques and manuscripts. It is one of the most interesting places in Egypt.
Conclusion
Egypt is full of many tourist places that attract tourists from different nations around the world, but this was a quick glance at some of the best places in Egypt that could not miss her visit.
Don’t forget to check our Egypt Tour Packages and enjoy visiting the best places in Egypt.
