We have always wanted to visit this Arab country to experience its culture and history. So we booked a two-week tour to places like Cairo, Giza, Luxor, Edfu, Aswan, Sharm El-Sheikh, and ancient monuments and temples like the Great Pyramids, Sphinx, Karnak, and the Valley of the Kings.
After a hectic three-day tour of Cairo and Giza, we flew on Egypt Air to Luxor, were whisked away to our cruise ship, Steigenberger Minerva, and checked into our fabulous cabin.
The cabin was more like a hotel room than a cruise ship cabin, with a king bed, a large window offering splendid views, and a full bathroom. It also had a flat-screen TV that we never turned on because we were too busy exploring the ancient monuments.
The plan is to cruise the Nile for four days from Luxor to Aswan, stopping at important ancient sites along the way.
Luxor is a modern city in Upper (southern) Egypt near the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of Thebes.
Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open-air museum", as the ruins of the Egyptian temple complexes at Karnak and Luxor stand within the modern city.
Immediately opposite, across the River Nile, lie the monuments, temples, and tombs of the west bank Theban Necropolis, which includes the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens.