Destination Luxor

The River Nile divides Egypt into two, while the Suez Canal has created a third area, the Sinai Peninsula. This fine African country has one of the world's oldest civilisations. The most famous historic monuments are the pyramids and the temples around Luxor and Aswan.

Luxor, formerly called Thebes, lies on the eastern bank of the Nile and is Upper Egypt's largest tourist centre. In ancient Egypt, the west bank of the Nile was regarded as 'Amenti', the kingdom of the dead, and the eastern bank as the kingdom of the living.

There are three main roads in Luxor: Sharia al-Mahatta, Sharia al-Karnak and the Corniche, an avenue parallel to the Nile. Along this avenue you will find most of the hotels and restaurants and, of course, a number of terraces with a view of the Nile. Luxor is also in fact the world's largest open-air museum.