The Pharaohs endowed Egypt with the riches of temples and pyramids along the Nile, at the sites of Giza and Dahshur in Lower Egypt, and at Abu Simbel, Kom Ombo, Edfu and Luxor in Upper Egypt. The magnificent complex of tombs and temples in the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens on the West Bank of the Nile at Luxor impresses with art and architecture, while the Temple of Luxor and the Temple of Karnak dazzle on the East Bank with unmatched scale.
But in addition to its pharaonic splendor, Cairo showcases the magnificence of Egypt's Mamluk and Ottoman past through the beauty of its old city filled with an Islamic core of madrassas and mosques, as well as residences and palaces which display its sumptuous imperial legacies. At the center of Old Cairo is the Sharia Al Muizz, a street lined by the Qalawun complex of religious buildings and the Beit Suhaymi, comprised of interconnected houses, while the nearby imposing Citadel and the Al Khalifa district boast similar architectural jewels.
Away from the verdant banks of the Nile lie Egypt's desert lands, with perhaps the most spectacular being the White Desert, long traversed by caravans of traders and camels. Here Nature has sculpted beguiling formations which capture the brilliance and subtlety of the changing sunlight and shadows.
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