Abu Simbel is one of Egypt’s most breathtaking archaeological sites, located near the southern border with Sudan along the banks of Lake Nasser.
Abu Simbel, Egypt
About Michael Huntley
Kom Ombo, Egypt
Kom Ombo is nestled along the eastern bank of the Nile in southern Egypt. It is a remarkable site that offers a glimpse into the rich tapestry of ancient Egyptian history. Unlike many temples that honor a single deity, Kom Ombo is unique in being a double temple, dedicated simultaneously to Sobek, the crocodile god, and Horus the Falcon, the sky god. This dual dedication is evident in the temple’s symmetrical design, with duplicate courts, halls and sanctuaries reflecting the importance of both gods in the region’s spiritual and cultural life.
Valley of the Kings, Egypt
Valley of the Kings in Egypt is a desert valley on the west bank of the Nile, opposite modern Luxor, where pharaohs of the New Kingdom chose to be buried in hidden rock‑cut tombs instead of towering pyramids. From the 18th to the 20th dynasties, roughly 1539–1075 BC, it served as the principal royal cemetery for most of the great kings of this era, along with some queens and high officials. The valley lies beneath a natural pyramid‑shaped peak called al‑Qurn, which likely reinforced its symbolic connection to rebirth and eternal life. After Dendera Temple we traveled to the Valley of the Kings.
Dendera Temple, Egypt: Hathor, Cleopatra’s Relief & Life on the Nile
The day after Karnak Temple, we made the short drive north along the Nile to Dendera — about 65 miles and a world apart. Where Karnak overwhelms with scale and crowds, Dendera is intimate and extraordinarily well-preserved. The Temple of Hathor here dates primarily from the Greco-Roman period, built between the 1st century BC and the 1st century AD, and it survives in a state that most Egyptian temples can only dream of: ceilings that still hold their vivid color, column faces that haven’t been chiseled away, and on most mornings, room to actually see it without pressing through a crowd.
Karnak Temple, Egypt: Amun-Ra, the Great Hypostyle Hall & the Avenue of Sphinxes
Flying from Cairo to Luxor takes just under an hour, but the journey feels like crossing millennia. Luxor was ancient Thebes — the capital of Egypt’s New Kingdom pharaohs for nearly five centuries — and from the air you can begin to see why they chose it: the Nile cutting a narrow band of green through absolute desert, the cliffs on the west bank where they carved their tombs into the rock, the temples rising on both sides of the river below. Karnak was the first thing on the agenda, and nothing quite prepares you for the scale of it.
Visiting Luxor Temple at Night: A Small-Group Experience in Egypt
Visiting Luxor Temple at night is one of the most memorable ways to experience ancient Egypt. In the soft evening light, the temple feels calmer, more dramatic, and far more atmospheric than it does during the day.
