ASWAN OVER DAY

After pickup from your hotel in Marsa Alam (including Port Ghalib) at 5 AM, travel by air-conditioned car to Aswan. Take a nap after your early pickup during the 370-kilometer (230-mile), 4.5-hour journey to Aswan, where you’ll arrive around 9:30 AM. Then, make your way first to the Aswan High Dam, a rock-fill dam located at the northern border between Egypt and Sudan. Admire a structure considered to be the fourth pyramid of Egypt, which is fed by the River Nile.

See where the reservoir forms Lake Nasser, hear about the dam’s construction, then proceed to the “unfinished obelisk,” the largest known ancient obelisk. At 12 PM, continue your Aswan tour by visiting the marvelous Temple of Philae, one of Nubia’s most important monuments.

This large temple complex was an ancient pilgrimage center for the cult of Isis and was venerated from the Pharaonic era up to the Greek, Roman, and Byzantine periods with each ruler adding their own stamp onto the stones here. Learn more about the love story between Isis and Osiris, and find out how the Temple of Philae was saved from a watery grave by UNESCO’s rescue project, which transferred the monuments block by block from Philae Island to Agilika Island.

Once the temples have worked their charms on you, tuck into a tasty lunch at a quality restaurant in Aswan at 4 PM. After lunch, begin your journey back to Marsa Alam. The tour concludes with drop-off at your hotel in Marsa Alam.