Even today, Egypt is still synonymous with the legends of the Pharaohs, the Great Pyramids, treasure-laden tombs and undeciphered hieroglyphs.

Names like Ramses, Cleopatra, Tutankhamun and Nefertiti, echo through the art and literature of so many different cultures. Religion was the backbone of life in Ancient Egypt and mythology its bloodline. Death and the afterlife were essential to Ancient Egyptian society.

5,000 years ago, the first Pharaoh, King Narmer, founded the world's first nation state, recording it in the world's first written script. The pharaohs were not just kings or queens, they were gods and they were worshipped as divine rulers. But they also commanded vast administrative armies, models of modern management and efficiency.

It was their sophisticated system of bureaucracy that enabled the construction of Egypt's greatest monuments, the pyramids of course and also the tombs in the Valley of the Kings, the great temples of Karnak, the ruins of Thebes not forgetting the Sphinx at Giza
The relics of Ancient Egypt still survive to bear witness to the refinement and beauty of many golden ages.

Pyramids : Although the construction of the pyramids was only an episode in the long history of the pharaohs, this period has left us some of the most impressive monuments that can be seen. Besides the three giants of Gizeh, more than 70 pyramids can be counted along the Nile.

Al Giza Pyramids : Guarded by the familiar lone lion-bodied Sphinx are the three Great Pyramids of Giza. Over 4,000 years ago, the mummified bodies of Kings Cheops, Kefren and Mykerinos were ferried down the Nile to be buried and prepared for the journey to the afterlife within these massive monuments.

The largest, oldest and finest of all three is Cheop's Pyramid, simply known as the "Great Pyramid". It was the tallest structure in the world until the end of the nineteenth century (145 meters). But Kefren's Pyramid, Cheop's son and successor, makes a bigger first impression. On higher ground with its limestone cap still intact, it looks loftier even though it's 4 meters shorter.The smallest of the three, Mykerinos' Pyramid, makes up for its size with its fine funerary and valley temples.

What to see in Giza : One of the three Pyramids, the Solar Boat Museum, the Sphinx Complex and the Sphinx Sound and Light Show. But the Giza necropolis is also the final resting place of the Pharaoh's family and high officials. Buried inside the mastabas and minor pyramids which dot the plateau are queens and royal courtiers. There are also tombs of the craftsmen and engineers who toiled over these epic edifices.

Dahshur Pyramids : There were originally 11 pyramids at Dahshur, although only the two Old Kingdom Pyramids, the Bent and the Red Pyramid, remain intact. Pharaoh Sneferu, father of Khufu and founder of the 4th Dynasty, built Egypt's first real pyramid, the Red Pyramid, here. It is a quiet place where you will be able to enjoy the monuments in peace.

Saqqara Pyramids : Time has all but erased the once mighty Memphis from the Egyptian landscape, however, the city of the dead has been excavated and exhumed from the desert sands, the vast necropolis of Saqqara. Memphis is some 23km south of central Cairo, in the center of the floodplain on the western side of the Nile. Memphis was traditionally founded in 3000 BC by Menes, the legendary figure credited with the creation of a politically unified Egypt. Memphis served as the effective administrative capital of the country during the Old Kingdom and partly in later times.

It's eleven pyramids, countless mastabas and lone Coptic monastery stretch over 7km from north to south, and span three and a half thousand years of Egyptian civilisation. At its centre sits King Djoser's "Stepped" Pyramid, the very first pyramid and the first great stone structure in the world. North of the pyramid, inside a stone "serdab", sits the Ancient Pharaoh himself.
Saqqara also includes the Serapeum, represented by a life-sized sculpture of limestone, the original of which is in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, and an astonishing collection of mummified Apis bulls in gargantuan granite coffins. Of its eleven pyramids, King Teti boasts the best preserved burial chamber, with pyramid text lined walls mapping out his journey to the afterlife. The walls of Mereruka's multichambered maze-like tomb are covered with exquisite murals, showing scenes of everyday life.

What to see in Saqqara : Zoser's funerary complex, Mereruka's tomb, Serapeum.
Mummies : Religion was part of everyday life. The great enduring symbols and masterpieces of Ancient Egypt were all part of an elaborate preparation for the journey which began after death. From Hollywood blockbusters to oriental novelists and from classical verses to video games, the figure of the mummy has fascinated audiences worldwide for centuries. Many modern embalming techniques and methods use the same processes perfected thousands of years ago.

Most mummies were found in the Valley of the Kings, the most renowned necropolis of them all. Home to Tutankhamun's famous tomb as well as Seti I, Ramses the Great and Tuthmosis III, and carved deep into the remote limestone hills at Thebes, the burial city for the Pharaohs of the New Kingdom was designed to be inaccessible to robbers. Unfortunately, some robbers persevered, lusting for gold and Lapiz Lazuli encrusted treasures. Luckily, a few tombs managed to escape their attention and so treasures from Yuya, Taya and Tuthankhamun's tombs survived. Many of them can be seen in Cairo's famous museum of Egyptology today.

The Ancient Egyptians sophisticated knowledge of embalming is nothing short of astonishing. Firstly, all of the internal organs were carefully removed, mummified and sealed in canopic jars, but the heart was left inside the body, as Anubis, god of embalming, needed to weigh the dead heart to judge its owners honesty.

A special combination of dehydrating salts known as natron was then left on the body for 40 days to draw out all the moisture. Once dried, the mummy was anointed with oils to make it watertight, and then rubbed with gum, cedar oil, wax and more natron. Stuffed with sawdust, draped in funerary jewellery and bandaged in linen, the mummy was finally sealed in a succession of coffins inside an ornately decorated sarcophagus.

- Nile Cruises : The Nile is the world's longest river. A cruise down the Nile has a romance all of its own....
- Sound & light Show at Giza Pyramids area : don't miss the world-famous Pyramids Sound and Light Show in Giza! You'll hear the story of Egypt . The show begins with the story of the Sphinx who has been the vigilant guardian of the city of the dead for five thousand years. The show also depicts the story of building the pyramids and relates the history of great and famous figures of ancient Egypt.