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Egypt
Egypt was an ancient civilisation long before Rome; long before Alexander the Great founded the city that bears his name; millenia before the Western Christian era. With the majority of the country’s area being Saharan desert, the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, and, above all the Nile, have determined the nature of Egypt, both ancient and modern. For today’s traveller, the river still links the mighty pyramids at Giza, on the very outskirts of Cairo, to the Valley of the Kings at Luxor and nearby Temple of Karnak, and then, passing over the construction marvel of the Aswan Dam, to the elevated awe-inspiring temples of Abu Simbel, created by Pharoah Rameses II and his queen Nefertiti some 3,000 years ago. Heading west from the Nile are only the desert oases (less romantic in reality than Hollywood fiction) but going east, the ‘Red Sea Riviera’ has become one of the world’s leading watersport resort areas. Notably, Sharm el Sheik, with its teeming coral gardens, is a paradise for divers and snorkellers … and absolute heaven for simple sea and sun worshippers.
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