My little princess and the Valley of the Kings: Taking a baby to Egypt is child's play
By LISA THOMPSON.
PUBLISHED: 13:43 GMT, 21 January 2014 | UPDATED: 13:44 GMT, 21 January 2014
@ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2543227/Holidays-Egypt-Taking-baby-Valley-Kings-childs-play.html
The Valley of the Kings may seem an unsuitable place to celebrate a child's first birthday, but in late November this part of Egypt is temperate, not too busy and reasonably priced, so an excellent choice for a family holiday with pre-schoolers.
When you add to this the bonuses of a dose of sunshine at what is a dingy time of year in the UK, not too gruelling a flight time at five hours, and a nation welcoming to children, you will wonder why you haven't been before.
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| Queens of the Nile: Lisa Thompson and her daughter explore the sights in Luxor |
Accommodation tends to be all-inclusive, but with a small child in tow this didn't bother us. We were staying in Luxor at a hotel on the east bank of the Nile. It had spacious rooms, a plentiful buffet, two nice pools and many other facilities.
Having been to North Africa before, I expected hassle from hawkers on the street, but it has been considerably clamped down on. Most offenders are either carriage drivers or, at the places of historical interest, people selling information booklets.
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Beautiful: The Temples of Karnak are a must
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We posed as famous Icelandic archaeologists, which foxed the pamphlet sellers, at least. They have materials in a plethora of languages, but not Icelandic.
Besides, if one is an archaeologist of international standing, who needs a rudimentary pamphlet? 'Haven't you heard of us?' we'd say, leaving the hawkers uncharacteristically lost for words.
In terms of sites, the treasures in Luxor and nearby are so bounteous it's hard to make an informed choice about where to visit. With only a week and owing to the fact we a baby with us, we had to be economical with time.
We restricted ourselves to the Valleys of the Kings and Queens; Luxor Temple and Luxor museum; Karnak Temple; and the site of Dendara. We didn't consider ourselves shortchanged.
There are many organised trips, but we found the cheapest and most convenient way is to find a friendly taxi driver for the week, and get him to ferry you about.
We used the honourable and reliable Mr Fish, whom we found outside the Steigenberger Hotel. He wasn't really called that – his name meant something fishy in Arabic, but he insisted on his English moniker.
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Dizzying: The ancient Valley of the Kings draws thousands of tourists each year
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The Valley of the Kings is a 20-minute drive from the centre of Luxor. It can be dizzying, especially in the glare of the heat and the hassle, to decide which tombs to visit.
The entrance ticket allows you to select three, but the tombs of Tutankhamun and Ramses II cost extra. We paid for King Tut as it seemed mad to miss him, and we were glad as he was out of his tomb for a year and so we glimpsed his curly, blackened feet.
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| Charming: A sunset ride along the Nile on a felucca is a serene experience |
The Temples of Karnak are another must – a beautiful complex of obelisks, sanctuaries and temples on a site a short drive from town. A respite from the heat is Luxor Museum. Even after the Valley of the Kings, it was still awe-inspiring to see Tutankhamun's slippers, bed and model boat.
Our favourite, though, was the cult site of Dendara: a spectacular building about the size of a cathedral, with huge columns, a stone roof and grand, curling stairways linking vast chambers inscribed with hieroglyphs.
A sunset ride on a felucca (a sailing boat) is a serene experience. It's pretty low-tech, drifting down the Nile, but the scenery is charming, as one muses on all who have passed down there before. And a cocktail at the historic Winter Gardens Hotel is worth it for the colonial charm. Luxor is easily done in a week, and is a great introduction to one of the world's richest cultural histories.
