No matter by what means you travel there, the road to Dahab, Egypt, deep in the country’s gorgeous south Sinai region, is memorable in its exotic desert beauty. Traveling overland to the Sinai from Israel, which I have done several times, is probably the most scenic way of arriving in the little Bedouin village that is Dahab.

On my journey here earlier this week, I traveled straight through without stopping, leaving northern Israel at 9:30 a.m. and arriving in Dahab approximately 12 hours later. When I walked across the border separating the two countries, although I had prearranged my two-hour journey from the Egyptian border town of Taba to Dahab with my favorite tour company in the world, King Safari Dahab, I still anticipated having to weed my way through a morass of eager taxi drivers to find my driver. I was happily shocked when a Bedouin man yelled my name before I ever reached the taxi area and held open the door of a minivan for me. Awesome job, King Safari Dahab!

The trip to Dahab was easy, but since darkness had fallen, I unfortunately couldn’t gaze at the unbelievable mountain scenery. Even more unfortunately, since I have taken this trip a few other times, I knew what I was missing.

The desert mountains of the south Sinai switch back and forth in appearance between soft curves and sharp jags, keeping you forever guessing as to what shape will greet your eye as you round the next curve in the road. Their unpredictable beauty is not the only appeal of the road to Dahab, though. I love Middle Eastern forts, many of them built by the Portuguese after they landed in the countries of the Persian Gulf centuries ago. I believe this structure in the Red Sea on the way to Dahab is a fort, although probably not Portuguese. Perhaps it is not only not Portuguese but also not a fort. It looks somewhat like a prison, doesn’t it?

Not far down the road south of this fort/prison lies this view, probably the most impressive, gorgeous sight I’ve seen in the Sinai. I could live right here.

The shoreline of the Red Sea in the South Sinai is loaded with camps for travelers, places where you can stay in a straw hut for a while, free from the distractions of modern life, living simply and peacefully as people did hundreds of years ago. My minivan driver on one of my trips through the Sinai stopped at one of these camps, where I got to enjoy a simpler way of life for a while.

At this little camp we had a drink very common in the Middle East but one that still is special to me – Arab coffee.

The road to Dahab, no matter how you slice it, is amazing, with the sights, the traditions and the personality of the southern Sinai making it one of my favorite journeys in the world.

Weekends in Israel aren’t quite the same as anywhere else in the world. For one thing, they last only approximately one day – with people ceasing working Friday afternoons and beginning once again Saturday night or Sunday morning. For another, if you were to go from house to house in Israel on Friday night, you would find almost all Jewish families doing the same thing – sharing Shabbat dinner.

Shabbat (pronounced Sheh BAHT) is Hebrew for “sabbath” and lasts roughly from sundown Friday night until sundown Saturday. On Fridays you will hear Israelis greeting each other with the word they use every day – Shalom, which means “peace,” but you’ll also hear them greeting as well as saying good-bye using a phrase unique to Fridays and Saturdays in Israel – Shabbat Shalom, meaning “peaceful Sabbath.”

One of the most important parts of Shabbat for secular as well as religious Israeli Jews is Shabbat dinner. I have been very privileged to go to this very special dinner at the home of my friend’s sister Gilid and her family almost every night for the past two months that I’ve been in Israel, and I want to share this experience with you.

As I am not Jewish, my understanding of Shabbat dinner and its meanings are very basic, but I’ll tell you what I know. Two candles are lit before dinner at the start of Shabbat and, as far as I know, remain lit until Shabbat ends the following evening.

After my friend and I exchange Shabbat Shalom’s with his sister’s family, we visit for a while, then his sister sets the meal on the table, which always includes two loaves of bread representing the two days of Shabbat. A glass of wine is poured and an antique prayer book is set at the head of the table. Either my friend or his brother-in-law puts on a kippa – the circular piece of cloth you see some Jewish men wearing on their heads – and recites from memory in their native Hebrew a prayer, the same prayer which they recite at each Shabbat meal. The person who recites the prayer takes a sip of wine and then passes it around the table, so each person in order of age, oldest to youngest, can take a sip.

Now it’s time to eat, which is fortunate, because my friend’s sister is a brilliant cook. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to get a photograph of her meals, as everyone digs in so eagerly. I did get to eat Shabbat dinner at my friend Ora’s home one night, though, where I was able to snap a shot.

Today is Friday and my last Shabbat in Israel for a while, unfortunately. I will miss this place dearly but know I’ll be returning soon. I hope you have a great meal tonight, wherever in the world you are. Shabbat Shalom!

Israel is one of the most unique and complex countries on earth, with its mega-rich wealth of religious and historical sites, chilling visible evidence of wars gone by and status as the world’s only Jewish nation in the world, one which must coexist very carefully with its minority Arab population. Certain of its unusual intricacies aren’t limited to its own people, though, extending even to those just visiting the country. If you want to travel to Israel, you need to be aware of some of its idiosyncrasies in order to make your journey flow smoothly. Israel is a fascinating, wonderful and perfectly safe place to visit, but if you are thinking about traveling to this country, please consider the following:

1) Jewish/Arab Relations – There is tension between the Jewish majority and Arab minority populations in Israel, but it is not evident most of the time and these two groups do live and work amongst each other with tenuous ease. The Old City of Jerusalem is a particularly good place to witness Jews and Arabs coexisting, if you’re interested in seeing this aspect of Middle Eastern life. The Old City’s streets are clogged with its Palestinian population, with Jews walking right past them on their way to the Western Wall to pray. It’s not likely that you’ll run into any trouble when you travel to Israel, as the last several years have been very peaceful. But keep an eye on the news right before you travel and while you are there, to learn if there is currently any trouble which might affect you.

2) The Jewish Sabbath – The Jewish Sabbath begins every week of the year at sundown on Friday and ends at sundown on Saturday. A few hours before sundown shops begin closing and train as well as most bus transportation ceases. Most shops will not open again until Saturday night or Sunday morning, and you’ll find limited bus service beginning again Saturday afternoon with finally all buses running Saturday night. If you’re going to be in Israel on Friday, make sure you buy everything you need before the stores close and also make sure you are exactly wherever in the country you need to be, or else you are going to have to rent a car or take a taxi to get there.

3) Jewish Holidays – Israel likewise takes its holidays more seriously than any other country I know. Not only do hotels increase their rates and fill up quickly as in other countries, but opening hours of shops, restaurants, banks and attractions are likely to be limited. On some but not all holidays, public transportation is not only limited by lack of running buses but extremely full buses before service ends for the holiday. The national bus line, Egged, which is likely the line you’ll be taking if you travel from city to city in Israel, has an excellent website which you can check for schedule information. It may also help you to look at a comprehensive listing of Jewish holidays, which you’ll find on Traveling the Middle East.

4) Food – I find the food choices in Israel to be very limited. Not only is most food kosher but there isn’t quite the variety you can find in other countries. Rather than variety, you may find that there is an overabundance of hummus, falafel and schwarma. These limitations can become boring after a while, but keep your chin up. What food there is is delicious.

5) Buses vs. Cars vs. Trains Vs. … – Israel’s transportation infrastructure is excellent. There are several means of traveling through Israel:

A) Bus – You can travel throughout Israel via bus, from city to town and within cities and towns. This is one of the best ways to see much of Israel if you have limited money and time to spend waiting for buses to arrive.

B) Taxi – You can likewise travel throughout Israel via taxi, although this is of course much more expensive than taking a bus. Unlike bus and train service which ceases on the Sabbath and Jewish holidays, you can still find limited taxi service on these days.

C) Sherut – Pronounced Sheh-ROOT, these are minivans which you’ll find at bus stations and other locations and cost roughly as much as a bus. Once they fill with people – which could take anywhere from a few minutes to an hour – they travel to their destination. You can’t ask them to take you just anywhere you want to go, as they run specific routes. For example, at the Tiberias bus station there are many sheruts to Tel Aviv but none to Jerusalem. I’ve never noticed signs for sheruts in English anywhere. You’ll probably have to look for a small group of vans outside a bus station or ask someone where you can find them.

D) Private Car – Jerusalem and Tel Aviv are very easy to see via bus, but if you want to visit northern Israel, including the history-rich Galilee area, the Golan Heights and the Negev Desert, it’s really best to have a car. I’ve twice used Eldan Rental Cars and had good experiences, although this was in 2008 and 2009, so my experiences are not fresh.

E) Train – If your point of origin and destination lie on the Mediterranean coast, you might be able to take a train. Trains run along the sea from the northern town of Nahariya to the southern desert town of Beersheva. Check out the Israel Railways website for their schedules, routes and rates.

If you’re traveling within Jerusalem, there is a brand new light-rail system that can take you to many locations in the city for only a few shekels. Be sure to get a ticket from a machine at any train stop before you board or buy a multi-use card. Once you’re on the train you can’t purchase a ticket and if you’re caught riding for free you might be fined.

F) Hitchhiking – Hitchhiking is legal and safe in Israel. I myself have done it many times. It is possible to hitchhike absolutely anywhere you need to go in the country, although possibly not with the airport as a starting point. You will see many people hitchhiking throughout northern Israel and you’ll also see many cars pulling over to pick them up. It may take a while to find a car that is going where you want to go, but stick in there and you’ll have a safe and free ride.

6) Dress – You really should dress conservatively when visiting most Middle Eastern countries due to the very conservative sensibilities of their Muslim populations. However, the majority of Israel’s people are not Muslim but Jewish so the same rule doesn’t apply. You can dress most any way you wish when you travel to Israel, although you are required to dress somewhat conservatively when visiting the Jewish, Christian and Muslim religious sites in the country or else you will be turned away. Seriously. Conservative dress in these cases means only covering your shoulders and knees. No biggie.

7) Soldiers – You will see soldiers most everywhere in Israel, many of them packing some serious weaponry. Their presence doesn’t mean that there is any danger. Rather, military service is mandatory for three years for all male and two years for all female Jewish Israelis, thus their omnipresence. The ultra-conservative Haredi Jews, Israeli Arabs and Palestinians do not typically serve. Do not fear. The soldiers are there only to protect Israel and will never hurt you.

8.) People – The people of Israel, including soldiers, civilians, Israeli Jews, Israeli Arabs and Palestinians, are all very nice, helpful and friendly people. They are one of the reasons I’ve spent so many months of my life in their country. Come to Israel and get to know them!

Have you ever innocently walked into a restaurant and encountered a strange new world? Neither had I, until I entered the doors of the Genesis English Pub in Luxor, Egypt.

I’d passed by this restaurant a few times while staying at the Hilton Luxor Resort and Spa earlier this year and one night decided to enter, hoping only for a meal of hearty shepherd’s pie. Instead I found colorfully decorated pub with stuffed chairs, cozy nooks and hilarious décor.

Since most restaurants in the U.S. forbid people from bringing in animals, I’m always amused to see cats and dogs hanging out at tables elsewhere in the world.

The house pets roaming about were just the tip of the iceberg. The owner Gamal told me to check out the back of the restaurant, so I walked through a doorway and what did I see? More cats and dogs? Not exactly. To my delight, just through the doorway a waterfall awaited.

But the waterfall turned out to be the most boring part of the restaurant’s back half. What lie beyond the water? Why a camel and an ostrich, of course.

The camel was sedated, I was told, because it had had minor surgery earlier in the day. The ostrich, on the other hand, was quite active and had even laid an egg recently. Gamal brought it to my table for me to hold. Don’t worry, you won’t hurt it, he said. It was born dead.

The Genesis Pub has a huge menu, although unfortunately shepherd’s pie wasn’t one of the choices. I had a club sandwich instead and it was quite good.

If you ever find yourself in Luxor, Egypt, you must check out this restaurant. Prices are reasonable and the atmosphere is the most unique and interesting I’ve found anywhere on earth. Unlike some other restaurants which try hard to amuse customers with various themes and interesting décor, the Genesis English Pub isn’t even trying to be incredible. It just is.

Location: 187 Hilton Road, approximately one block away and on the opposite side of the street from the Hilton Luxor Resort & Spa.

Website, inluding full menu sans prices: Genesis English Pub

I received nothing from Genesis English Pub in exchange for writing this post. All opinions are my own.

Karnak Temple, with its giant, looming columns, rows of sphinxes and beautifully preserved colors was the first site I visited upon arriving in Luxor, Egypt recently. I’ve spent a lifetime never hearing much about this temple before, and after I stepped foot on its grounds, I had to wonder why. Karnak’s complex is so massive and impressive that even after hitting all of Luxor’s other sights, this has remained one of my favorites.

Karnak Temple stands on Luxor’s East Bank, one of only two temples on this side of the beautiful green banks of the Nile River. Most of this town’s other historical wonders are on West Bank. You’ll undoubtedly have made an effort to allot enough time to see all of this history-rich region’s sights, whether by holiday car hire or taxi. Be sure to set aside anywhere from two to four hours to expolore Karnak because with the exception of the awesome Medinet Habu, I think it has the East Bank sights beat.

Dating from the Middle Kingdom to the New Kingdom of ancient Egyptian history, the fact that the blue, yellow and red colors painted onto certains areas of the stone ceilings and columns are still visible is amazing to me.

As with other temples in Luxor, Karnak has some extremely impressive engravings of heiroglyphics and figures on its walls.

The many statues are likewise as detailed. Check out the toe nails on this foot!

Unfortunately, some vandals have carved their modern names alongside the ancient engravings, in an effort to remind us all of just how disrespectful some people are, I guess. Alan and Rachel, who are you and why did you deface this temple?!

Don’t let the vandalism stop you from enjoying Karnak Temple. Look the other way and you’ll love it.

I received a tour of Karnak Temple courtesy of the Hilton Luxor Resort and Spa, but all opinions are honestly my own.

Traveling from Jordan to Egypt and back need not involve flying. While the two countries are not connected by land, they do have two geographic commonalities: Israel and the Red Sea. Traveling from one country to the next via land or water is not only cheaper than flying – it is quite easy.

I recently traveled from Egypt to Jordan via fast ferry and found that the journey was so quick and easy that I wanted to take the ferry back to Egypt from Jordan. Unfortunately, the Jordan ferry service seems to be not 100 percent reliable, and all ferries on the day I was to return were canceled – no reason given. This left me with only one cost-effective option of returning to Egypt: travel overland via Israel. This means of traveling between the two countries likewise proved to be quick and easy. Here’s what you need to know if you want to travel overland from Jordan to Egypt.

Jordan’s land border with Israel is in Wadi Araba and is just a several-minute drive from Jordan’s southern port town of Aqaba. There are no buses to Wadi Araba, but you can take a taxi for just a few Jordanian dinars.

You will need to pay an 8 dinar departure tax to leave Jordan.

Once you’ve paid the departure tax, you will take an approximately one-minute walk from the Jordan border terminal to the Israel border terminal. Here you will get an Israel stamp in your passport. If you don’t want the stamp because you might be traveling to Arab countries other than Jordan and Egypt in the future, ask them to stamp a separate piece of paper instead. They may or may not do it. Wherever the stamp may end up, at least it is free! There is no fee to enter Israel.

You now need to travel through Eilat, Israel to get to the border of Egypt. This journey takes 10 or 15 minutes. There is a bus stop across the street from the Eilat border terminal, from where you can take a bus to the central bus station in Eilat, then transfer to a bus which will take you to the border, which is called Taba. If you make this crossing into and out of Israel on the Jewish Sabbath, though, you are going to have to take a taxi because buses cease running from Friday afternoon to Saturday evening. A woman official at the Israel border called a taxi for me, because I arrived in the country on Saturday afternoon when bus service was frozen. This short journey cost the sizeable sum of 65.40 NIS (approximately 17.50 USD). The majority of the drive is along the coast of the Red Sea, so at least you getting a little bit of a view built into the trip if you do take a taxi.

After you arrive at the Taba border you have to pay 103 Shekels (approximately 27.50 USD) as a departure tax. But I was only in Israel for ten minutes! I exclaimed to the lady behind the counter. It doesn’t matter, said she. I still had to pay the fee.

You now take a one-minute walk from a building on the Israel side of the border to the building on the Egypt side, where your baggage will be scanned and your passport stamped. There is an ATM and money exchange in this building. When you walk outside you will officially have arrived in Egypt!

Once you exit the building you must walk for a couple of minutes to an area where there will be taxis waiting. These drivers are quite aggressive, so be prepared to dicker hard to avoid getting ripped off too badly, or have a ride with a reputable tour company like King Safari Dahab waiting to pick you up. If you do take a taxi, you can ask the driver to take you to the bus station, where you can then spend a very small amount of money to be taken to your next destination. I can tell you from personal experience if you decide to take a taxi to Dahab, you can expect to pay 250 to 300 Egyptian pounds after negotiating.

Traveling from Jordan to Egypt and back may not be as relaxing as staying in Honolulu hotels, but if you want to travel between these two countries, overland is a perfectly good way to go.

Jerusalem isn’t terribly crowded for Easter weekend this year. It’s impossible for me to compare it to previous years because, although this is my second Easter in Israel, it is my first in Jerusalem. Because Israel has been at peace since the Second Intifada ended in about 2005 and tourism is quite high here nowadays, I expected the narrow stone streets of the Old City, which is home to several of Jerusalem’s most important Christian sites, to be impossibly clogged. Happily, although there are thousands of tourists here right now, it’s not packed to maximum capacity.

Good Friday, which precedes Easter Sunday, is also the first day of the Jewish Passover and yesterday on Good Friday there were many, many more police officers and soldiers in the Old City than usual.

The Old City is divided into uneven quarters, the largest by far of which is the Muslim Quarter, through which runs the Via Dolorosa, the path where Jesus is believed to have made the journey to be crucified. At the end of this path is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built over where He is believed to have been buried and then rose from the dead three days later on what we now call Easter Sunday. This is the most popular of all of the Christian sites in the Old City.

Candles which some people use to pray

This beautiful mosaic is the 11th station of the cross, located on the second floor

Stone of Unction, which is the stone on which it is believed Jesus' body was prepared for burial.

Happy Easter!

I expected to be disturbed by what I saw at the Giza Zoo in Cairo. And I was. But I was also relieved to see that most of its animals seemed to be leading pretty good lives. At the Giza Zoo animals are not kept in the same carefully researched and painstakingly designed conditions as you’ll find in the U.S., my home country and the only other place where I’ve ever stepped foot inside a zoo. Some of them have a horrifying life in very small cages. However, most of the animals and birds that I saw seemed content enough in quite large, spacious areas.

The Giza Zoo is located on the opposite side of the Nile River from the now-famous Tahrir Square and is right across the street from the Four Seasons Cairo First Residence Hotel. I spent two nights on the tenth floor of this luxury hotel to experience its Single Ladies Travelers Programme, during which time I was advised that the zoo might be a little unnerving because it doesn’t meet Western standards of animal rights. I decided no matter what it held, however, I must see this place. I braced myself for what deplorable conditions might greet me and walked across the street with the help of one of the Four Seasons doormen. Although I have traveled to Cairo several times, I still cannot cross the insanely trafficked multi-lane streets without assistance.

Inside the Giza Zoo I found a surprisingly peaceful, quiet atmosphere amidst the city’s chaotic hubbub. Most of the animals were kept in large areas which, to my untrained eye, seemed to be quite pleasant and suitable.

The Springboks, an animal which I have not only never seen but never heard of before in my life, seemed to likewise be kept in fairly good environments.

Springbok!

Another animal I’ve neither heard of nor before seen was the Bactrian Camel, wandering about somewhat freely.

Unfortunately, I did see some animals living unhappily. The only elephant I saw was kept on a chain just a few inches long attached to its left leg, looking very unhappy. Poor thing.

I’ve heard wild animals when caged pace around endlessly in circles. Now I know it’s true. By far the most disturbing sight I saw at the Giza Zoo was hyenas in cages. It was horrible. So horrible that there is a sign posted in English at the entrance of the building where they’re imprisoned, telling visitors not to take photos. I did anyway and got a finger shaken at me (which means no in Mid East speak) by a guard when I exited.

Despite the disturbing sights I saw, the Giza Zoo in Cairo was really quite enjoyable. If you are ever in Cairo and have some extra time to see the non-mandatory sights, I recommend that you visit this zoo. You may be a little unsettled but I personally came away relieved that the majority of the animals are treated as well as they are.

Never have I traveled anywhere as exotic, as conservative, as steeped in traditional Islamic culture as Salalah, Oman. My first trip to Salalah (pronounced Sah LAH lah) was in 2009, before I had a blog, and I traveled there once again the following year. Now that I’ve brought a blog into being, I can share this journey as well as other my early, formative travels in a series called My Pre-Blog Travels. My first two posts in this series focused on my first journey into the Arab world when I traveled to Muscat, Oman. It was after a few days in this amazing city on the Persian Gulf that I flew one hour south and discovered unbelievably amazing Salalah.

Salalah, Oman is located a couple hours by car north of Yemen and several hours east of Saudi Arabia and is situated on the Arabian Sea, which has the most sparkling turquoise waters I’ve ever seen.

I purposefully took both of my trips to Salalah immediately after their khareef, or monsoon season. During the months of June to September each year, light rains falls on Salalah almost constantly, turning the arid desert into emerald green. I don’t know of anywhere else in the Middle East that experiences this.

Can you believe it? This is desert.

Have you ever seen desert that looks like this?

Unlike most places I travel, which I explore independently, I took a guided tour through Salalah for two days, as this was my first journey into the Arab world and this little town is so off the beaten tourist trail that I thought getting around alone would be too much trouble, due to the language barrier. It turned out to be the right decision, and I highly recommend hiring a tour guide if you’re traveling to Salalah for the first time. My hotel, Haffa House, called a tour guide named Ali for me, and we hit it off immediately, so much so that we keep in touch to this day. Exploring Salalah with Ali was an excellent way to discover this deeply exotic piece of the world.

The first place we headed was at the top of my lists of sights I wanted to see on my trip to Salalah – the grave of the biblical character named Job. Like many biblical figures, Job is considered a prophet in Islam, so his gravesite is frequently visited not only by Christians but Muslims. An entire chapter of the Bible is dedicated to this man whom God turned over to Satan for a while, telling him he could do anything to Job he wished except take his life. Satan destroyed all of his possessions and killed everyone in his family, then afflicted Job with disease, littering his body with sores. Never once during the years of Job’s suffering did he turn his back on God. When I saw his grave I realized that part of Job’s physical trouble might have stemmed from his size. The grave was over twice as long as I am tall, causing me to think he might have had gigantism. No, Ali said, many people in those days were very, very tall. Sure enough, when Ali took me to other graves, they were also extremely long.

Outside the building is a mark in a flat rock, which Ali said is believed to be a footprint of Job. He poured some water on it to make it more visible for me.

After Job’s grave we stopped to eat lunch at one of the many little roadside stands in Salalah. This particular stand sold a meat I’d never before come across – camel! Camels are so plentiful in Salalah that their meat is a dietary staple. It’s hung to dry, then wrapped in foil and cooked over coals. The meat is rather soft, tangy and delectable.

One of Salalah’s main tourist attractions are its blow holes, which are holes in the rocks which run along the shoreline which waves come shooting through, forcing their way up through the holes and into the air. Ali said the waters can shoot several meters high, although they didn’t get more than a meter high for me.

By far the most amazing sight I saw in Salalah on my first day was a mind-blowing anti-gravity area. Here on a remote road surrounded by a once-brown desert turned green by the recent rains, Ali and I sat on a hill in his car, with it first in neutral and then turned off, while I watched in amazement as we didn’t stand stationary or begin sliding downhill but instead, were pulled uphill!

Salalah is far too rich and exciting to cover in just one post. Please stay tuned for more Salalah articles soon!

The historical sights in and around Luxor, Egypt are roughly divided geographically into two small regions: The East Bank and the West Bank, and two genres: tombs and temples. The East Bank, where I stayed at the perfect Hilton Luxor Resort & Spa, has no tombs but holds the awesome Karnak and Luxor Temples, along with what I think will be one of Luxor’s most famous sights once it officially opens this month: Sphinx Avenue. The West Bank has both tombs and temples and is home to some of Luxor’s most talked-about sights, like the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens. I’ll be writing about the East Bank temples in a future post but will say now that while I thought the tombs of the West Bank were extremely interesting, it was its temples that really grabbed me.

Medinet Habu Temple

The Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, where most of the tombs lie, were constructed from the 16th to the 11th Centuries B.C. and contain 63 and 70 tombs respectively. Dark, colorful and mysterious, it is unfortunate that photos are not allowed inside the tombs in order to protect and preserve their original hues. I respect this, but it’s kind of disappointing to walk away from such amazing sites with only photos like this to show for it:

"Road" sign at the Valley of the Kings

Locals at the Valley of the Kings

While snapping the photo of a Bedouin man outside one of the tombs in the Valley of the Queens, an Egyptian tour guide who was bringing a group out of the tomb told me you’re not supposed to take photos even outside. I’ve since been told he was incorrect.

Bedouin man stationed at a tomb entrance

While I liked the West Bank tombs, I just loved the majesty of its temples. Happily, you can take as many photos as you want of these magnificent ancient structures.

Queen Hatshepsut

Portion of Medinet Habu Temple

Portion of the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut

One of the many colorful carvings on a wall at the village of Deir el-Medina

Entrance fees are charged for West Bank sites, and prices vary. Hopefully you can afford to see them all, while still paying for your annual travel insurance and other expenses. Below is a breakdown of costs for some of the most popular sites, with a complete list of entrance fees here:

Medinet Habu – (a completely underrated sight!) 30 Egyptian pounds

Valley of the Kings – 80 Egyptian pounds for three tombs. The very famous tomb of King Tutankhamen costs an additional 100 pounds.

Valley of the Queens – 35 Egyptian pounds. I was told by my very reliable source, King Safari Dahab that Queen Nefertari’s tomb, which is currently technically closed, can be opened and toured if you cough up 20,000 Egyptian pounds (3,300 USD), which some tour groups actually pay!

Deir el Medina – 30 Egyptian Pounds – Neither a tomb nor a temple, rather a village where workers at the Valley of the Kings lived. There is a temple at this site, although it was closed when I visited.

Tombs of the Nobles – Price varies from 15 to 30 Egyptian pounds, according to which tombs you choose to tour.

All the sights of Luxor’s West Bank are 100 percent worth seeing, but its temples can totally make your day.

While in Luxor my accommodations were provided by the Hilton Luxor Resort & Spa, but all opinions are honestly my own.