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We offer holidays to the four corners of the globe. If you want specialist advise please phone our travel team and we will be happy to help.
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- Destinations
- Africa
- Egypt
- Luxor
- West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank is an area of limestone hills and valleys riddled
with tombs and temples across the river from Luxor. Goats roam
freely among the ruins, and the tiny settlements on the slopes
provide a splash of colour in an otherwise desert-like barrenness.
The 59 foot (18m) high pair of enthroned statues of the Colossi of
Memnon are the first things most visitors will see on the West
Bank, the only remaining part of the mortuary temple of Amenophis
III.
Most travellers come to visit the Valley of the Kings where the
secretive tombs of the Pharaohs were built to immortalise their
mummies and treasures for eternity. In an attempt to thwart tomb
robbers, traps and deceptions were part of the architectural
planning. Dramatic descents, spectacular murals on the passage and
chamber walls and a replica of the original sarcophagus at the end
of the tunnel create an awe-inspiring atmosphere. Highlights
include the Tomb of Tutankhamun and Ramses II. The country's finest
tomb, however, lies in the Valley of the Queens, the Tomb of
Nefertari, which has exceptional painted murals, but is at present
closed to the public. Also worth a visit is Hatshepsut's Temple,
mortuary temple of Egypt's only female Pharaoh.
Information & Facts
Language
Arabic is the official language although English and
French are widely spoken, especially in the tourist
areas.
Money
The unit of currency is the Egyptian Pound (EGP), which is
divided into 100 piastres. Most credit cards are accepted in major
hotels and restaurants. Visitors are advised to take travellers
cheques in US Dollars or Pounds to avoid additional exchange rate
charges. Banks are usually closed on Friday and Saturday, but
private exchange bureaux, called 'Forex', are open daily and banks
in major hotels are open 24 hours. Cairo branches of the Egyptian
British Bank and Banque Misr now have ATMs available that accept
Visa, MasterCard and Cirrus and are quite common in the main
tourist areas.
Opening Times