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Pharaohs and pyramids

Karen Booth sets sail on Viking's Nile river ship, Osiris, to discover ancient Egyptian wonders

Soaring over the Valley of the Kings at dawn in a hot-air balloon near Luxor was one of the highlights of my recent Nile River cruise. The day before had seen us visit Tutankhamun's tomb, just before dusk, when the air was cool and the light was soft, golden and iridescent.

We were lucky enough to be accompanied by Lord and Lady Carnarvon, who talked us through the history of this famous tomb. Discovered in 1922 by a team led by Howard Carter, the expedition was sponsored by the current Earl's great-grandfather, the fifth Earl of Carnarvon, almost 100 years beforehand.

Temple hopping

As well as visiting the pyramids and tombs of the pharaohs, we also explored several ancient temples at the cities of Luxor and Esna, many of which extend over several acres. My favourite was Dendera Temple, dedicated to the goddess Hathor, who represented music, dance, joy and love (very much a goddess to relate to!). It's also one of the remaining temples that still has the stone roof intact, and the colours on the roof, columns and statues are vibrant with azure blues and emerald greens.

Ancient wonder

The cruise included a two-night stay in Cairo at the elegant Nile Ritz-Carlton hotel, overlooking the Nile river. Here we visited the Great Pyramid of Giza. To see this magnificent structure up close was quite overwhelming; and to be told that over two million stones were used in the construction, was almost incomprehensible, especially bearing in mind that it was built over 4,000 years ago.