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Empty pyramids and cut-price luxury hotels: Egypt is perfect for a post-lockdown escape

egypt - getty
egypt - getty

Although the UK is knee-deep in lockdown, probably for some time, there are still reasons to stay positive about travel. For those looking forward to a time when you can leave our shores again, I suggest you turn your attention to Egypt. Although it’s never been on the mothballed travel corridor list, the country has reported low levels of Covid that are still falling. Just as important, the attitude there towards travellers is noticeably different from that found in the many countries where tough lockdowns have been enacted.

On landing the welcome is warm and the procedures polite and hassle-free with minimal queuing at immigration. Importantly, as I discovered when travelling there late last year, it also offers you a once in a century chance to see one of the world’s most mystical yet heavily touristed countries free from the hoards that have swarmed its iconic sites for decades. Want to experience the Pyramids all to yourself? Stay in beautiful historic 5-star hotels for a fraction of the standard price? Look no further.

Stress-free travel

British Airways and Egyptair are both running direct flights from London Heathrow to Cairo and Business Class flights can be found for as little as £700. My BA flight to Cairo was on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, a wide-body plane usually used on long haul routes, complete with lie-flat seats. My flight was less than half full. Egyptair is operating Boeing 777s, a good option if you want the wide-body aircraft experience and the BA 787s aren’t available. Check-in and security at both Heathrow and Cairo were a breeze, although most lounges are closed. The time from disembarking the plane in Cairo to standing outside the airport terminal was 20 minutes, which includes immigration, Covid test results check, buying a visa and collecting my luggage. A personal record.

Ancient sites without crowds

The Pyramids, the valley of the kings, Karnak, Abu Simbel and the rest of Egypt’s world-famous sites are practically deserted. I enjoyed both the temples of Abu Simbel and the Temple of Hatshepsut in Luxor quite literally to myself. There will likely never be a better opportunity to see these attractions without busloads of tourists blocking the view and vying for selfies. However, while it’s a great time for tourists, the locals are suffering terribly. Lockdowns cause devastation not just at home but abroad too in poor tourist-dependent economies. It was apparent all around from the emaciated horses pulling empty tourists carts in Luxor, to the exacerbated penury of the locals. My tour guide at the Pyramids told me I was only his second customer since April. These are difficult times and your tourist cash helps them a good deal.

luxor - getty
luxor - getty

Historic, elegant hotels

Some of the most beautiful historic hotels in the world can be found in Egypt and right now they are discounted. The Winter Palace in Luxor, which has hosted kings and presidents down the years and feels opulent while retaining its classic charm, was my personal favourite; with rooms are available from around £50 per night. If you head further south to Aswan, the Old Cataract Hotel is set beautifully on the banks of the Nile, its pink walls and Victorian décor a reminder of a world gone by. It costs £175 per night in February and is almost a destination in itself. Aswan is also a base from which to explore the temples of Abu Simbel, a three-hour bus trip across the desert to the shores of Lake Nassar. Both the Winter Palace and Old Cataract hotels in Luxor and Aswan respectively are worth visiting for drink or a meal if you aren’t staying there.

Life's a beach

February to April is a great time to visit Egypt’s beaches, which are less crowded now than they have been for many years. There are plenty of well-known towns and resorts to choose from on either the Med or the Red Sea. My advice would be to look along the coast South of Hurghada. The water is clear and warm and the hotels are wonderful value with tons of amenities and unintrusive Covid rules. So while in Egypt, in general, there are hygiene protocols and mask-wearing recommendations in place to make people feel safe, they are usually optional for guests and it’s mostly left to the common sense of the individual to decide what is most appropriate in any given situation. You have many options in this part of Egypt’s coastline but a good starting point is The Oberoi Beach Resort Sahl Hasheesh at around £150 per night.

oberoi
oberoi

Off the beaten path

If you decide to venture out to Egypt and want a few ideas for things to do that are a bit left-field, I’d suggest the Ibn Tulun Mosque in Cairo and the Gayer Anderson Museum next door. You may recognise them from certain scenes in the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me. The mosque is a fine example of 9th century Islamic architecture and the museum is 17th-century home turned museum showcasing Egyptian art.

For me, the two British cemeteries – one in Cairo, one in Aswan - were perhaps the most memorable of the lesser-known places I sought out. The cemetery in Cairo was a well-kept, solitary and peaceful haven amid a sea of noise and pollution. My signature in the guestbook was one of only three that year.

The cemetery in Aswan on the outskirts of the city appears to have been unvisited for years and contains the graves mainly of young British soldiers who died while stationed in the south of Egypt in the 1880s in a fort called Korosko, swallowed up long ago by the waters of Lake Nasser. The barely readable names on the headstones chiselled at the height of empire offer a reminder of the impermanence of human society; especially poignant at the present time.