Egypt delivers a timeless blend of modern and ancient experiences that linger long after you’ve returned home

Spanning 5,000 years, a journey through Egypt – from the Great Pyramids of Giza to magnificent Graeco-Roman temples, from the life-providing Nile to the ever-present desert – remains etched forever on my mind.

First, there’s Cairo, a place of extraordinary contrasts, where gridlocked traffic and blaring horns are offset by the serenity of the Nile, by the haunting sound of the muezzin calling the faithful to prayer and by the palpable warmth of its people.

Before heading for the pyramids of Saqqara and Giza, visit Cairo’s renowned Egyptian Museum. Here, my admittedly hazy comprehension of Ancient Egypt’s pharaohs, dynasties and deities began to gel. And, to stand before Tutankhamun’s legendary golden mask was alone worth the price of admission. Other must-sees include a cast of the Rosetta Stone (from which hieroglyphs were first decoded) and the royal mummies of some of Egypt’s most famous pharaohs.

Believing in resurrection and immortality, the Ancient Egyptians erected more than 100 pyramids throughout the country to preserve the bodies of their revered rulers. Conveniently, the best maintained are within easy reach of Cairo. In the desert south of Giza, Saqqara was an enormous necropolis (burying ground) for the first pharaohs. Here, the 5,000-year-old, roughly hewn Step Pyramid is considered the prototype for the rest.

The Great Pyramids of Giza stand on the very edge of Cairo’s sprawling suburbs. Despite hawkers peddling everything from plastic pyramids to camel rides, nothing detracts from the immensity of these burial mounds and the ingenuity of their builders. The oldest and largest is the Great Pyramid of Cheops. At 137 metres high and 4,500 years old, it’s the only one of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World to still exist.

I joined others venturing into the depths of the second largest, the Pyramid of Chephren – not an undertaking if you’re prone to claustrophobia or have a bad back! Bent almost double, we proceeded along the long and low passageway to the original burial chamber, admiring the nerve, if not the deeds, of the early tomb robbers.

Capturing people’s imagination for thousands of years, the Sphinx emerges from an outcrop of limestone nearby. First uncovered around 1420 BC, its origin and age are still controversial but it is one of the world’s oldest sculptures – surviving only because so much of its long life was spent buried beneath the Sahara’s ceaselessly blowing sand.

After the exuberant cacophony of Cairo, Aswan is pleasantly serene, and home to the monumental Philae temples. When the island of Philae was submerged during the construction of the High Dam in 1970, its two Ptolemaic temples, both around 2,000 years old, were transported, stone by stone, to the island of Agilkia – a massive undertaking sponsored by UNESCO. After the temples, I enjoyed the quintessential Nile experience: sailing on a felucca, cooled by the breeze as our boatman offered a soul-stirring rendition of a Nubian love song.

Cruising down the world’s longest river on the luxurious m/s Ti-Yi offered a chance to observe rural Egypt, where villagers still toil in fertile fields wedged between the Nile and the desert. Temple stops included Kom Ombo, where the Temples of Sobek and Horus were built during the Ptolemaic period (305 to 30 BC), and the Temple of Horus at Edfu. Built between 237 and 57 BC, it is Egypt’s best-preserved temple, its soaring pillars adorned with detailed reliefs of historical and mythical scenes.

The cruise ended at Luxor, where our first glimpse was of hot air balloons hovering in the post-dawn sky, backdropped by the cliffs of the Valley of the Kings. Formerly known as Thebes, the ancient capital of the New Kingdom, Luxor is practically an open-air museum, where you could easily spend days.

On the West Bank, the vast mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut was built for Egypt’s only female pharaoh (1472 – 1457 BC) – and perhaps the world’s first feminist. Discovered in 1905, it is simply breathtaking, with three tiers of columned terraces, brightly painted reliefs and masses of statues and sphinxes of the queen.

There are at least 60 tombs in the Valley of the Kings, including Tutankhamen’s. Carved deep into the mountains, each features a series of rooms and passageways, their walls covered with vibrant reliefs, and a burial chamber. One of the most dramatic is the tomb of Tuthmosis lll, high up in a side valley. In the Valley of the Queens, the recently restored tomb of Nefertari is similarly spectacular.

Two of Egypt’s most stunning temple complexes sit on the East Bank. The Temple of Luxor has been a holy site since the 14th century BC, when it was first built by Amenophis lll. Over the years, several legendary rulers contributed to its glory, including Tutankhamun and Alexander the Great. A Coptic church was built in the 6th century and a mosque, still in use, in the 15th century.

Then there’s Karnak – occupying 60 acres, it was the most important place of worship in all Egypt. Its construction began in the 16th century BC, and some 30 pharaohs added to the site. A sound-and-light show is a marvellous way to experience this complex of sanctuaries, obelisks and temples. As we walked through the dramatically lit ruins to Karnak’s sacred lake, the final call of the muezzin echoed through the night – a lingering reminder of Egypt today.

An oasis of calm

With a fourth hotel opening in Alexandria later this year, the Toronto-based luxury hotel chain Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is fully committed to one of the world’s most fascinating destinations.

To smooth your entry into the hustle and bustle of Cairo, there are two Four Seasons, well situated on either side of the Nile – Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at The First Residence and Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at Nile Plaza. And at the tip of the Sinai Peninsula, basking in the balmy climate of the Red Sea, Four Seasons Resort Sharm El Sheikh is perfectly located for serious R & R.

In each of these hotels, the spa is a place of quiet seclusion where sublime treatments have been inspired by the rituals of Ancient Egypt – when the ruling classes placed enormous importance on outer and inner beauty.

Signature treatments include the Pharaonic Massage (an aromatic poultice is dipped into warm essential oils and used to massage tired muscles), the Nefertiti Facial (a marvellous way to pamper your skin with flower-based unguents) and my personal favourite, the Cleopatra Treatment. First, you soak by candlelight in a huge bath of milky warm water enriched with honey and essential oil of rosemary, followed by a relaxing massage. Totally transcending!