Egypt

A sea like nowhere else

The Egyptian Red Sea coast hosts some of the world's most biodiverse coral reefs, drawing divers and snorkellers from across the globe to resorts at Hurghada, Marsa Alam, and Dahab. The water is warm, clear, and rich with parrotfish, lionfish, and occasional whale sharks. The Sinai Peninsula offers its own draw: the dive site at Ras Mohammed National Park is among the finest in the region, while the interior mountains shelter the ancient St Catherine's Monastery and the traditional Bedouin communities of the high plateau.

Cairo: a city that never slows

Cairo is one of the Arab world's great capitals: vast, noisy, layered, and endlessly alive. The Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square holds the treasures of Tutankhamun and a collection that would take weeks to absorb fully. The medieval Islamic quarter around Khan el-Khalili bazaar is a warren of mosques, copper workshops, spice stalls, and coffee houses that have traded here for centuries. Across the river, the Gezira arts district and a restaurant scene ranging from street ful to rooftop dining give the city a pace all its own.

The Western Desert and the Nile

Beyond the Nile's green ribbon, Egypt opens into the Sahara: vast, silent, and punctuated by extraordinary landscapes. The White Desert's chalk formations rise from flat sand like ghost forests, while the Siwa Oasis near the Libyan border preserves Berber architecture, freshwater springs, and the Oracle of Amun temple consulted by Alexander the Great. Felucca sailboats still ply the Nile between Aswan and Luxor, offering a slower way to take in riverside temples, farming villages, and the wide river light at dusk.