FINALLY I had a week long holiday, my first one in two years! While I have done lots of city break weekends lately this was the first time in ages where I have just relaxed on holiday and stayed in a hotel for more than two nights. So it was nice to book a little luxury holiday to Aswan in Egypt and zone out and watch the world go by.
This was my third visit to Egypt and second to Aswan so I didn’t feel too guilty about leaving the hotel to explore the city. Aswan is located in the south of Egypt and the home to the iconic luxury hotel, Sofitel Legend Old Cataract Hotel which was our home for four blissful nights beside the Nile.
The hotel recently had a refurb and is just superb, yeah that pool is as gorgeous as it looks in the photo and the coldest thing you will find in Aswan!
And of course we had Afternoon Tea at sunset, you can read my gluten free afternoon tea review right here.
What I loved the most about staying at the Old Cataract Hotel were the sunsets, get ready to be sunset spammed!
The view from the terrace…
…and from the balcony of our room
On Day 3, I started feeling guilty that we hadn’t left the hotel however G didn’t feel the guilt at all and I needed to do a bit of shopping so we hit the souq in Aswan.
One thing we did notice was how much Aswan had changed since the decline in tourism due to the riots, the market was a lot more local focussed rather than for the tourists as it was years ago. I did meet my long lost Egyptian cousin while I was in the market…
Spices and tea anyone?
Then G decided that he needed a hair cut and shave (something he does when we are in the markets) and got the extra bonus of having his eyebrows threaded – I’m still giggling over this!
One thing I hadn’t visited before when I was in Aswan was the Nubian Museum and G said it was a must see when in Aswan and as much as I hate to admit it, he was right! The Museum takes you through the history of the area from prehistoric times right through the movement of the temples of Abu Simbel and Philae Temple in the 1960’s and just perfectly set up. Spot the Willy!
Did you find it?
Our last night in Aswan was actually spent driving down to the Abu Simbel temples for the Sun Festival (I should point out here that we didn’t come to Egypt just for the Sun Festival like so many other travellers did, it was purely by accident!) and the temples are still one of my favourite places to visit in Egypt.
I love chucking on my converse and go hunting for temples!
My two previous visits to Egypt I had backpacked so it was nice to visit Egypt in luxury as I felt like I was rediscovering this beautiful country.
Have you visited Aswan, Egypt – what was your favourite thing to do? What’s your favourite ancient site in Egypt and your tips for visiting the country?
xx
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