Egypt An intoxicating oasis

The ancient Egyptians’ massive Pyramids of Giza are one of the world’s greatest feats of engineering. Behold their awe-inspiring architectural precision up close when you visit Cairo, even entering one of the pyramids. While the pyramids honored their dead, the temples honored their gods. The impressive Philae Temple complex is one such example, where the Temple of Isis is dedicated to the goddess of love and healing. If you opt for the Masterpiece Collection pre-itinerary excursion to Alexandria, you’ll embark on a sightseeing expedition to the Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa, the largest and most important royal cemetery in Egypt.

Since antiquity, the Nile River and its fertile banks have served up a bounty of vegetables, fruits, and seafood—a quality our ships in Egypt highlight, serving up delicious cuisine made from ingredients grown fresh at their own farm. Add in spices like saffron, cinnamon, and mint, and you have a menu of gastronomic delights. These flavors give familiar Arabic dishes—hummus, falafel, grilled meats—a distinctively Egyptian twist. Koshari, Cairo’s most popular street food, is made of rice, pasta, and lentils, topped with tomato sauce, garlic, and vinegar, then garnished with chickpeas and fried onions. Pair baklava with a warming cup of Egyptian tea and you have a dessert to remember.

See what life lives in and along the banks of the Nile on a bird-watching excursion. As the motorboat winds its way along the river, be on the lookout for colorful native birds, different species of herons, kingfishers, vultures, sunbirds, and other wildlife that thrive in the marsh grass along the riverbanks like Nile crocodiles and hippos.

For millennia, the Nile River has provided a rich environment for some of the country’s most iconic flora. This ancient world comes to life when you set sail in a felucca—a small traditional boat with large triangular sails. As you cruise the world’s longest river, you’ll have views of bamboo and papyrus, the long-stemmed plant topped with a fan-shaped cluster of spikelet flowers often depicted in Egyptian temples.