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00:03Welcome to one of my favorite countries in the world, Egypt.
00:09Egypt is a place that takes my breath away. I'm traveling the length of the country,
00:16following the Great River Nile, visiting some of the most extraordinary sites on Earth,
00:23and getting under the skin of this amazing country.
00:29From ancient tombs and pyramids, to camel rides and luxury steamers,
00:35I am seeing and doing it all.
00:56I'm beginning my Egyptian adventure right in the heart of the country, in a place that's one of the greatest
01:03open-air museums in the world.
01:07Luxor, right on the banks of the mighty River Nile.
01:13I'll be exploring the monumental Valley of the Kings and the tomb of the world's most famous pharaoh,
01:20discovering the secrets of this ancient city.
01:24Setting off into the desert by camel, before stepping aboard a romantic steamship.
01:31Later in the series, I'll be traveling up the Nile, going south to the desert city of Aswan,
01:37and finishing my journey in the capital city, home of the pyramids and so much more, Cairo.
01:48But back to my first stop, Luxor,
01:50a city where busy everyday life and world-class historic sites rub shoulders.
02:08As we're gliding along on this gentle breeze, let's just take a look at the map.
02:12No danger of it blowing away today. And that is Egypt. You've got the Mediterranean up there,
02:17the beautiful blue seas Mediterranean, the Nile dominating the country. Cairo, capital,
02:22there we go, in the north. You can see the pyramids of Giza on that west bank.
02:25As we come down the Nile, or go up the Nile, I should say, we get to Luxor, which is
02:31where I am now.
02:343,500 years ago, it was one of the biggest cities on the planet, known back then as Thebes.
02:41And it's this river, the Nile, that made it all possible.
02:47This is great. We're in my happy place now. At the helm of a lovely sailing vessel.
02:53Tickle of breeze, not very much, but enough to push me through the water.
02:56And I'm going through the middle of the world's biggest open-air museum. We've got Luxor on the
03:01east bank over here with, well, the biggest temple complex ever built by human beings.
03:07And on the west side, we've got the land of the dead. See those mountains there?
03:11In there, you've got the Valley of the Kings. Some of the most extraordinary sites,
03:18extraordinary tombs from ancient Egypt, including Tutankhamun over there.
03:22It's just so peaceful out here. But even crossing the Calm River Nile can be a little tricky.
03:34Well, when there's no wind and you've got no engine, there's only one way of getting a boat
03:37through the water. And that is rowing. Do what the pharaohs did. I don't think they would have
03:45the road themselves. They had a lot of other people do that for them. And I can see why.
03:55Come on. They're just big planks of wood. They're not really yours.
04:02But I'd better get a move on, because I want to check into my hotel.
04:06Fingers crossed for a room with a view.
04:17May I ask for...
04:18Sure thing, thank you.
04:19Make your red signature, please. Thank you.
04:23Thank you very much. Thank you.
04:29This is me.
04:32Hope I got Nile view here.
04:38Looking hopeful.
04:42Yes.
04:44Look at that.
04:46That's great, I'll take that.
04:48Nile views, boats sailing.
04:51And those beautiful mountains there,
04:53the Valley of the Kings is right in there.
04:56It'll do.
05:04Taking in this incredible view,
05:06you can appreciate why the ancient Egyptians
05:09thought the Nile was heaven-sent.
05:11The river is over 4,000 miles from end to end,
05:15making it the longest river on Earth.
05:17And it's one of the most beautiful, too.
05:26Early start at 5 o'clock,
05:28and we are leaving Luxor to head to the Valley of the Kings,
05:32it's one of the greatest sites in the world.
05:38I've been to the Valley of the Kings before,
05:39but in a way, if you love history,
05:41this is just one of the world's greatest places to go.
05:44There's no question.
05:47I maintain, if you want to see things in the best possible light,
05:51at the best temperature, with minimum crowds,
05:54you've got to go super early.
05:57particularly today,
06:00because they've said that if we get here really, really early,
06:02we can get led in before the public,
06:04which means that I'm going to have a bit of time to myself,
06:08by myself,
06:09in...
06:11The world's most famous archaeological site,
06:14and that is the tomb of the teenage pharaoh, Tukkam.
06:21The Valley of the Kings is on the west bank of the Nile,
06:24directly across the river from Luxor City and my hotel.
06:29It's the home of Egypt's pharaohs,
06:32lying in their beautifully decorated tombs,
06:35resting, they hoped, for eternity.
06:38All driving to the desert now,
06:40we've got these mountains on the other side,
06:41so we're getting to the valley,
06:42the Valley of the Kings,
06:43and we've arrived in the dark,
06:45which is, you know you're on time.
07:04I don't think I've ever driven in to next the tomb before.
07:10I'm sorry.
07:12I'm sorry.
07:15I'm sorry.
07:17I'm sorry.
07:21All right.
07:21Thank you very much.
07:22Shukran.
07:26Welcome to the Valley of the Kings,
07:28one of the most magical places on earth.
07:34A mountain ravine,
07:36a mountain valley leading up to that pyramid-like peak up there,
07:40so a sacred place to the ancient Egyptians.
07:43Into the walls of this valley are burrowed
07:48the tombs of the pharaohs of ancient Egypt,
07:50the new kingdom of ancient Egypt.
07:52It's like a warren of tombs.
07:57The ancient Egyptians stopped building pyramids
08:00around 3,500 years ago.
08:03Instead, as power shifted to the centre of the country,
08:06they buried their royals here.
08:11And the most famous one of all is this one right here,
08:15KV 62, Kings Valley 62,
08:18the tomb of Tutankhamun.
08:22Coming up, I'll be heading deep underground into Tut's tomb.
08:26And you can't help thinking when you're down here.
08:29Is there anything else somewhere else in the wild like this
08:32that we don't know about yet?
08:33Testing my haggling skills at a local market.
08:36Do your best price.
08:37Do your best price.
08:38I love Egypt.
08:39And uncovering when these desert-dwelling animals
08:42first arrived in Egypt.
08:43It's later than you think.
08:46Tutankhamun would never have seen a camel.
09:01I'm deep in the Valley of the Kings,
09:04the home of the tombs of Egypt's pharaohs.
09:07It never gets old.
09:09It's so magical each time I come here.
09:15And right here in the floor of the valley
09:18is the most famous one of all.
09:21The tomb of Tutankhamun.
09:29Archaeologist Howard Carter spent years digging in the desert,
09:33desperate to uncover something new in the Valley of the Kings.
09:36But money was running out and Carter and his team had found nothing.
09:41But then, in 1922, a breakthrough.
09:48Howard Carter was a chisel his grandma had given him when he was a teenager
09:51and he made a little hole right up here in the left-hand side.
09:55And he looked through that hole.
09:59One of the most exciting moments in, I think, in history, but so the history of archaeology.
10:05What he saw was gold glittering back at the team from inside the tomb.
10:10In front of them lay chariots, thrones, statues and furniture.
10:15Thousands of objects filling up the tiny space.
10:19It must have been utterly breathtaking.
10:22And slowly, slowly over the months and even the years that followed,
10:27Carter methodically went through this tomb
10:29and they reached this wall here and they found the burial chamber.
10:35Just look at this.
10:40Tutankhamun's tomb is small because he died so suddenly and young
10:43at just 18 or 19 years old.
10:46The decoration had to be finished at speed.
10:49The burial rushed.
10:51But, incredibly, it was never seriously robbed,
10:54leaving its treasures hidden for thousands of years.
10:59So I can't remember how old I was when I found out about this tomb.
11:02But it changed my life, I think, the idea that archaeologists could explore
11:08a desert valley and discover something that was almost untouched
11:13from 3,000 years before and filled with all these things,
11:17all these treasures, old objects from the ancient world.
11:21Made me want to explore and come to places like this.
11:27I love how you've got the cartouche, the royal signature, if you like,
11:31of Tutankhamun.
11:32You can make it out here again and again and again.
11:35His body was in this sarcophagus.
11:36It was inside three human-shaped coffins
11:40with that extraordinary death mask, the golden death mask.
11:44It has to be the most famous psychological object ever found.
11:50You can imagine the burial happening.
11:53Priests chanting, incense burning, the heavy golden coffin
11:58being carried through that tiny doorway.
12:01And then the door sealed.
12:03Darkness for more than 30 centuries.
12:07When you're down here by yourself and you just go completely still,
12:12you get a sense of what it must have been like for those thousands of years
12:15when it was just lying here, completely undiscovered, undisturbed.
12:19There is nowhere quite like this on Earth.
12:24And you can't help thinking when you're down here,
12:27is there anything else somewhere else in the world like this
12:30that we don't know about yet?
12:36I feel very lucky to have spent time down here alone.
12:38The first tourists today are coming in.
12:40Before I leave, I wanted to come and look at this
12:43because Tutankhamun's body has been returned to his tomb.
12:48And after so much unwrapping and scanning and prodding and studying,
12:53here are his mortal remains back in the tomb.
12:56And for me, this really reminds me that the heart of this story
13:00is not the gold and not the discoveries
13:02and not the excitement and the treasures,
13:04but a young man who died prematurely.
13:09Ultimately, this is a very human story.
13:21Back out to the fresh air.
13:23It's quite warm down there. It's quite stuffy.
13:25And now I get to see dawn, sunrise in the Valley of the Kings.
13:40So the sunrise in the Valley of the Kings is certainly the place to see it.
13:47You can see why the ancient Egyptians were so obsessed with the sun.
13:51Because as soon as it rises, everything changes.
13:54The colours, the temperature, the whole vibe of this valley is transformed.
14:02One and a half million tourists flood into the Valley of the Kings every year.
14:07Making sure everything runs smoothly is the director of monuments
14:11for the whole West Bank, Dr Baha Gabba.
14:15Very good to see you again.
14:16That's my pleasure.
14:17This is one of your more recent discoveries here, isn't it?
14:19Exactly. The excavation of the tomb, number 63.
14:23It's a modern tomb.
14:25Had been discovered in 2005 by Memphis University.
14:28It was not a sort of decorated pharaoh's tomb.
14:32What was in there?
14:33Yeah, it's just an unknown tomb because we didn't find any inscription.
14:36Just a cave on a mountain had been cut, but on the late Egyptian period
14:42when the thieves and tomb wrappers attacked the tombs in the Valley of the Kings.
14:47So the high priests of the area saved the mummies and the coffins in certain tombs.
14:52That was one of the tombs which had been used as a save room.
14:56So it became a sort of cache of other mummies?
14:57Exactly.
14:58I'm sorry to ask this question, but are there any other tombs in the Valley of the Kings
15:02that you are going to discover on these days?
15:05Yes.
15:06I think that Valley of the Kings still, some of the tombs not have been discovered,
15:10but still something missing in Valley of the Kings.
15:13Can you imagine if discovering something like Tutankhamun, something...
15:17The whole world would be obsessed.
15:19Yes.
15:20Don't.
15:20It's too exciting. I can't cope.
15:22Yes.
15:22I can't cope.
15:24Every single day, this is a huge operation.
15:27From digs to conservation, to just managing the tourists.
15:31And today is a big day for footfall.
15:34It's still early and everyone is desperate to get underground.
15:39Well, it is now 9.30 in the morning and this place is overrun with people.
15:46I've never seen the Valley of the Kings so busy.
15:48There are queues outside all the tombs.
15:51Not just the famous ones.
15:53Long snaking queues.
15:55This one's for Tutankhamun.
15:56I mean, this is one-in-one-out nightclub stuff here you're talking about.
16:00It feels like every single tourist in Egypt has come to this place this morning.
16:05The world is here.
16:08And within these voices from around the world, I can hear some Brits.
16:12What was it like this morning when your alarm went off at 5am?
16:15Five o'clock.
16:16Oh, it was awful.
16:18But...
16:18Did you have second thoughts?
16:19I did.
16:20And I thought, I just want to stay here, but now I'm out and about.
16:23It's fantastic.
16:24It was the right decision.
16:25Yes.
16:26You've got to really commit and then die off for five days somewhere nice and warm.
16:32Well, listen.
16:33Stop wasting your time talking to me.
16:34Get in there and look at some tombs.
16:36Nice to meet you.
16:37Have a good trip.
16:44I hate tearing myself away from this place.
16:46An unforgettable morning, though, in the Valley of the Kings.
16:54Whenever I go to the Valley, I'm always looking around thinking, definitely space between those
16:59two tombs.
16:59I hope someone's checked that thing.
17:02Everyone's got something they dream about.
17:04Scoring a winning goal in the World Cup final.
17:07Being a lead singer in a stadium gig with everyone screaming your name.
17:10For me, finding, exploring a previously undiscovered two in the Valley of the Kings.
17:20That's it.
17:21That's my Everest.
17:22I would die a happy man.
17:27Can't think of anything else I'd rather do.
17:32But it's not just the Valley of the Kings that attracts visitors.
17:38A market has stood here in Luxor for thousands of years.
17:42And the trading items might have changed.
17:44I think the atmosphere remains the same.
17:47Welcome.
17:47Nice to meet you.
17:48Welcome, guys.
17:49Welcome, guys.
17:51Thank you very much.
17:53I have something to mind.
17:55Let me show you.
17:57Look at this guy.
17:58Look at this guy.
18:00My very limited haggling skills are going to be put to the test in this vast maze of shops.
18:05So I've enlisted Ahmed, a local Luxor legend, who's going to help me out.
18:13So you're from Luxor.
18:14Yeah.
18:15So you know everyone well.
18:16Yeah.
18:16So I at least know investors like this guy.
18:22Hello there.
18:23Hi.
18:23Asalaamu Alaikum.
18:25This is my shop.
18:26It's a very nice shop, that one.
18:28I'd be very happy to come.
18:30Even nothing to buy.
18:31Just to look at you because you're a nice man.
18:34OK.
18:36Also, they do that also with me.
18:38Of course.
18:40We found our shop.
18:41It's time to get haggling.
18:43Hello, gents.
18:45Good.
18:45How are you?
18:47OK.
18:47This is good.
18:48I'm looking for some things for my kids.
18:50Hey, Asalaamu Alaikum.
18:52How are you doing?
18:52How are you?
18:52Hey, Asalaamu Alaikum.
18:54How are you?
18:55So I've been to Tutankhamun's tomb.
18:57Uh-huh.
18:58And I think maybe I should get something Tutankhamun-y.
19:01Feels like we've got to do the boy king here.
19:03How?
19:03Teenage pharaoh.
19:04And maybe for my daughters.
19:06Let's get an afetiti.
19:07Let's get a...
19:09Now.
19:10The teenager.
19:11Yeah.
19:12I have a teenage daughter.
19:13Very difficult.
19:13Yes, they're all in the world.
19:15They're all over the world.
19:16It's the same everywhere.
19:17I saw some jewelry out there, didn't I?
19:19Yeah.
19:20Now we're talking.
19:21This is what she likes.
19:22I think, yes.
19:23This is what she likes.
19:24Yeah, let's get an afetiti.
19:25I think it's a good idea.
19:26Yeah.
19:27I like that.
19:28I think they're going to be happy.
19:30I think they're going to be happy.
19:31You shall buy stuff in the apple, so this is good.
19:33I'm getting ahead of it here.
19:34Yeah.
19:35OK, right.
19:37If I'm going to try haggling, I should probably practice my best market check.
19:42I'm going to remember my Arabic.
19:43OK, fine.
19:46OK.
19:47That means that's too much.
19:49I'm not just going to pay the first price.
19:52I can do this.
19:53Come on, Dad.
19:53OK, here we go.
19:55What are we looking at here, guys?
19:58Do your best.
19:59Do your best price.
20:00Do your best price.
20:01I love Egypt.
20:03Egyptian pound, this and this, 700, but I make 600.
20:08600 Egyptian?
20:09OK.
20:09This is 50 Egyptian pound.
20:11It's a good price.
20:12It's a fair price.
20:13He's a good guy.
20:14Egyptian pound.
20:15You are a good man, really.
20:17OK.
20:17I was ready to bargain with you.
20:19I was going to bargain.
20:20You made it.
20:21You made it.
20:22I'm fair with you and with him.
20:24So that's just, that's a master class.
20:26You just agree from the first price that he says.
20:29You see, I was all revved up to go, somehow, I've just been taken for the first price.
20:36One day.
20:38One day.
20:39One day.
20:39One day.
20:39I'm going to be good at bargaining.
20:44Thank you very much.
20:47Coming up, I'm taking to the streets of Luxor, just like the Victorians did.
20:53This is where people have been coming since the 1800s.
20:58Celebrities, we've got movie stars, politicians like Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher.
21:02Hitting the desert for a ride on a very special animal.
21:05You can touch it.
21:06No problem.
21:06You see?
21:07That's going quite well.
21:09Usually, I don't get that far.
21:10No, no, no.
21:11And later, I'll be hopping on board a magnificent steamer to discover the incredible ancient sites along the Nile.
21:31Well, I've enjoyed the splendors of the Valley of the Kings.
21:34But you can't come to Egypt and not go for an adventure in the desert.
21:39But I'm a bit nervous about this one.
21:44I'm heading to the desert now for a date with a camel.
21:51Traditionally, camels hate having me on their back.
21:54There's been a lot of protest.
21:55We have not gone very well.
21:58But I'm hoping this is going to be different.
22:01Luckily, I've got a good wingman.
22:03I'm meeting Haji, my camel guy.
22:05Thank you, Mohammed.
22:15Haji.
22:15Yes.
22:16Salamu alaikum.
22:17Salamu alaikum.
22:18Salamu alaikum.
22:18Salamu alaikum.
22:19Alhamdulillah.
22:20Okay, well, here we go.
22:24For thousands of years, if you wanted to get across this landscape, you had one choice.
22:30Camel.
22:33Who's the camel?
22:35This is Ramesses 2.
22:36Ramesses 2.
22:37Ramesses 2.
22:37Ramesses 2.
22:38Ramesses the Great.
22:39Yeah.
22:39He's a very kind camel.
22:40Is he kind?
22:41Yeah, yeah.
22:42Yes, he's very kind.
22:42You can see?
22:43You can touch it.
22:44No problem.
22:44You see?
22:46That's going quite well.
22:47Usually I don't get that far with camel.
22:48No, no, no.
22:49He's very kind.
22:50Okay, he's a nice camel.
22:51There we go.
22:51Whoa.
22:52Whoa.
22:54Yes.
22:55Yikes.
22:56Okay.
22:57Almost came off there.
22:58Let's see what you got.
22:59Yeah, he's a very kind camel, you know?
23:06And you know the camel?
23:08Very intelligent.
23:09Very intelligent?
23:10Believe me.
23:10That's why they don't like me.
23:11He's very smart.
23:13And the camel, you know, he remembers if you do something bad with the camel.
23:18Really?
23:18He put it in his mind.
23:20Believe me.
23:21And he doesn't forgive and forget.
23:23Never he forget.
23:24Ramesses, I just want to say I'm a big fan.
23:28Camels were born to be in the desert.
23:30But they weren't always here.
23:33It's funny.
23:34We think of camels and Egypt just going together, but actually camels were introduced to Egypt
23:39quite recently, about 2,500 years ago.
23:43So that means that as they're building the Valley of the Kings, no camels around.
23:47Tutankhamun would never have seen a camel.
23:50They only arrived about 800 years or so after Tutankhamun.
23:58Do you know what?
24:00Because I've learned the hard way.
24:02You ride like that, you don't walk for a few days.
24:05Don't straddle a camel.
24:07Yes, you're all right.
24:07Yes.
24:12Out here, you're a whole world away from Luxor.
24:16No cars honking, no one touting for business, and no other tourists.
24:24It's just still and empty.
24:29It's very special being on a camel ride, not just anywhere, but here on the west bank of the Nile.
24:35Because I can see the mountain range where you've got the Valley of the Kings there.
24:39There are historic sites even in this landscape.
24:41You can see the remains of walls.
24:42There's a lot of broken pottery on the ground here.
24:44So you feel like you're in a landscape which has been traversed for thousands of years by humans,
24:50and probably the odd camel as well.
24:55You can see why people are prepared to take these long journeys across these barren tracks of land.
24:59As long as they have their camels.
25:01The ship of the desert.
25:05Ramesses is my ship, and I'm a happy sailor today.
25:07Oh, almost fell off.
25:13Okay.
25:14It's time.
25:16Okay, this is the dangerous bit.
25:17Right, I'm holding tight.
25:18Okay.
25:19Okay, Ramesses, be gentle on me here.
25:21Okay, hold on the climb back.
25:22Okay.
25:23Okay.
25:24Oh, no.
25:27Whoa.
25:27Whoa.
25:28Okay.
25:31Okay.
25:32Yeah.
25:33Nice.
25:34Oh.
25:35Oh.
25:37Oh.
25:38See how you walk now.
25:39Yeah, see how I walk.
25:42Well done, Ramesses.
25:43I'm sorry about that, buddy.
25:44It's okay.
25:45I'm sorry.
25:51Just going to have a quiet moment over here.
26:04I wasn't sure what to expect from the camel ride, but it was actually strangely peaceful.
26:10Days like today remind me that Egypt isn't just about visiting temples, modern cities, and of course, that very famous
26:17river.
26:17But it's also for these quieter moments in the desert.
26:21There's these times when you suddenly feel very small in a very big ancient landscape.
26:34I'm starting to notice some.
26:36So many things in Egypt require you to get up before the sun comes up.
26:39And this morning, it's another early start.
26:41Luckily, I like them.
26:53Hot air ballooning is one of the big modern draws of Luxor.
26:58Dozens of balloons take off here every day in the nice, calm air of dawn.
27:04It's great to get up in the air and just get a sense of how this landscape all works together.
27:09This little bird's eye view.
27:12Dominating it is the Nile.
27:14Beautiful silvery ribbon running through it.
27:17And that brings water.
27:18It gives life to this whole region.
27:21You've got the high mountains on either side.
27:23And then you've got this strip of green on either bank.
27:27This lovely, fertile land.
27:28It's so striking because just beyond that green, you've got desert.
27:31Then there's a hard stop.
27:33It all makes sense when you see it from up here.
27:42It's a proper mix of ancient monuments next to working farms.
27:47All right next to a modern city.
27:53Luxor has everything any modern city has.
27:57Well, plus the millennia-old temples and thousands of tourists pouring in and out.
28:02But along with the history and the modernity, there's also another two sides to Luxor.
28:08The East Bank and the West Bank.
28:11And that's where I'm heading next.
28:18As-salamu alaykum.
28:19As-salamu alaykum.
28:20As-salamu alaykum.
28:21As-salamu alaykum.
28:21As-salamu alaykum.
28:22Let's go to the West Bank.
28:24Here we go.
28:30To us, this river is the mighty Nile.
28:33But to the people who live here, it's just part of everyday life.
28:38For exercise.
28:40For fishermen and kingfishers waiting for their next catch.
28:44For farmers in the fields tending their animals and crops.
28:47And of course, for travellers like me being carried to their next adventure.
28:53Or simply just enjoy the slow pace of life.
29:00We're just pulling up to this pontoon now on the West Bank.
29:03And I'm seeing for the first time this amazing hotel built in the traditional style.
29:09It looks like a palace.
29:10It's like something out of Aladdin.
29:12And everyone's talking about this project in the area.
29:15It's being led by a local legend.
29:16Funny thing is, she's British.
29:36The Jorf Palace is the brainchild of husband and wife team.
29:41Mohammed Fawi and Dr Marina speak.
29:45I didn't really decide to start a hotel.
29:48I was just...
29:50I'm not a planner.
29:51I used to worry about what had happened to me when I retired.
29:54And then I forgot about it and thought something would turn up.
29:57Well, I think something has turned up.
29:58Something definitely turned up, yeah.
30:01The hotel was designed without plans or drawings by Marina and her husband, Mohammed.
30:10It feels like a labour of love.
30:11I mean, it's quite an eccentric thing to do is just build this gigantic palace here, isn't it?
30:14Out of using original material, isn't it?
30:17Is it?
30:18A little bit.
30:19I don't think so.
30:21A lot of things I do I think are normal and other people don't think are normal.
30:25Crazy people change the world, don't they?
30:26Before we continue, Marina and Mohammed are keen to show me around this unique place.
30:33And so, what's the inspiration here?
30:35Is this old Cairo?
30:37Yeah.
30:38Yeah.
30:38Okay.
30:39He's a master of using space, my husband.
30:42Yeah.
30:42There's all these spaces here.
30:44We use them for storage.
30:45Oh, okay.
30:46So, it's clever as well as good looking.
30:49Yeah, good looking.
30:50Yeah.
30:51Tell you what, I might have to request to stay in here when I come in my way.
30:56Oh, it's so cool in here, isn't it?
30:58You decide all the individual rooms, what their character's going to be.
31:01Yeah.
31:02Yeah, that's you.
31:02You're the genius.
31:03Wow.
31:04You're the genius of the company.
31:05She's being far too modest.
31:07This place is an icon in the making.
31:09And it's all down to Marina and Mohammed.
31:14Every single part of this place is a far cry from a normal hotel.
31:19And talking of normal, Mohammed has also created an otherworldly space, specifically for Marina.
31:28So, he wanted to build something that's just for me.
31:31And a lot of people think that's macabre, building a tomb.
31:35But it's what the pharaohs did. They all did that.
31:37So you've got your own pharaoh's tomb here in this building?
31:40Yeah. So I can't leave it even when I'm dead.
31:44Can we go and have a look? Yeah, let's go.
31:46Yes, you're hearing that right.
31:48She did just say tomb.
31:51I'm intrigued.
31:53I've got pimp on the door now.
31:56Ooh, look at that.
31:58Yeah. That is like a pharaoh's tomb.
32:02Look at these stars.
32:04This is a bit like the Valley of the Kings, I've got to say.
32:08This is quite dramatic.
32:11It will be, won't it?
32:15You know, I don't think I've ever been in anyone's tomb with the living person before.
32:21You know, everybody has plots in England, don't they?
32:25We just don't go into them.
32:27Yeah.
32:29This plinth here, dare I ask, is that going to be the sarcophagus?
32:33Yes, we'll put that on top, yeah.
32:35Not a conversation I ever thought I'd be having, really.
32:39But I think the pharaohs must have done it like this, they must have.
32:44Well, like you, you're building a palace on the West Bank, and so did they, and they built their tombs
32:50as well.
32:50Yeah.
32:51It really makes me think of these wild journeys along in our life, because where were you born?
32:55Burnley.
32:55Born in Burnley.
32:57Dead in Luxor.
32:58Well, laid to rest in a pharaoh's tomb in Luxor.
33:01Oh, yes.
33:09Well, I've climbed to the top of the hotel tower, and I've got to say, this is a fabulous view.
33:14I've never seen a better view of Luxor.
33:18Where would we be without people like Marina and Mohammed?
33:21We need those eccentrics.
33:23We just need people who have got the self-belief and the courage to do things that everyone else thinks
33:30are a bit crazy.
33:33And they've pushed through with their dream, and they've created something completely extraordinary, and something important.
33:41This is a little oasis on the West Bank.
33:46Traditional, beautiful, and about as far away from a chain hotel as you can get.
33:53But it's time to head back over to the East Bank.
33:57Luxor has drawn tourists for centuries.
34:00And apparently, the best way to see the East Bank of this city is to travel exactly how the Victorians
34:06did.
34:07Salaam alaikum.
34:08Salaam alaikum.
34:09Trip around town, how much?
34:11Around town?
34:12Yeah.
34:12800 Egyptian pound.
34:14Total, mayor.
34:15Total, 300.
34:16Make it five better.
34:18500 Egyptian pound.
34:19Hamsa.
34:20Hamsa, yes.
34:21Okay, Hamsa, okay.
34:22Deal.
34:22It's a deal.
34:23And what's the horse called?
34:24Susie.
34:25Susie?
34:25Yes.
34:26Okay.
34:27Very nice.
34:29Well done, Susie.
34:30Yala, Susie.
34:31Yes.
34:32And what's your name?
34:33Ahmed.
34:33Ahmed, how are you?
34:34Nice to meet me.
34:35Okay.
34:43What a beautiful day on the Nile, look at that.
34:46It's nowhere in the world like Luxor.
34:49The great thing about Luxor is that you don't have to work very hard to get to the world-class
34:54historic sites.
34:55That is the temple of Luxor, just right in the middle of town.
34:59Just one of the great wonders of ancient Egypt, just sitting right there.
35:05You can imagine the Victorians clip-clopping their way along this waterfront.
35:09And Queen Victoria also has a link to Luxor.
35:12Although she didn't come in, her son, the future King Edward VII, and King Charles' great-great-grandfather, did.
35:19He travelled from Cairo and the Pyramids up the Nile in the 1860s, which basically made Egypt and Luxor a
35:27must-visit for wealthy Europeans.
35:31And the place to stay was overlooking the Nile at the Winter Palace Hotel.
35:40This is where people have been coming since the 1800s.
35:45Celebrities, we've got movie stars, politicians like Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, everyone has stayed here, apart from me.
35:52And this was actually set up originally by Thomas Cook, who sold package holidays, made them affordable for the first
35:59time.
36:00Thomas Cook started package holidays to Egypt over 150 years ago.
36:05Every year, thousands of Brits still follow in his footstep.
36:10They've built hotels like this, and they've put steamships on the Nile.
36:15This is a holdover from the beginnings of modern Egyptian tourism.
36:19There are still some old photographs of the Winter Palace from back in the early 1900s.
36:25It's a real portal to the past.
36:27Everything is absolutely the same.
36:30There you go, that's Luxor Hotel, just been built.
36:34In fact, look, we're right here, look, that's that building there.
36:37Yeah.
36:37That's so cool.
36:38Yeah, for right now.
36:39A couple of steamers on the river, nothing on the far bank.
36:41No.
36:42Look how built up it is now, that's amazing.
36:52It's amazing.
36:54Well, it's time for me to leave Ahmed and Susie behind, because my days in Luxor are coming to an
37:01end.
37:01Well, that's it.
37:02Thank you very much, Ahmed.
37:04Much appreciated.
37:08Thank you, Susie.
37:11I've got one more ancient monument to explore here, and it's a biggie.
37:16The largest temple in the world.
37:19There's nowhere like Karnak Temple at sunrise.
37:24Before sailing south on a steamship built for royalty.
37:29Look at that.
37:30Paddle wheels.
37:31Yes.
37:32It is like being in L'Agatha Christie.
37:50Today is my last day in Luxor.
37:53And I'm up, you guessed it, at the crack of dawn, to visit a very special place.
37:59My plan is simple.
38:01Get there super early to beat all the crowds.
38:04Turns out, I wasn't the only one with this idea.
38:10There's nowhere like Karnak Temple at sunrise.
38:14Even though it's six, seven in the morning, you've still got tourists coming in here to
38:17be part of this special, special moment.
38:21It is magical.
38:33One experience walking down this central line, massive pillars on either side, and the sun
38:39flashing right the way down it.
38:41And this temple was aligned to the sun.
38:57And so, on a day like this, it feels like you're experiencing it exactly the way that
39:01the architects, the pharaohs, would have wanted you to experience it.
39:13But to navigate this ginormous temple site, I'm in need of a little bit of help.
39:19So I'm meeting an expert who knows Karnak like the back of her hand, Professor Salima Ikram.
39:27Seeing that this place is overwhelming, I just want to know what on earth is going on here.
39:32This is, in fact, the largest human constructed monument to a god.
39:38You can put the Vatican in here, it's sort of endless, and we're just in one tiny part of it.
39:44What is the point of it? What were they trying to achieve here?
39:46So this was dedicated to the god Amun, who became the Egyptian state god in about 2000 BC.
39:52And then he just got powerful, and got more powerful.
40:00You can see Amun's striking figure, with his tall crown of feathers all over Karnak.
40:07Would there have been a congregation of people in here, like a modern cathedral,
40:11or was it just for the pharaoh and his senior priests?
40:13Some parts were just for the pharaoh and the senior priests.
40:16You would sort of get in depending on your level of sacred clearance.
40:20But in general, the masses came to the forecourt, and then the god would process, and people could see him.
40:27But they couldn't really come deep into the temple.
40:30What about building it? Who is putting up these massive structures?
40:33The interesting thing about Karnak is that it was always a building site.
40:37And so it was never quite finished, and you would probably always hear the sound of hammers and mallets and
40:42things, and stone being broken.
40:44And, Sunil, I can see that there's still quite a lot of colour on these pillars, which is just an
40:48amazing, after thousands of years, extraordinary.
40:51Would this have just been brightly coloured?
40:53All of this looks beige now, but it was sparkling with colour, and perhaps some people would call it a
41:00bit vulgar.
41:01But it was great fun, and the Egyptians really liked their colour, bright colours.
41:05I suppose it's sort of a counterpoint to the desert.
41:11It would be a magnificent spectacle, and, of course, it was there to impress, as well as to appease.
41:18Places like Karnak Temple can sometimes feel utterly bewildering.
41:23Although, with the right guide, I think I've finally got a handle on this fabulous place.
41:32Well, it's time for me to leave Luxor.
41:34I must say I'm sad to leave it behind.
41:37I'm going all the way up this powerful river on a very special boat.
41:48This really is a dream come true.
41:51I'm not only about to embark on a Nile cruise, but I'm getting on the most famous, the oldest, the
42:00most peaceful,
42:00the most storied Niles cruise ship of all, the Sudan.
42:07I've stayed in some unusual and special places on my travels, but this might take some beating.
42:14The SS Sudan is a century-old Nile steamer, all polished brass and dark teak.
42:22Just look at that.
42:23Paddle wheels.
42:25Yes.
42:28It is like being in Agatha Christie.
42:34Salaam alaikum.
42:35Salaam alaikum.
42:36Hi there.
42:37Hello.
42:38Nice to meet you.
42:39I'm Dan.
42:40I'm here.
42:40What manager?
42:41I'm here.
42:42Thank you so much for having me.
42:43Oh, thank you.
42:46It feels like I'm stepping back into another world.
42:54I've been told that my cabin is on the promenade deck.
42:58It sounds great.
43:00So, where are we?
43:01What number here?
43:02Number 1112.
43:05Right, here we go.
43:08Yes, look at that.
43:11Oh, my goodness.
43:12Look at the panelling.
43:14The old phone on the wall.
43:16All the fixtures and fittings.
43:18It's going to be like sleeping in a museum.
43:22I get used to this.
43:24I feel like I'm in the 1920s.
43:25This is the bedroom that history lovers dream about sleeping in.
43:32This boat feels like time travel.
43:36And not just the 1920s.
43:42This was an empire.
43:45This was a civilization built around this river.
43:48So, I'm traveling from north to south now,
43:52just like the ancient Egyptians would have traveled thousands of years before.
43:56It feels right.
44:00In the next episode, I'll be continuing my journey on this remarkable steamer
44:06into Egypt's deep south.
44:08One of the most beautiful rooms on the ship.
44:12Seeing some of the most breathtaking stretches of the Nile.
44:15This is a gorgeous place.
44:17It's got to be the best kept secret in Egypt, this.
44:19And visiting the country's most stunning temple.
44:23I wish I had a time machine.
44:24I'd love to have seen that.
44:25Before coming face to face with a legendary pharaoh.
44:30This is Egypt in its pomp.
44:32Yes.
44:33With its greatest pharaoh in charge.
44:40Catch all that brand new tomorrow at nine.
44:43Bird watching and good conversation from the comfort of your sofa.
44:47Salmonade.
44:48Go birding.
44:49Brand new tomorrow at eight.
44:51And cracking cases no one else can.
44:53DCI Ellis is on the crime scene.
44:55Stream series one and two now on five.
44:58Next police night shift nine nine nine.
45:019.
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