A luxury holiday to Egypt offers everything from natural wonders and a vibrant contemporary culture, to medieval bazaars and, of course, captivating historical treasures that have been thrilling visitors for many years – perhaps, most iconically, The Pyramids at Giza.
Alongside the honking horns and bustling crowds of the capital, Cairo, there's the astonishing gold of Tutankhamun buried in the dusty upper corridors of the Cairo Museum and the Islamic treasures of bejewelled mosques and sacred places of learning. Head out of Cairo to discover the lotus-columned Temples of Luxor and Karnak, sunrise across the Valley of the Kings and the sound-and-light show at the mighty tombs of Abu Simbel. Egypt's natural assets are equally as potent; the desert's wind-polished rock formations, the iron-clad mountains of the Sinai and the gleaming underwater landscapes of the Red Sea. A pulsing modern Arab state throbs beneath the surface and, ultimately, this country is best understood not so much under the shadow of its great monuments, but in the call to prayer at sunset, in the chatter of hooves on tarmac in a rural village or tea and talk with Egypt's residents in a coffeehouse.
Ramadan, which is observed for one month each year, is a period of fasting when the pace of life is slower, public areas are busier and there are certain restrictions, for example, consuming food in public, drinking alcohol and use of restaurants. In 2013, Ramadan will be celebrated for one month from 9th July.