‘I’m a historian – but even I was left speechless by this overlooked Egyptian treasure’

There aren’t many cultures where waste management is considered the height of glamour. But for the ancient Egyptians, the daily grind of the dung beetle – the Scarabaeus satyrus – was most noble of all. These scurrying scarabs – who pushed spherical piles of dung around – were believed to be the earthly manifestation of the god Khepri, who pushed the sun across the sky each night, heralding the new morning. As such, they were long associated with rebirth, fertility, or making a fresh start.

It was such historic factoids which I was absorbed by, whilst listening to Mohammed, our infectiously enthusiastic tour guide, as we stood in the shade of an enormous, ancient obelisk. We were close to Luxor in the vast temple complex at Karnak, the collective building project of around thirty ancient pharaohs. It is a maze of obelisks and pylons, of hypostyle halls, with columns adorned in hieroglyphs and topped with papyrus capitals.

But one of the most remarkable features of the complex is a large stone statue of a scarab beetle. Here, something peculiar was happening. Tourists were circling the statue – as if locked in by some centrifugal force – and looking to the floor with steely determination. “It’s the tradition,” Mohammed told us, chuckling, “that walking seven laps of the statue brings good luck”. I made sure to count my laps with utmost care: nine laps, the tradition goes, and you’ll become pregnant.

Such were the escapades of a recent ten-day cruise along the River Nile. From the comfort of our riverboat, Viking’s Osiris (which featured the welcome comforts of a pool at the stern, Pina Coladas, and – crucially – air conditioning), we were transformed, transfixed – some moved to tears – to visit some of the most incredible historic sites on earth.

But within this history of pharaohs, hieroglyphs, temples and pyramids, what emerged was a tapestry of history, beliefs, nature, art, and architecture – much richer, much more surprising, than anticipated. We visited the Kom Ombo temple, north of Aswan, and gazed into a vast pit – a nilometer – which was used by priests to monitor and measure the height of the Nile. We visited a crocodile museum, transfixed by rows of mummified crocodiles, who, thousands of years before, sunned themselves on the riverbank nearby.

We muddled through the ancient passageways of Cairo’s Coptic Quarter. At the Ben Ezra Synagogue, we marvelled at the spot where, it’s believed, baby Moses was saved from the waters, floating in a basket among the bulrushes. Nearby, was a 4th century church, built on the spot that it is thought the Holy Family – Joseph, Mary and the infant Jesus – sheltered as they fled across Egypt. Still, you can visit the crypt where they stayed, and see the old well, from which they drank.

At Cairo’s Muhammad Ali Mosque, with its shimmering marble panelling and soaring minarets, we stood in the shadow of the copper clock tower. This was a gift from Louis Philippe of France in 1845, in exchange for the obelisk of Ramesses II, which stands in the Place de la Concorde Square, Paris.

In Luxor, we explored the Valley of the Kings. How extraordinary, to spend time – often on one’s own – in these ancient tombs. I walked down, deep into the earth, into the tomb of Tutankhamun, to come face to face with the boy king himself, his mummified body still in his place of burial (the bling has been removed, on display in Cairo).

But there is another shrine here, oft overlooked by tourists, and – somewhat incongruously – bearing a shiny blue plaque. A couple of miles from the necropolis, is the house of Howard Carter, the British archaeologist famed for discovering the tomb of King Tutankhamun in 1922. Here, Carter lived and worked from 1910 until his death in 1939.

The house was built by Carter in the Nubian style, with thick mud walls and a domed roof, to keep temperatures down in the searing heat. It might appear unassuming, this one-story building beside a busy road. But – like the great tomb of King Tut – Carter House is a treasure trove, a glimpse into Carter’s world, an insight into the character of that curious man. Personal details of Carter’s life are everywhere: the entrance hall is littered with walking sticks, riding crops, parasols, binoculars, and a fly whisk. “Can I help you?”, you half expect him to enquire, from around a corner.

Here, the floors are tiled, windows are small, and walls adorned with oil paintings, watercolours and photographs. In Carter’s study – a large room with a single high window – his desk is positioned facing the wall, with nothing but a small photo of a King Tut statue to distract him. Next is the bedroom, which faces east to receive the morning sun and cool breezes on the terrace. The metal bed, upon which is a stoneware hot water bottle, is surrounded by a mosquito net. There was no piped water supply on this bank of Luxor, so Carter relied on a nearby well and deliveries of Nile water. His bathroom, finished with mud plaster, contained a simple tin bath and an earth closet.

To combat the heat, Carter House has some ingenious features, including a small cupboard lined with concrete and a zinc-lined wooden door. This was the refrigerator. Nearby were large clay jars, known as zirs, to store water in. With a porous base, water could drip down through the pointed bottom into another container below, for purifying and cooling. This water was used for drinking, cooking or even – here’s another surprise – processing photographs.

In the lightroom, Carter developed “half-plate” glass negatives (roughly 16.5 by 11cm) and made contact prints. These were clipped on a washing line, to be dried. How remarkable to imagine Carter in this room, during those years of excavations, to glimpse the images of those historic moments, to interrogate this new source material, for the very first time.

Carter House is just one of the many hidden gems to visit in Egypt. But the real treasure you’ll uncover? You’ll leave Egypt with a lifelong fascination with this incredible country, a longing to return, and a desire to discover more of this astonishing history, which is overflowing with – as Carter so eloquently put it – truly “wonderful things”.

Essentials

Viking Cruises (0800 319 66 60; vikingcruises.co.uk) has the 11-night Pharaohs and Pyramids cruise from £6,945 per person, including return flights from the UK, return internal flights from Cairo to Luxor, ground transfers in Egypt, all onboard meals including wine, beer and soft drinks with lunch and dinner, included excursions, Wi-Fi, gratuities and evening entertainment and enrichment talks. The cruise calls at Cairo, Luxor, Qena, Esna, Aswan and Edfu. Departs December 4 2024.