 Built on the site of the ancient city of Thebes, Luxor is one of Egypt's prime tourist destinations. People have been visiting the magnificent monuments of Luxor, Karnak, Hatshepsut and Ramses III for thousands of years. Feluccas and old barges shuffle along the Nile between the luxury hotel ships of the Hilton and Sheraton cruising to and from Cairo and Aswan.
Luxor Temple was built by Pharaoh Amenhotep III (1390-1352 BC) on the site of an older temple built by Hatshepsut and added to by Tutankhamun, Ramses II, Alexander the Great and various Romans. Excavation work has been under way since 1885. The Temples of Karnak are a spectacular series of monuments that were the main place of worship in Theban times. They can be divided into the Amun Temple Enclosure, which is the largest; the Mut Temple Enclosure on the south side; and the Montu Temple Enclosure. The lonely statues of the Colossi of Memnon are the first things most people see, when they arrive on the West bank, though the Valley of the Kings, including the spectacular tombs of Nefertari (currently closed) and Tutankhamun.
Sharm El Sheikh
 Sharm el-Sheikh is probably the best-known town of southern Sinai, for the simple reason that it is the city that gave the Red Sea an international reputation as one of the world's most extraordinary diving destinations. The coral reefs of Ras Mohammed, Tiran, and the Aqaba coast, on which Sharm built its legendary reputation, are as dazzling as ever. Sharm el-Sheikh is the simplicity of sun, sea and sand, the luxury of five-star hotels, water sports, shopping and entertainment.
Sharm el-Sheikh is one of the most accessible and developed tourist resort communities in the Sinai peninsula. All around are Bedouins, colorful tents, mountains and sea. There are small, intimate hotels with modern designs, as well as larger hotel complexes belonging to International chains, plus almost all the amenities one could expect of a tourist center, including casinos, discos and nightclubs, golf courses and health facilities. In fact, with diving and snorkeling, windsurfing and other water sports, horses and camel riding, desert safaris, and great nearby antiquities attractions, it is almost impossible for a visitor to ever suffer from boredom.
Four miles south the southern section of the town stands on a cliff overlooking the port with a great view.Na'ama Bay is the center of the tourist activities. Located just north of Sharm, this area is developing into a resort town of its own. Most hotels at Na'ama Bay have their own, private beaches with comfortable amenities such as chairs, shades and even bars.
Shark's Bay is also nearby, and again is a growing resort community with more and more to offer, along with several diving centers. The small harbor known as Sharm el-Maya is located next to the civil harbor, has accommodations for boats, and includes a Yacht Club with rooms.
For those who live to shop, the Sharm El-Sheikh mall provides shoppers with both foreign and local products, including jewelry, leather goods, clothing, pottery and books. It has been said that this is a must visit for all diving enthusiasts. There are many diving sites along the 10 mile beach between Sharm el-Sheikh and Ras Nasrani
Dahab
 The wannabe Koh Samui of the Middle East, Dahab is 85km (53mi) north of Sharm el-Sheikh on the Gulf of Aquaba, near the southern tip of Sinai. Dahab was once a sleepy backwater, but these days there are more backpackers than Bedouins, and the town has become something of a lazy layover.
There's cheap accommodation virtually on the beach and inexpensive restaurants and hotels, and there are also the luxurious ones. Swimming and snorkeling in the Gulf of Aquaba are magnificent.
Nuweiba
 Nuweiba is located 70 km south of Taba and 180 km north of Sharm el Sheikh and only 110 km from Saint Catherine. Nuweiba means, “bubbling springs” in Arabic and it is one of the big oases in South Sinai. This is a 7-km long stretched city developed from a barren isolated place with no infrastructure that developed into a promising and attractive tourist destination. Nuweiba has been recently discovered by tourist investors establishing hotels along the coastline south and north of Nuweiba, connecting it with Taba in the north and Dahab in the south.
Nuweiba Tarabin
The northern part, consists of a thick grove of palms, a shallow bay and the ruins of a Turkish fort. The well inside the ruins has served the Bedouins as a fresh water source for centuries.  In the early 80s, the process of settling started, when families of the Tarabin tribe, who occupy the area north of Nuweiba permanently moved to live in their summer location. At this time, the Bedouins set up the first simple accommodation made of scrap wood and metal - the only materials available - rooms for travelers. With an increase in tourism and an improving infrastructure, many campsites and small hotels sprouted like mushrooms along the bay.
Tarabin is known for its lively oriental atmosphere. Restaurant by restaurant and bazaar next to bazaar gives you the impression of a colorful oriental market place. Along the beach, you find lively outdoors restaurants furnished in Bedouin style with carpets and cushions that invite to lay back and relax and let the time pass by.
Nuweiba is away from the mass tourism. It is a place that you go to when you want to contemplate and relax. Find yourself, rexplore it on a reef with a Bedouin dinner cooked on a campfire.
Another unique experience in Nuweiba is diving or snorkeling with the dolphins. “Oleen” and her baby have become so famous, that people from all over the world come to visit her. More than 6 years ago, the deaf Bedouin Abdallah found “Oleen” and started to swim with her, and now he has become her biggest friend. "Oleen" is a dolphin that lives freely, out in the wild and it is a special treat to swim with her.
St. Catherine
 Isolated and protected by the surrounding majestic mountains, the monastery of St. Catherine is the major attraction for tourists visiting the area. The legend says that the virgin Catherine died a martyr in the 4 th century. It is said, that she was the daughter of a noble family from Alexandria. Beautiful and sophisticated in philosophy, poetry, mathematics and languages, she tried to convert Emperor Maximanus.
She astonished him with her knowledge, her rhetoric and logic, when she succeeded in converting many of those in his closest circle, he sentenced her to death.
Catherine was attached to four wooden wheels rotating into opposite directions. Like a miracle she survived, and finally, Maximanus decreed that she should be beheaded.
The church of St. Catherine in Alexandria is said to be the place of her martyrdom. Five centuries later, a monk had a vision of angels carrying the celestial body of St. Catherine upon the highest mountain. On top of this mountain, which then was named Mount Catherine, monks found the intact body of St. Catherine emanating sweet smelling myrrh.
Today, the skull and her left hand remained in the Church of Transfiguration. Every year on Nov 25 th, the monks celebrate the anniversary of her martyrdom, and her relics are carried in a great procession around the Church.
The Monastery
 At the foot of the mountain, where Moses is said to have received the Ten Commandments, lies the monastery. Early Christian hermits, searching seclusion from worldly affairs, were living around the holy mountain since the early times of Christendom. After her visit to the impressive site of the Burning Bush, Empress Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great, decided in 330 AD to allow a chapel to be built at the site; and dedicated it to the Virgin Mary. Many travelogues from early pilgrims talked about the massacres among the monks.
Finally in 527 AD, Emperor Justinian ordered the construction of a fortress. Above the heavy wooden entrance wooden frames carry the names of Justinian, his wife Theodora and the architect’s Stephanos.
St. Catherine is among the oldest Christian monasteries, and the smallest diocese in the world.
The Monks today are Greek Orthodox and of different nationalities. The wealthy monastery has branches in Cairo, Cyprus and Crete.
The Church of Transfiguration
 Built in the shape of a basilica and divided into the narthex, where a collection of icons is exhibited, the main body of the church, and the apsis with the altar. Among the most impressive art work of 15 centuries are chandeliers, each decorated with the egg of an ostrich, and icons, among them the famous iconostasis presenting the huge icons of St. John the Baptist, the Holy Virgin, Christ, and St. Catherine. The monastery’s treasure is a 6 th century mosaic showing the transfiguration of Christ. The basilica is the only church open to today's visitors.
The Chapel of the Burning Bush is the sacred part of the monastery. Once it contained the Burning Bush, which is replaced outside of the chapel and fenced behind a stone wall. Every Saturday, the monks hold their liturgy in the chapel.
The Bell Tower houses 9 bells of different sizes and an ancient wooden bell. The wooden bell is used daily and the metal bells are only heard on Sundays and on holidays.
The Mosque was built in 1106 during the era of Caliph Hakim to protect the Monastery from the unpredictable destructive passion of Caliph Hakim. With the raise of Islam in Egypt in 640, the monastery became an isolated outpost in the desert.
Mt Moses
 Mt. Moses , or Mount Sinai and known with its Arabic name Gebel Mousa, is honored by the three great monotheistic religions. The path of Moses, Sikket Sayydna Mousa, starts in a gentle slope and gets steep on the last bit, where it ends at the valley of Elijah.
The final steep climb leads over rocky steps to the summit. Just below the summit, in a natural hollow in the granite the imprint of a camel's foot can be made out. Bedouin tradition has it, that here is the place where Prophet Muhammad started his night journey to heaven. The magnificent view from the summit is worthwhile the effort of a three-hour long climb to the top of Mt. Moses.
3600 steps –skillfully arranged by a monk on penalty - lead to the gate of Stephanos, where he heard the confessions of the pilgrims and granted them pardon before letting them pass by. The steep way down leads to points with extraordinary views, always the smell of herbal plants and the chirping birds at company.
Taba
 The future for tourism of Taba in Sinai looks promising. It is exactly like holidays in paradise. Taba is a paradise of deluxe holiday resorts, 5 Star hotels are already built or about to be open soon in a naturally breathtaking scenery that not many places in the world can compete with.
The coastline from Taba to Nuweiba is Sinai's most picturesque with dramatic mountain backdrops to stretches of golden beaches. Salima Restaurant is overlooking the beautiful area, a natural bay in an outstanding scenery. On an island also known as Coral Island or Gezirat Pharaon (Pharaoh's Island), the Salah el Din Castle, restored by the Egyptian Antique Organization, is located.
Taba lies on the international borders; within less than an hour one can cross from other countries into the fascinating wilderness of the Sinai. From here service taxis and car services provide transportation to the coastal towns of South Sinai. Since November 2000, Taba Airport is open to charter flights that makes a visit to this part of Sinai.
Hurghada
 Hurghada, known in Egypt as Ghardaga, was at one time just a simple fishing village. But now, with it's crystal clear water, untouched reefs and a multitude of ship wrecks, it has become one of the best Egyptian tourist destinations.
With more than 20 km of hotels along the beach, Hurghada can satisfy the needs of every visitor, from scuba diving to windsurfing to desert safaris. One can choose from the finest 5 Star Hotels to simple Guest Houses, and everything in-between. Hurghada is world renowned as a center for some of the world's best Diving. Within a couple of hours from your hotel, you can be amongst a group of islands that are the home to Dive Sites guaranteed to astound even the most experienced divers.
Marsa Alam
 Marsa Alam is a fishing village on Egypt's Red Sea Coast 132km (82mi) from Al-Quseir. It sits on the T-junction between the Red Sea Coast road and the road from Edfu, 230km (142mi) inland on the banks of the Nile. Swimming and snorkeling in the area are magnificent, but you have to be careful - much of this southern coastal region is mined and you have to have an experienced diver with you.
About 145km (90mi) southwest into the desert is the Tomb of Sayyed al-Shazli, who was an important Sufi leader in the 13th century. His tomb was restored earlier last century, but you may not make it through the checkpoints.
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