Field notes on visiting Egypt: the Nile, the oases, the desert and the people who make it worth the journey.https://amakken.comen-GBhttps://amakken.com/en/posts/a-night-under-the-white-desert-starshttps://amakken.com/en/posts/a-night-under-the-white-desert-starsMost day-trippers leave the park by four. Stay the night and the White Desert becomes a different place entirely.Fri, 18 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMTwhite-deserthttps://amakken.com/en/posts/siwa-five-days-without-a-phonehttps://amakken.com/en/posts/siwa-five-days-without-a-phoneWhat actually changes when the nearest bar of signal is ninety kilometres away, and why that is the best thing about the place.Sat, 22 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMTsiwahttps://amakken.com/en/posts/the-felucca-at-dawn-in-aswanhttps://amakken.com/en/posts/the-felucca-at-dawn-in-aswanTwo hours on the water before the heat, the granite hills, and the town that has done this for three thousand years.Thu, 30 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMTaswanhttps://amakken.com/en/posts/luxor-after-the-crowds-leavehttps://amakken.com/en/posts/luxor-after-the-crowds-leaveThe temples are a completely different proposition at five in the evening, when the heat drops and the tour groups leave.Sun, 14 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMTluxorhttps://amakken.com/en/posts/alexandria-on-a-thursdayhttps://amakken.com/en/posts/alexandria-on-a-thursdayThursday is the day the city belongs to itself: the corniche fills, the fish is fresh, and the weekend starts properly.Fri, 08 May 2026 09:00:00 GMTalexandriahttps://amakken.com/en/posts/fayoum-by-bicyclehttps://amakken.com/en/posts/fayoum-by-bicycleAn hour from Cairo, a green depression that has been farmed for five thousand years, and the best riding in Egypt.Thu, 02 Apr 2026 09:00:00 GMTfayoumhttps://amakken.com/en/posts/the-monastery-at-the-end-of-the-roadhttps://amakken.com/en/posts/the-monastery-at-the-end-of-the-roadSix hundred years of continuous prayer at 1,500 metres, and the drive to get there is half the reason to go.Thu, 19 Feb 2026 09:00:00 GMTsinaihttps://amakken.com/en/posts/cairo-in-three-dayshttps://amakken.com/en/posts/cairo-in-three-daysA thousand years of capital stacked on top of each other. Here is the order that makes it work.Sun, 11 Jan 2026 09:00:00 GMTcairo