You haven't really been to Egypt unless you've stopped by these famous sites. Before you embark on a cruise, you'll spend time exploring landmarks in and around Cairo, including the three massive and gasp-worthy pyramids. At the largest, the Great Pyramid, you can pay a fee and venture up a corridor to the center. A short distance from the Pyramids of Giza, the legendary Sphinx — with the head of a human and body of a lion — sits as a sentry on the edge of the Sahara. 

The Mosque of Muhammad Ali, located at the Citadel of Saladin in Cairo, was inspired by the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, and it gleams in the sun just about every day of the year. It was completed in 1848, and is also known as the Alabaster Mosque because of the extensive use of the white building material. In addition to being beautiful, the mosque is one of the most important Islamic places of worship in Egypt.

Just how big is this impressive site? Karnak Temple in Luxor is actually the largest religious complex ever constructed. A row of regal-looking ram-headed sphinxes greets visitors to this city of temples, which was built over the course of 2,000-plus years starting around 2,050 B.C.

Two massive stone statues of Egyptian Pharaoh Amenhotep III are collectively known as the Colossi of Memnon. They sit in the same location they have resided at for about 3,400 years, which is now an easy stop off the side of a well-used road in Luxor. 

When you get to Aswan and Lake Nasser, you'll marvel at ancient temples, especially once you hear that they were painstakingly moved there to protect them from flooding. Philae Temple, for example, was deconstructed, relocated, and re-erected at the nearby island of Agilkia to protect it from being submerged after the Aswan High Dam was built to control the flow of the Nile in the 1960s.

Ramses II and Nefertari reign at the Abu Simbel Temple complex. Two giant mountain-carved temples, one honoring the longest-ruling pharaoh in Egypt's history and the other for his favorite wife, were moved to this site to protect them from flooding in the 1960s as the High Dam was constructed. This site serves as the flagship project for the conservation of temples throughout the Nubian region.

While well-preserved hieroglyphics, cartouches, and carvings are visible everywhere in the ancient temples and tombs of Egypt, none are more colorful than those on display at the Temple of Amada on Lake Nasser. The oldest Egyptian temple in Nubia features artwork on delicate plaster surfaces in gorgeous shades of gold and blue.

To reach destinations while cruising Lake Nasser, cruisers are ferried ashore on small boats from the cruise ship to this spot at Wadi el-Seboua. You'll feel a particularly adventurous charge as you walk the wooden plank and step off into the Western Desert to brave the hot, sunny conditions to explore ancient temples that feel far from civilization.

River lines arrange evening entertainment on board the ship for passengers, and most cruises have a traditional Egyptian night. These include a dinner of regional cuisine, plus a performance by a Nubian dance troupe. The style, which originates from southern Egypt near the Sudan, is a folkloric dance that includes slow, rhythmic movements. 

A fitting end to days filled with exhilarating and exhausting touring, the nightly sunset feels like an evening treat on the Nile.