An hour plane ride south from Cairo gets you to Luxor, which lies in a beautiful green valley on the Nile where you can visit the Temple of Karnak and the Temple of Luxor. The Valley of the Kings takes a one-hour drive out to desolate land once again. During the New Kingdom period, the kings lived in this area.

For the ancient Egyptians, death was not the end but the entrance to eternal life. Those who could afford to spent the greater part of their adult lives making preparations for it. Soon after his coronation, the king would instigate work on his tomb where his transfiguration, resurrection and final union with the gods would take place.

Both the Temple of Karnak and the Temple of Luxor contained a "holy of holies room." A quote from a tourist book: "The temples dedicated to the gods were not places of worship in the modern sense.... Only the priests seem to be allowed into the temple to carry out the rites. ... Only the outermost parts of the temple were accessible by other people."

And: "Each temple built by the ancient Egyptians represented the Mound of Creation, which had risen from the primordial ocean at the beginning of time."

The Luxor temples exhibit magnificent architecture with dozens of columns and hundreds of engraved panels, and most scenes have something to do with achieving eternal life. Many symbols and inscriptions represent keys, paths and various rituals of how it will take place.

Ancient pagan sites are not the only attractions in Egypt, however. Way up north in Egypt, near the shores of the Red Sea, stands St. Catherine's Monastery. This fortress was built about 500 A.D. and represents the place, at the base of Mount Sinai, where Moses saw God in the burning bush and received the Ten Commandments. Monks have inhabited the monastery for about 1,500 years, and it contains biblical manuscripts that are not available to the public.

Today, Egyptians are mostly Muslim, having converted in the seventh century, and can be seen regularly praying at their appointed times of day.

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If you go . . .

Getting there: Flight from New York is 10 hours and 30 minutes on Egypt Air. Tour groups often give you better prices and also get you around the country.

Accommodations: Stay in the best hotels. Americans customarily get touches of sickness in Egypt, and the food isn't always familiar even in the best hotels. They will tell you not to even brush your teeth with the water here.
Again, tour operators know which hotels are more conducive to Americans.

Safety: This can be an issue, especially if you wander about alone. Another reason to go with a group.

Night life: Belly dancers and other traditional Egyptian entertainment are best found at resort hotels found on the shores of the Red Sea.

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E-mail: wjewkes@desnews.com