Experiences · thrills and crafts
Egypt by fire, stone, water and sand
Go down inside a pyramid, dive to a wartime wreck and walk a Bedouin trail. Blow glass, carve stone and sit at a loom. Choose an element, then how much nerve you bring. Every experience is arranged around your route, and nothing is promised until it is confirmed.
1 Choose an element
- All four13 experiences
- Fire2 experiencesFurnaces and solder: glass gathered hot, and a lantern made for Ramadan.
- Stone3 experiencesDown inside a pyramid, into a tomb's evidence, and a chisel in calcite.
- Water3 experiencesA war wreck on the seabed, one breath in Dahab, and a first kite.
- Sand and thread5 experiencesDunes and mountain trails, and the looms and needles of the people who live there.
2 How much nerve do you bring?
Anyone who is curious. You sit, watch, try and ask.
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Down inside a pyramid, into a tomb's evidence, and a chisel in calcite.
The tomb robbed twice
An archaeology thriller: the excavators' own evidence that Tutankhamun's tomb was entered in antiquity.2 ancient entries into the tomb, as Howard Carter reconstructed them
Nerve: CuriousHalf day
Open the layerswhat happens · what it asks · what we confirm
What happens
- Start with three observations the excavators recorded, before any explanation.
- Test each against the competing readings, and decide what would change your mind.
- Walk the Valley of the Kings with the case in hand.
- Keep the recorded damage, the reconstruction and the guesses about the thieves apart.
What it asks of you
Attention, not stamina: a morning of looking closely and arguing well. The Valley is hot and exposed by midday.
Before you go, we confirm
- A guide who can teach from the excavation records, not only the story
- Which tombs are open on your date, and any extra ticket
- Start time, to be in the Valley before the heat
Calcite, carved at Qurna
A chisel, a block of Egyptian 'alabaster' and a family workshop between the royal tombs and Deir el-Bahari.Calcite is what Egyptian 'alabaster' is, a harder stone than the gypsum alabaster of Europe
Nerve: Curious2–3 hours
Open the layerswhat happens · what it asks · what we confirm
What happens
- Sit in a family workshop where the stone is sawn, carved and polished by hand.
- Hollow a small piece with a chisel and file, as the carver shows you.
- Hold real stone and a cast copy side by side, and learn the difference.
- Take home what you carved, and nothing you were pressed to buy.
What it asks of you
Dust and patience. You are shown the tools; no skill is assumed.
Before you go, we confirm
- A workshop that carves on site and does not run a sales stop
- Dust protection, and whether children can take part
- Packing for a carved piece in your luggage
How an experience earns a place here
- A story, a skill or accessIf a marketplace already sells it as a ticket and there is nothing more to it, it is not here.
- Licensed people, checked before you goDivers, drivers and guides are confirmed for your date. Every page lists what we confirm first.
- Makers named when they agreeNo host appears here until they have agreed to be named. Every experience is a concept until then, and the page says so.
Ask about an experience
Tell us which ones and where you will be. Concept · on request means we still confirm the host, the date and the terms with you before anything is booked.
Your Egypt, your pace
Request a quote
Tell us your dates and party size. A quote will confirm the itinerary, total price, inclusions and cancellation terms before you decide.
Sending a request does not make a booking or reserve availability.
Photography credits (13)
FischerFotos, CC BY-SA 4.0; Alaazzpov, CC BY-SA 4.0; Olaf Tausch, CC BY 3.0; Zezinho68, CC BY-SA 4.0; David Dennis from Scotts Valley, CA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0; Wikicomman, CC BY-SA 4.0; Lars Plougmann, CC BY-SA 2.0; Marc Ryckaert, CC BY 3.0; Roland Unger, CC BY-SA 3.0; Mohamed kamal 1984, CC BY-SA 4.0; Ahmed Emad H, CC BY-SA 4.0; PMATAS, CC BY-SA 4.0; Hatem Moushir, CC BY-SA 4.0
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