Karnak Temple Egypt with Bunnik Tours

This is Karnak, the Vatican of Ancient Egypt and one of the absolute wonders of the world. Walking into the main entrance here, getting closer and closer to the Hypostyle Hall. Here I am walking through the Hypostyle Hall in Karnak Temple in Luxor. This is the Vatican of Ancient Egypt and it is the most magical place. Where we are was not open to the general civilians, only the high priests were allowed here because this is where the most important ceremonies took place. It is like an oak forest, you've got 134 columns, these massive pillars that are between 14 and 20 metres high covered in hieroglyphics. It is in itself a most incredible place and you can feel it all the way through your core. The energy here is just amazing. What makes Egypt so special is how close you can get to this history. We are talking about 3,000 years of history here and if you look here, the hieroglyphics are just there. Now imagine what this place was like 3,000 years ago. If you follow the column up to the very top, you still see the original colours. The weather hasn't touched them and they are still as vibrant as they are today, beautifully contrasted against the blue sky. Obviously there was a roof on here at the time. This place would have just been buzzing, absolutely stunning. There were only seven queens in the span of 3,000 years and Cleopatra was not one of them. Cleopatra ruled Egypt in a different period of time, in the Greek time. I'd like to clarify a point that Cleopatra was not Egyptian. She was dressed like an Egyptian but she was big. She didn't have a drop of Egyptian blood running in her vein. Superstition says you walk seven times around the scarab beetle here at Karnak and it will give you good luck. My theory is that it was invented by the tour guide so that they can have a rest. But Iman, she tells me that it's true. This is just the start of our journey in Upper Egypt. We board our Nile cruise this afternoon and then we go for a four-night cruise through to Aswan, visiting Khamombo, Edfu and then Aswan and up to Abu Simbel. Doing it on a small group tour is amazing. We give you the free time to really stop and soak up these places. Yes, we learn about it and we learn about the history. Our Egyptology guides are incredible in the way that they bring these places to life. But for me, what is equally special is just taking the time to sit and just watch this history. Watch the people and just soak it all in. And that's what we want to do on a Banak small group tour.