Giza Holidays

Rising like big sandy Toblerone chunks from the beige coloured desert sand, the Pyramids at Giza Plateau are the planet's oldest tourist attraction. Gaze in awe at Cheops (Khufu) - the largest of the three great pyramids. Constructed from over 2.5 million limestone blocks it is thought to have taken more than 20 years to construct. The other two - Chephren (Khafre) and Mycerinus (Menkaure) are equally impressive.

In front of the Pyramids sits the Sphinx, a statue with the face of a man and the body of a lion. Carved out of the surrounding limestone bedrock, at 57 metres (260 feet) long, 6 m (20 ft) wide, and with a height of 20 m (65 ft), the Sphinx is awesome in proportion. Blocks of stone weighing upwards of 200 tons were quarried in the construction phase to build the adjoining Sphinx Temple.

Located a stone's throw from Giza, tomb-strewn Saqqara offers many tombs and temples at a site that resembles a set piece from an Indiana Jones movie. Partially covered tombs, drifting sands and pyramids dotted across the horizon give way to the centrepiece - that of King Zhoser's step pyramid. Constructed by Imhotep, the pharaoh's chief architect in 2700 BC, this was the template for all future pyramid construction.