Opening Closed Doors – the exclusive access tours.

You know the Giza Plateau.  You’ve seen the postcards, the documentaries, the crowds.  What you haven’t seen is what happens when those crowds leave. Or the places they never get to go at all.

This is not a list of standard sites.  These are the locked gates, the closed tombs, the temples that don’t appear on any itinerary.  Some of these places have never been opened to the public.  Some just feel like it.  A few are still active archaeological digs where you might be standing next to someone who’s holding a brush and a question mark.

I’ve arranged private visits to all of them.  Not the kind where a guard unlocks a door and hovers nearby.  The kind where you walk in alone or with just a guide and the place feels like yours.  When you visit temples, tombs or stand before statues in the midst of a crowd there is noise chatter and smiles.  When you stand in these places alone, the smile leaves your face – it’s just you and…. ?

Before you go any further if you don’t know the difference between Egypt’s private tours, private time and private visits please clarify that for yourself first.

Below, everything we can do that almost nobody else can.  Pick what moves you and send me an email maraegypt@gmail.com

From Cairo

• Early Access to Giza Plateau – Drive through the totally empty Giza Plateau after dark, under a clear star studded sky – the atmosphere is totally different, magical, other-worldy.  In the past my private visits were always daytime.  So, November 2024 was my first visit after dark and it took my breath away – honestly.  To stop and look up at the clear, star-studded sky and see the stars that make up Orion’s belt behind the Gt. Pyramid – priceless.  Equally envyable is to be inside the actual Sphinx enclosure alone instead of being among the ever-present crowds on the viewing platform.  Private Visit to the Gt. Pyramid

• Saqqara Behind-the-Scenes – Access tombs not open to the general public, such as the tomb of Wahtye and the tomb of Khuwy
• Abu Sir – Experience an exclusive, behind-the-scenes entry to Abu Sir—an extraordinary royal burial ground rarely opened to visitors – along with the Pyramid of Sahure, a site not ordinarily accessible.
• Abu Rawash – Let us take yoo to Abu Rawash. It’s the lost pyramid – northernmost one in Egypt. Nobody goes there. It’s been closed since forever. You’ll stand on this rocky ridge looking down at Giza like it’s a postcard someone left on the floor. The Romans tore the place apart for stone -aggressively, like they hated it. So what’s left feels less like a tomb and more like someone dropped a mountain and walked away. Oh, and there’s a First Dynasty boat burial out there, plus some ruined Coptic stuff. A private visit gets you all of it. No vendors. No camel hassles. Just desert, ruins, and, on a clear day, a view of the Giza pyramids
• Abu Ghorab – No pyramids here. Just a forty-meter obelisk, a bloodless alabaster altar, and nine mysterious bowls that have baffled archaeologists for a century. Abu Ghorab—Egypt’s closed sun temple. Private visit only.
• Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) – Private, guided walk through the full Tutankhamun collection after hours, without the crowds, 2 hours
• Taposiris Magna – Taposiris Magna: where Cleopatra may or may not be buried. But they found a miracle tunnel, golden tongues, and coins with her face. Temple’s closed to the public. You can stand over a 1,300-meter passage cut through solid rock and decide for yourself if she’s down there. This is an on-going archaeological dig.

Desert Adventures from Cairo

• White Desert by Private 4×4 – Overnight camping in the surreal chalk formations with a private Bedouin guide, and high-end camping (proper beds, chef, not sleeping bags on cold ground) .

• Black Desert & Bahariya Oasis – Volcanic formations, hot springs, and a pace tailored to your comfort .

• Siwa Oasis – Salt lakes, Cleopatra’s Spring (hot spring), and the Temple of Amun (where Alexander the Great visited the oracle). Stay at Adrère Amellal – candlelight, no electricity, built into the mountain . We arrange:

  • Desert off-road tours

  • Sandboarding on the dunes

  • Stargazing with a local astronomer

• Fayoum & Wadi Hitan (Valley of the Whales) – 40-million-year-old whale skeletons in the desert. A UNESCO site most tourists never see. Combine with Wadi El Rayan’s waterfalls and sandboarding .

From Luxor

• Tel El Amarna – the remote desert region to which Pharaoh Akhenaton moved from Luxor

• Private Night-time or Early Morning Visit to Luxor Temple – Walk the Temple of Man unhindered by crowds and feel for yourself any blockages in you own body.  So much easier in the cool night air.

• Karnak Temple – Private visit to the chapel of Sekhmet.  “A meeting with Sekhmet”
• Valley of the Queens – Private Tomb Access – what can beat the tomb of Nefertari?  Read her love story

• Valley of the Kings – Private Tomb Access:

  • A standard visit allows visitors to choose any three of the open tombs as part of their visit.
  • Take it to the next level with a private daytime visit to any of the closed tombs
    • – the tomb that is different to all the others is that of Thuthmoses III read about the eerie vibes in his tomb
    • – sit and have a private tete-a-tete with the boy king, Tutankhamun himself—who knows what might happen.  Read my story here

From Aswan

• Abu Simbel by Private Charter Flight – Instead of the 3am convoy bus, fly privately from Aswan.

Shopping for that something ultra special

• Private Viewing at the famous Azza Fahmy Jewellery Store
• Khan el-Khalili Goldsmiths explore with personal guide
• Create your own Signature Scent at Le Nez Fragrance Bar

• Carpet School in Cairo  – Learn about Egyptian weaving traditions and purchase direct from the weavers.

• Hag Ahmed Abdel Fatah – renowned artist on the side of the West Bank Hills, recreating scenes from the tombs in limstone.