This historic tour begins in Cairo and takes you to Luxor, Dendrah, Abydos, Abu Simbel and the mysterious White Desert. Both first-time and returning travelers to Egypt discover great new insights during this tour. In addition to visiting the magnificent famed archaeological sites, you also gain an insider's view of the contemporary political, social and religious issues shaping contemporary Egypt.
Day 1
DEPART U.S.
Day 2
ARRIVE CAIRO
Upon arrival in Cairo you are met and transferred to a beautiful hotel overlooking the magnificent Pyramids of Giza.
Day 3
CAIRO
Venture into the city with a first stop at the Al-Azhar Mosque, named after Fatama al-Zahraa, daughter of the Prophet Muhammad. It has remained a focal point of the famous Al-Azhar University which has grown around it. A tour of the University follows, which is not only the oldest operating university in the world where the first lecture was delivered in 975 AD, but is also the most prestigious of Muslim schools.
Continue to the Sultan Hassan Mosque which is considered stylistically the most compact and unified of all Cairo monuments. The building was constructed for Sultan Hassan bin Mohammad bin Qala'oun in 1356 AD as a mosque and religious school for all sects. Afterwards visit Al-Azhar Park which was a project created by the Aga Khan Development Network that transformed a dumping ground into North Africa's largest urban green space.
In the late afternoon, transfer to the banks of the Nile to board a felucca (traditional wooden sailing boat) for an authentic Egyptian dinner. There is nothing more beautiful than viewing Cairo by night from the Nile!
Day 4
LUXOR / VALLEY OF KINGS
Board your flight to Luxor, the capital of the ancient Egyptian empire. After checking into your luxury hotel situated on the East bank of the Nile River you visit the Valley of the Kings and a few tombs seldom seen by tourists such as Tomb of Merneptah, Tomb of Amenophis II and Tomb of Ay.
Afterwards visit Medinet Habu, one of the last great representations of the monumental architecture of the New Kingdom. The final visit of the day is to the magnificent Temple of Luxor. Amenophis III built this temple on the site of a more ancient sanctuary. He dedicated the temple to the divine triad of Amun, Mut, and their son, Khonsu, the moon-god. Wandering through the magnificent ruined temple is an experience never to be forgotten.
Day 5
LUXOR / VALLEY OF THE QUEENS / NILE CRUISE
Return to the hotel for breakfast followed by a drive to the West Bank to visit the Temple of Deir el-Medina, including the extraordinarily beautiful Tombs of the Artists. Depending on time available, a number of these tombs can be visited. The area contains more than 500 "private tombs" of artists and successful individuals. The daily lives of the Egyptians from 4,000 years ago are depicted through imaginative, brightly colored paintings.
Also visit the Tomb of Nakht, astronomer of Amun and royal scribe under Tuthmosis IV. It is perhaps the most beautiful tomb of the necropolis. The paintings are extraordinary and very well preserved. The tomb of Menna, surveyor and scribe of the cadastral survey under Tuthmosis IV is also exceptional.
Continue on to the Valley of the Queens and the tomb of Nefertari. One of five wives of Ramesses II, Nefertari was his favorite and the tomb is said to be the most beautiful in all Egypt. The tomb is elaborately painted with scenes of Nefertari wearing a golden crown and clothed in a white gossamer gown.
Afterwards, check in to the luxurious Nile cruise ship (in time for lunch) which is your home for the next four days.
Day 6
NILE CRUISE
After breakfast this morning you drive north to Dendrah to visit the magnificent Dendrah Temple. It is a beautiful example of late architecture in Egypt and is still in a good state of preservation.
This afternoon, begin your cruise and sail to Edfu, known for the major Ptolemaic temple built between 237 BC to 57 BC. Of all the temple remains in Egypt, the Temple of Horus at Edfu is the most completely preserved. Overnight on-board in Edfu.
Day 7
NILE CRUISE
This morning visit the Temple of Horus in Edfu and then sail to Kom Ombo to visit its famous temple. Sail onward to Aswan, the capital of the province, located near the first cataract. Aswan is situated on the East Bank between the river and the eastern desert hills. It was the gateway to the interior of Africa and the Sudan (Nubia) and an important center of trade for millennia. The stones from the nearby quarries provided the Pharaohs with grey and pink granite for their massive constructions.
Day 8
NILE CRUISE
This morning awake in Aswan and visit the exquisitely beautiful Philae temple which was nearly lost beneath the waters of Lake Nasser. It has now been completely resurrected on the island of Aegilke. The monuments on the island are some of the most glorious in all of Egypt.
You then visit the Kalabsha Temple situated to the south of the city on a granite promontory which dominates the small port Khor Ingi. When Lake Nasser is full, the promontory stands above the waters as a narrow tongue of land. This was the first Nubian temple to be moved during the building of the Dam.
After lunch on the ship, visit Elephantine Island. The island was the cult center of the ram-headed god, Khnum. A wonderful day ends with a visit to the recently opened Nubian Museum which celebrates the culture and civilization of the Nubian region of Egypt from prehistoric times to the present. It houses the main finds of the UNESCO salvage campaign carried out at the time of the building of the High Dam, which eventually flooded the entire region.
Day 9
ABU SIMBEL
Board your flight to Abu Simbel. Upon arrival, visit the magnificent temples constructed by Ramesses II more than 3,000 years ago. Ramesses built these gargantuan edifices to the Gods to ensure his place in eternity.
Day 10
SAQQARA / DAHSHUR
Early this morning depart for your visit to the Necropolis of Saqqara. All periods of Egyptian history are represented at the site. The central monument of the Necropolis is the Step Pyramid of Pharaoh Djosèr which dates to about 2,630 BC. The architect and the master of the work was the King's famous vizier, Imhotep, the first architect and physician known by name in written history who was later deified as the god of medicine and healing. Imhotep is also quoted as saying, "Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we shall die."
After lunch at a countryside restaurant, drive further to the south to visit the Pyramids of Dahshur; The Black Pyramid, the Bent Pyramid of Snofru and the Red Pyramid which has only been opened to the public in the last few years.
Return to the hotel in Cairo for overnight.
Day 11
BAHARIA OASIS / VALLEY OF GOLDEN MUMMIES
This morning drive to the Baharia Oasis and visit the Valley of the Golden Mummies, another magnificent site not open to the general public. It is believed the site may contain as many as 10,000 intact burials from the Roman period. Continue on to the Baharia Museum which displays some of the discovered golden coffins in the valley. Also visit the newly opened temple built by Alexander the Great which is within walking distance of the mummies.
Continue on to enjoy the late afternoon in the shade of date palms at the Baharia Oasis. Dinner and overnight at a local hotel.
Day 12
WHITE DESERT
This morning, drive into the incredible White Desert. The area is located between the Baharia Oasis and the Farafra Oasis and is one of the unique wonders of Egypt, featuring a moonlike landscape of wind-sculpted white limestone unlike any place on earth.
After lunch back in the Baharia Oasis drive on to Cairo and check back into your hotel.
Day 13
CAIRO
Today you tour the three Pyramids of Giza - those of Cheops, Kephren and Mycerinus which represent the highest achievement in Egyptian pyramid construction. Giza lies on the west bank of the Nile (the land of the setting sun and the dead), on the border between the cultivated land and the desert. You also visit the great Sphinx of Giza.
In the late afternoon you visit the Egyptian Museum. The French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette founded the Egyptian Antiquities service in 1857 and the collection grew immensely as a result of the continual excavations which took place throughout Egypt. The Egyptian Museum has the richest collection of Pharaonic antiquities in the world.
Day 14
DEPART CAIRO FOR U.S.
NOTE: This is just one example of many custom itineraries we can do for you in this diverse country.
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