DAY 1: Mon - Depart USA
- Board your international flight to Cairo and begin your journey back in time to this charming, ancient land.
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DAY 2: Tue - Arrival to Cairo
- Arrival in the Land of the Pharaohs, at Cairo International airport, Right Travel Representative will be waiting for you after you get your luggage and clear customs and will be holding the Right Travel sign, then escorted to your hotel.
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DAY 3: Wed - Great Pyramids, Sphinx, Memphis, Sakkara
- Drive to Sakkara site, Sakkara is one section of the great necropolis of Memphis, the Old Kingdom capital, and the kings of the 1st Dynasty as well as that of the 2nd Dynasty. are mostly buried in this section of the Memphis necropolis. It has been of constant interest to Egyptologists. Three major discoveries have recently been made at Sakkara, including a prime minister tomb, a queen&rsquos pyramid, and the tomb of the son of a dynasty-founding king. Each discovery has a fascinating story, with many adventures for the archaeologists as they revealed the secrets of the past.
- Continue to Memphis. Founded around 3,100 BC, is the legendary city of Menes, the King who united Upper and Lower Egypt. Early on, Memphis was more likely a fortress from which Menes controlled the land and water routes between Upper Egypt and the Delta. Having probably originated in Upper Egypt, from Memphis he could control the conquered people of Lower Egypt. However, by the Third Dynasty, the building at Saqqara suggests that Memphis had become a sizable city
- Stop for Lunch at local restaurant, and proceed to the Giza Plateau, home of Egypt signature attractions, the Great Pyramids, proclaimed by the Greeks to be among the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. The largest among these is the Great Pyramid of Cheops, probably built more than 2,600 years before the time of Christ. Standing 480 feet tall this is the last of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world that still standing. Little is known of Cheops, you`ll also see the inscrutable and mysterious Sphinx, known in Arabic as Abu al-Hol ("the Father of Terror") and carved almost entirely from one piece of limestone.
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
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DAY 4: Thu - Cairo, City Tour
- Start your day with a visit to the Egyptian Museum you`ll stroll through the halls highlighting each historical period of this ancient land, Marvel at the glittering treasures of King Tutankhamen, unparalleled in their variety, exquisite beauty, and sheer weight in gold. Seeing this treasure of more than 1,700 fabulous items buried with a young and relatively unimportant king, who can even imagine what the tombs of great and long-lived pharaohs must have contained
- Continue to the Old Cairo explore some of the early religious monuments of the city. You`ll visit the El Muallaqa Church, dating to the late fourth and early fifth century. This basilica was named for its location on top of the south gate of the Fortress of Babylon. Muallaqa means suspended or hanging. Destroyed in a ninth-century earthquake, the church became the center of the Coptic (or Christian) Church of Egypt from the time it was rebuilt in the eleventh century until the 14th century. Make a stop at the Ben Ezra Synagogue, built sometime between the sixth and ninth centuries AD. The temple contains a Jewish Heritage Library, containing documents found here in 1896 that describe the economic and social conditions of Jews under Arab rule as well as descriptions of relations between various Jewish sects.
- Lunch at local restaurant
- End the day at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, a large museum in the ancient city of Fustat, now part of Cairo, Egypt. The museum partially opened in February 2017 and will display a collection of 50,000 artefacts, presenting Egyptian civilization from prehistoric times to the present day.
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
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DAY 5: Fri - Cairo, Aswan Nile Cruise Sightseeing
- Early morning transfer to Cairo airport, for your flight to Aswan.
- Upon arrival you will be escorted to your luxury cruise ship where you will spend the next 3 nights / 4 days relaxing and enjoy the sailing from Aswan to Luxor. After Lunch, the Nile cruise shore excursion will start. Visit the High Dam, located near Aswan, the world-famous High Dam was an engineering miracle when it was built in the 1960s. It contains 18 times the material used in the Great Pyramid of Cheops. The Dam is 11,811 feet long, 3215 feet thick at the base and 364 feet tall. Today it provides irrigation and electricity for the whole of Egypt and, together with the old Aswan Dam built by the British between 1898 and 1902`, 6km down river, wonderful views for visitors. From the top of the two-Mile-long High Dam you can gaze across Lake Nassar, the huge reservoir created when it was built.
- Our last visit today will be to the Temple of Philae, was dismantled and reassembled (on Agilika Island about 550 meters from its original home on Philae Island) in the wake of the High Dam. The temple, dedicated to the goddess Isis, is in a beautiful setting which has been landscaped to match its original site. It`s various shrines and sanctuaries, which include The Vestibule of Nectanebos I which is used as the entrance to the island, the Temple of the Emperor Hadrian, a Temple of Hathor, Trajan`s Kiosk (Pharaohs Bed), a birth house and two pylons celebrate all the deities involved in the Isis and Osiris myth. The Victorian world fell in love with the romance of the Temple.
- Overnight in Aswan.
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
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DAY 6: Sat - Aswan, Kom Ombo, Edfu, Luxor
- Early Sail to Kom Ombo and visit Kom Ombo Temple (the Ptolemaic Temple of Sobek & Haroeries). Located in the town of Kom-Ombo, about 28 miles north of Aswan, the Temple, dating to the Ptolemies, is built on a high dune overlooking the Nile. The actual temple was started by Ptolemy VI Philometor in the early second century BC. Ptolemy XIII built the outer and inner hypostyle halls. The outer enclosure wall and part of the court were built by Augustus sometime after 30 BC, and are mostly gone. There are also tombs from the Old Kingdom in the vicinity of Kom-Ombo village.
- Sail to Edfu to Visit Edfu Temple. Dedicated to Horus, the falcon headed god, it was built during the reigns of six Ptolemies. We have a great deal of information about its construction from reliefs on outer areas. It was begun in 237 BC by Ptolemy III Euergetes I and was finished in 57 BC. Most of the work continued throughout this period with a brief interlude of 20 years while there was unrest during the period of Ptolemy IV and Ptolemy V Epiphanes. This is not only the best preserved ancient temple in Egypt, but the second largest after Karnak. It was believed that the temple was built on the site of the great battle between Horus and Seth. Hence, the current temple was but the last in a long series of temples build on this location.
- After that Sail to luxor via Esna for dinner and overnight.
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
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DAY 7: Sun - Luxor East Bank Tour
- After breakfast, visit Karnak Temple, in ancient Egypt, the power of the god Amun of Thebes gradually increased during the early New Kingdom, and after the short persecution led by Akhenaten, it rose to its apex. In the reign of Ramesses III, more than two thirds of the property owned by the temples belonged to Amun, evidenced by the stupendous buildings at Karnak. Although badly ruined, no site in Egypt is more impressive than Karnak. It is the largest temple complex ever built by man and represents the combined achievement of many generations of ancient builders. The Temple of Karnak is three main temples, smaller enclosed temples, and several outer temples located about three kilometers north of Luxor, Egypt situated on 100 ha (247 acres) of land. Karnak is the sites modern name. Its ancient name was Ipet-isut, meaning "The Most Select (or Sacred) of Places". This vast complex was built and enlarged over a thirteen-hundred-year period. The three main temples of Mut, Montu and Amun are enclosed by enormous brick walls.
- Proceed to visit the Temple of Luxor, built by the two pharaohs, Amenhotep III and Ramses II. Ancient Thebes was a center of festivals, and the Temple of Luxor was the setting for the most important-the festival of Opet, designed to merge the ruler`s human and divine aspects. The temple was dedicated to Amun-Ra, whose marriage to Mut was celebrated annually, when the sacred procession moved by boat from Karnak to Luxor Temple.
- Back to the cruise for lunch.
- Overnight in Luxor.
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
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DAY 8: Mon - Luxor West Bank, Cairo, Amman
- After breakfast, check out from our Nile Cruise and visit the West Bank necropolis including the Valley of the Kings, with its many tombs chiseled deep into the Cliffside. From the 18th to the 20th Dynasty, the Memphis area and pyramid-style tombs were abandoned in favor of the West Bank of the Nile in Thebes. Several great leaders as well as many less important rulers are buried here, and more tombs are being discovered even today. This is where Howard Carter discovered the treasures of Tutankhamen and was struck "dumb with amazement" when he beheld its "wonderful things" in 1922.
- Proceed to the funerary temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Deir El Bahari. The mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut is one of the most dramatically situated in the world. The queen`s architect, Senenmut, designed it and set it at the head of a valley overshadowed by the Peak of the Thebes, the "Lover of Silence," where lived the goddess who presided over the necropolis.
- Last stop for our morning tour will be at the Colossi of Memnon. Amenhotep III (18th Dynasty) built a mortuary temple in Thebes that was guarded by two gigantic statues on the outer gates. All that remains now are the 23 meter (75 ft.) high, one-thousand-ton statues of Amenhotep III. Though damaged by nature and ancient tourists, the statues are still impressive.
- Transfer to Luxor airport for your flight to Cairo to connect with your flight to Amman. Arrive in Amman, where you will be met by your representative and transferred to your hotel in Amman for overnight.
- Meal: Breakfast
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DAY 9: Tue - Amman, Jerash & Ajloun, Petra
- This morning begin Jordan tour by enjoying the city of Jerash, the best preserved city of the Roman Decapolis. Often called Pompei of the East, you will walk its colonnaded streets view its temples, churches, Nymphaeum, and theatre. Afterwards, proceed to Ajloun, the 12th century castle built by Saladins army in the campaign against the crusaders. Late afternoon transfer to Petra through the desert highway. Overnight in Petra Jordan.
- Meal: Breakfast
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DAY 10: Wed - Petra, Amman
- Full day touring Petra Jordan, the Rose Red City of the 1st Century Nabateans. A walk or horse-ride through the 1 mile Siq (an immense crack in the sandstone mountains), you arrive at Petra most impressive site. The Treasury, carved out of solid rock on the side of the mountain. Surrounded on both sides by hundreds of Petra carved structures, soaring temples, elaborate royal tombs, roman theatre and burial chambers. For those young at heart, a climb will take them to the Monastery above the mountains, with a wonderful view over Wadi Araba. Late afternoon, return to Amman.
- Meal: Breakfast
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DAY 11: Thu - Amman, Jerusalem
- After breakfast, check out from your hotel in Amman, transfer to Allenby Bridge for crossing to Israel at 11:00 AM Jordanian side, departure taxes to be paid at the border. Please note the process of passing the customs out of Jordan and in to Israel should take one hour HOWEVER, some times the customs of either side may delay the passenger for security check procedures, in such case YOU MUST call our local contact (name & number will be provided within your final document) to advice with your delay, as the Private Taxi that is waiting at the Israeli border to transfer you from the border to your hotel in Jerusalem will only wait until 03:00 PM, than it will leave (as customs delay is beyond control circumstances) so you may call our local office at airport City and advice if you want the Private Taxi to wait for extra $40 per hour (or part of hour) to be paid to the driver on the spot, otherwise the taxi will leave and you will have to manage your own ride from the border to the hotel in Jerusalem.
- Meal: Breakfast
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DAY 12: Fri - Jerusalem Tour Western Wall, Church of Holy Sepulchre, Yad Vashem
- Drive to Mount of Olives for a panoramic view of the city. Stop at Mount Zion to visit King David`s Tomb, Room of Last Supper and the Dormition Abbey Enter the Old City and walk through the Armenian and Jewish quarters to the recently excavated and restored Cardo, the Roman road. See the Jewish Wailing Wall, the Kotel, and continue to the Christian quarter. Walk along the Via Dolorosa and visit the Church of Holy Sepulchre. Proceed to the New City and visit Yad Vashem, the memorial to the Holoca.
- Meal: Breakfast
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DAY 13: Sat - Nazareth, Sea of Galilee, Capernaum & Jordan River Tour
- Drive via the coastal road and the landscape of the lower Galilee to Nazareth, the town where Jesus spent his childhood. Visit the Basilica of Annunciation and the Church of St. Joseph. Continue, via Kana, to Tiberius, the lively resort town on the Sea of Galilee. Drive along the Kineret Lake to Capernaum and view the ruins of the ancient synagogue where Jesus taught Continue to Tabgha and visit the Church of Multiplication of the Fish and Loaves with the beautiful mosaic floor. Proceed to Yardenit, the famous baptismal site located where the Jordan River flows out from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea enjoy the peaceful and natural surrounding on site.
- Meal: Breakfast
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DAY 14: Sun - Massada, Dead Sea Tour
- Depart to the Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth Visit a Dead Sea cosmetic products shop. Drive along the shores of the Dead Sea to Masada and learn about the heroic story of the Jewish fighters. Ascend by cable car and tour the mountain fortress built by King Herod, where the Zealots of the first century made their last stand against the Romans. Visit the remains of the walls, palace, synagogue, water cisterns, mosaic floors, roman baths and other findings. Descend by cable car. Continue to the Dead Sea Enjoy the unique opportunity to float in the Dead Sea and cover yourself with the mineral rich mud that many believe has its therapeutic effects. Back to the point of departure.
- Note: Comfortable shoes and head covering are recommended. Bring along a swimsuit and a towel. Ascent/descent of Massada by cable car
- Meal: Breakfast
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DAY 15: Mon - Departure
- Breakfast, transfer to Ben-Gurion Airport for your departure flight.
- Meal: Breakfast
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