DAY 1: Fri - Departure from USA
- Board your international flight from USA to start your journey back on time to the ancient land of the Pharos. 2 Meals will be served on board of your overnight flight.
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DAY 2: Sat - Arrival to Cairo, Optional Sound & Light Show
- Arrive this afternoon in Cairo 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.
- Evening free or choose our optional (Giza Pyramids Sound & Light Show C32).
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DAY 3: Sun - Great Pyramids, Sphinx, Memphis & Sakkara
- This morning we drive to the Giza Pyramids in the Giza Plateau, home of Egypt`s signature attractions: the Great Pyramids with entrance to the Cheops Pyramid, 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 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.
- After lunch at local restaurant (Abu Shakra), 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.
- Proceed 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 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.
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
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DAY 4: Mon - Cairo, Egyptian Museum, National Museum of Egyptian Civilization
- After breakfast, start your Cairo tour by visiting the Egyptian Museum Antiquities. Accompanied by your certified Egyptologist Program Director, 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.
- After lunch at local restaurant (Studio Masr), proceed to 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: Tue - Cairo, Luxor East Bank
- Early morning transfer to Cairo airport, flight to Luxor
- 12:00 PM noon Embarkation
- 12:30 PM Lunch
- 3:00 PM 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 actually 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 actually 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 the Luxor Museum, built on two levels with a ramp leading from the ground floor to the upper floor and contains artefacts from around the Theban area. Many of the free-standing granite statues depict kings, queens, and high-status officials who left their images in the Theban temples. Tutankhamun of course is well-represented by some of the objects from his tomb in the Valley of the Kings which are not currently on display in the Cairo Museum. Included among these is the famous majestic head of a cow goddess, of resin and gilded wood, which is one of the first items the visitor will see when entering the museum. There are exhibits of funerary stelae, offering tables, papyri, tomb furniture, a cartonage mummy-case and many small statuettes and shabtis. In glass cases in the center of the upper floor are smaller objects such as jewelry, funerary and ritual items and artefacts from daily life.
- 7:30 PM Dinner
- Overnight in Luxor
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
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DAY 6: Wed - Luxor, West Bank, Dendarah
- 6:00 AM Breakfast
- 7:00 AM Transfer to the West Bank, to explore the West Bank of ancient Thebes. Visit Valley of the Kings, with its royal tombs, King Tuts tomb and Ramses "the Six". This is followed by a visit to the temple of Madinat Habu and on the way back stop at the Colossus of Memnon.
- 10:30 AM Sail to Quina
- 12:30 PM Lunch
- 3:00 PM Visit to the Temple of Dendarah, dedicated to Hathor, Goddess of Music, Love and Joy.
- 7:30 PM Dinner Overnight in Quina
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
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DAY 7: Thu - Luxor West Bank
- 3:00 AM Sail to Luxor
- 8:00 to 9:30 AM Breakfast
- 10:30 AM Visit the West Bank (Valley of the Noble tombs, Dier El Madina, the site of a very special workman village, whose craftsmen built and decorated the tombs of the Pharaohs in the Valley of the Kings. Lastly, visit the Temple of Hatshepsut)
- 1:00 PM Lunch
- 4:30 - 6:00 PM Visit of Luxor Temple, 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
- 7:00 - 8:00 PM Cocktail Reception with live music at the club lounge.
- 8:00 PM Dinner Overnight in Luxor
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
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DAY 8: Fri - Luxor, Edfu
- 4:00 AM Sail to Edfu
- 8:30 to 9:30 AM Breakfast
- 1:00 PM Lunch
- 3:00 PM Visit the Temple of Edfu, the best-preserved temple of the ancient world, dedicated to Horus the Falcon God.
- 7:30 PM Dinner Overnight in Edfu
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
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DAY 9: Sat - Aswan
- 4:00 AM Sail to Aswan
- 8:30 to 9:30 AM Breakfast
- 1:00 PM Lunch
- 2:30 PM Visit the High Dam and Philae Temple, dedicated to Isis and perched majestically on an island. The temple complex dates from the 26th Dynasty, with additions through the Roman period when the Emperor Hadrian built a pavilion at the water`s edge. Pilgrims would come from all over the Mediterranean to worship Isis here
- 7:30 PM Dinner Overnight in Aswan
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
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DAY 10: Sun - Kom Ombo, Aswan, Sound & Light Show
- 6:30 AM Sail to Kom Ombo
- 8:00 to 9:30 AM Breakfast
- 9:30 - 11:00 AM Visit the Temple of Kom Ombo. One side is dedicated to the Crocodile God Sobek, God of Fertility and Creator of the World. The other side is dedicated to the Falcon God Haroeris, also known as Horus, the Elder.
- 11:00 AM Sail to Aswan
- 1:00 PM Lunch
- 3:00 PM Visit the Botanical Garden by Felucca
- 5:00 to 07:00 PM Spa Time After Sunset - Sound and light show at Philae Temple
- 7:30 PM Dinner Overnight in Aswan
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
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DAY 11: Mon - Aswan, (Optional Abu Simbel)
- 8:00 to 9:00 AM Breakfast
- 1:00 PM Lunch
- 2:00 to 05:00 PM Spa time
- 7:00 PM Cocktail reception with entertainment
- 7:30 PM Dinner Overnight in Aswan
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
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DAY 12: Tue - Aswan, Cairo
- 7:00 to 9:00 AM Breakfast
- 8:00 AM Disembarkation, transfer to Aswan airport, flight to Cairo, arrival and transfer to hotel. Rest of the day is free at leisure.
- Meal: Breakfast
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DAY 13: Wed - Old Cairo Tour & The Citadel
- Today we will experience the Spiritual Cairo tour and explore some of the early religious monuments of Cairo. 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.
- Stop for lunch, Continue Cairo tour with a visit to The Citadel of Mohamed Ali (the Fortress of Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi), built in 1183 and overlooking the city from the Muqattam Hills. The structure, with its domes and minarets, looks over a number of important buildings, including the Alabaster Mosque. Its domed interior, used by Moslems for daily prayers, is a spectacular sight of twinkling lights and beautiful mosaics.
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
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DAY 14: Thu - Cairo, Full Day Alexandria with Library Tour
- Start your over day excursion to Alexandria by private car & accompanied by an English speaking Egyptologist. First stop will be at the Alexandria National Museum, one of our new master sites nowadays. It is inaugurated by the Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, in 31st of December 2003. The national museum located in a restored palace, it contain about 1,800 artifacts pieces of antiquities that narrate the history of Alexandria throughout ages, Pharaonic, Roman, Coptic and Islamic eras and some modern pieces, Mummies are shown in a special underground chamber (basement). And some of the items found during the archaeological underwater excavations in Alexandria now in the same floor with the Greco roman artifacts.
- Next, we will visit the Catacomb of Alexandria which is really one of the master sites here in Alexandria. Kom el-Shouqafa lies in the district of Karmouz to the east of Alexandria the area was called Kom El Shouqafa or a pile of shards, Catacombs in Alexandria is called the catacomb as well because of its design, which was very similar to the Roman Christian Catacombs. Most likely it was a private tomb and later converted to a public cemetery. It consists of 3 levels cut into the rock, a staircase, a rotunda, the triclinium or banquette hall, a vestibule, an antechamber and the burial chamber with three recesses In, where in each recess there is a sarcophagus. The Catacomb also contains a large number of Luculi or grooves cut in the rock.
- Proceed to the Roman Amphitheater. A modest in size and most of the part of the structure is in ruined condition but still it is an excellent ancient structure of Roman period of Egypt. The theatre also consists of numerous galleries erected crudely. These galleries contain rooms for more spectators along with arrangement of 700-800 marble seats around the stage. The Roman Amphitheatre was discovered in the excavations doing for the site of Paneion or "Park of Pan" in Kom el-Dikkah also known by the name of Hill of Rubble. In the layers of the above the roman street two other archaeological sites were found. These were a Muslim Cemetery and slums.
- Stop for lunch than continue to our last stop at the Alexandria Library. The modern Alexandria Library or the Bibliotheca Alexandrina as once called in Ancient Egypt is located on a magnificent site in the Eastern Harbor, facing the sea on the north, and Alexandria University Complex on its southern side. It is very close to the location of the Ancient Library in the Brucheion (the Ancient Royal Quarter), as verified by the 1993 archeological survey. The Bibliotheca Alexandrina was inaugurated in 2003 near the site of the old library. The building consists of 11 levels with a total levels area of 85,405 m2. The librarys main reading area which can accommodate 2000 users occupies 7 levels with a total area of 13,625 m2.The Library has 2 main museums (the manuscript museum and the Antiquities museum) and a Science center of the shape of a sphere and called the Planetarium. Return to Cairo.
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
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DAY 15: Fri - Departure
- After Early breakfast, transfer to Cairo Egypt airport for your departure flight back to the USA.
- Meal: Breakfast
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