Day 1 Arrive in Cairo and transfer to your luxury hotel.
Welcome to Cairo – Egypt’s historical capital city of over 20 million residents. Upon arrival, you are met by our local representative as you enter the baggage claim area; look for a sign with your name. He will assist with your luggage and escort you to the waiting vehicle where your driver awaits. Transfer together to your five-star hotel, where you are assisted with the Check-in procedures for your three-night stay.
Overnight moored in Cairo hotel.
Day 2 Visit the Pyramids of Giza and Sakkara
After breakfast, meet your Egyptologist this morning and transfer to
Giza plateau. You begin the full day’s sightseeing to explore Egypt’s most iconic image—the Pyramids—including the 4,600-years-old
Great Pyramid, the only survivor of the only survivor the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Built for the Egyptian King Khufu, it was the world’s tallest man-made structure for more than 4,600 years. A staggering architectural achievement for any age, Khufu’s Pyramid rises 480 feet from the desert sands and comprises more than two million stone blocks—some weighing as much as 90 tons. Walk up to the top of the Giza plateau to marvel at the sight of the three great pyramids: Cheops (Khufu), Chephren (Khafra), and Mykerinos (Menkaure). While we gaze at its grandeur, we can begin to understand why construction methods used by the Egyptians to build this ancient architectural wonder are debated to this day. We can ponder another mystery for the ages at
the Sphinx, the enigmatic guardian of the Giza Plateau. Dated to about 2,500 B.C., the carved lion with outstretched paws and the head of a king in ancient Egypt’s earliest known monumental sculpture. Lunch at a nearby restaurant. After lunch, travel to Saqqara to tour the first stone structure ever built, King Zoser’s famous Step pyramid, built a century before the Great Pyramid;
Saqqara expanded to cover 3.7 miles from north to south 1 mile from east to west. As such, it is one of the largest and most important areas of ancient Egypt. Here you will also find the elaborate tombs of the Nobles featuring the multi-chromatic Hieroglyphs, and some have 32 chambers with scenes on the walls depicting ancient daily life from hunting in the marshes to listening to musicians play the Harp end the tour with the mysterious
sarabium-puzzle. On our way back to the hotel, you may visit the handmade Carpet School where the excellent artistic work is being done. The remainder of the evening is at your leisure.
Overnight moored in Cairo hotel.
[Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner]
Day 3 Cairo Egyptian Museum & Old Cairo.
After breakfast, meet your Egyptologist and head to the heart of Cairo city. Visit the world-renowned
Egyptian Museum, home to the greatest Pharaonic treasures in the world, more than 25000 masterpieces. The museum’s vast exhibits will lend context to our later discoveries as we trace the history of Egypt from
Narmer to Cleopatra. A highlight is the life-sized, solid gold death mask (along with 1,700 more items) of the boy king Tutankhamen—and later in our journey, we’ll see where Howard Carter discovered these priceless treasures in 1922. After our guided tour, there will be time to reflect on Egypt’s illustrious pharaohs or wander the museum’s side rooms to glimpse the daily lives of the ancient Egyptians. We’ll also see nearby Tahrir Square, the focal point of an uprising that captivated the world in 2011. Lunch at a traditional Egyptian restaurant. This afternoon, heading to the old neighbourhood of Islamic Cairo, where you will find the
Sultan Hassan Mosque, the best example of Islamic architecture in the whole Islamic world. Constructed in 1356 AD, the Mosque is truly breathtaking in its simplicity. Proceed to the most famous district in Egypt,
the Khan El Khalili Bazaar, in the heart of Old Cairo. Take a wonderful walk and stroll through the old Arab town. Along the way, you pass the fascinating Islamic architecture in all of the Middle East. After the visit, we return to the hotel for dinner and the evening relaxing.
Overnight moored in Cairo hotel.
[Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner]
Day 4 Cairo / flight to Luxor Karnak & Luxor Temples
Upon arrival in Luxor, start one of the highlights of our Egypt adventure. To set your expectation for days ahead, a word Today, we journey back in time from Egypt’s current capital, Cairo, to its ancient capital of Thebes. After refresh, we will explore the massive
Karnak Temples with its huge hypostyle hall consisting of 134 columns and Labyrinth passageways. Be sure to circle to the gains of Scarab to ensure a long healthy life successful return to Egypt. The Karnak Temples complex was the ancient Ipet Sut (The Most Selected of Palaces), the main place of worship of the Theban Triad covered 200 acres. More than thirty Pharaohs contributed to the buildings; you could spend years wandering this amazing complex. We will also see (
The sacred lake in Karnak) is an ancient Egyptian miracle and a supernatural engineering genius, Launch. Tonight, ending our day at the fabulous Temple of Luxor with the sun setting over the Nile. This temple was dedicated to the Theban Triad of Amun Ra (king of the gods), his Wife Mut (mother), and their son Khonsu (the Moon God) Luxor temple has the miraculous Avenue of Sphinxes that stretches from Luxor temple to the Karnak temples for 3, 2 Km (2 miles). This temple has been in continuous use as a place of worship right up to the present day. Most of
Luxor Temple dates to the New Kingdom period. Ramses the Great built the large Bylone and two obelisks (only one remains today); towards the rear end is a granite shrine dedicated to Alexander the Great. During the Christian era, one of the hypostyle halls of the Temple was converted into a church. Then for thousands of years, the temple was buried beneath the streets and houses of the town of Luxor. Eventually, in the 12th century, the Mosque of Sheikh Yusuf Abu AL Hagag was built over it. The Mosque was preserved when the temple was uncovered and forms an integral part of the monument today. Luxor temple has the miraculous
Avenue of Sphinxes that stretches from Luxor temple to the Karnak temples for 3, 2 Km (2 miles). After the visit, we return to the Nile cruise for dinner and the evening relaxing.
Hot Air Balloon Ride (optional)
Rise early for a
hot air balloon ride and view the splendour of the Nile’s West Bank and Valley of the Kings with a new sense of wonder. See ancient Luxor from a unique angle as you fly over the temples, ancient sites, and sacred ruins (depending on wind direction)—and also over vast sugar cane fields and villages waking up in the early morning sun. Please note: This optional tour is weather permitting.
Overnight moored in Luxor on board Nile cruise.
[Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner]
Day: 5 Valley of the Kings & Hatshepsut temple
This morning after, transfer to Luxor’s West Bank to explore the incomparable
Valley of the Kings. Tour various open tombs of the ancient Pharaohs and see where new excavations are taking place. Visit the tomb of the famous
Golden King Tutankhamun, who made Howard Carter' famous reputation by discovering the Tomb in 1922: Can you see anything!" Howard Carter's answer to Lord Carnarvon upon peering in Tutankhamun's tomb Valley of the kings (26 November 1922) also visite the longest tomb of the Famous
king Siti the First father of the Pharaoh Rameses the second. Ending the royal cities by walking through the most mysterious tomb of
king Ramses the Sixth. Behind the Valley of the kings stands the beautiful temple Queen Hatchepsut at
Dier el Bahari, magnificently Situated at the foot of sheer cliffs fringing the desert hills. The Light coloured, almost white sandstone one of the temples stands out prominently against the golden yellow to light brown rocks behind commemorating one of Egypt,s most unique ancient Egyptian kings. End our great day by visiting the unforgettable
Queen Nefertari ' tomb. You will be shocked to see the most special events available in Egypt today- a view of Queen Nefertari ' Tomb. Queen Nefertari was Ramses the Second's favourite wife. He carved for her to guarantee her eternal second life. First discovered in1904 by the Italian Egyptologist Ernesto Schiaparelli and then restored by Getty Museum in the 1990s. It is reputed to be the most beautiful of all the tombs. Then continue visiting to admire the 75 feet high, 1000 tons’ statues of Amenhotep, the 3rd
The Colossi of Memnon, as they sit like giant sentinels overlooking the massive banks of the Nile 3400 years old. These massive sandstone statues once flank the entrance of the lost mortuary temple of Amenhotep the third, but now stand virtually alone is a field that the temple has eroded over the last 3400 years. After this amazing tour, you will return to your cruise ship to start cruising to Esna through the water lock.
Overnight moored in Edfu on board Nile cruise.
[Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner]
Day: 6 visiting Edfu & Kom Ombo Temples
Have the breakfast on board Edfu, then start to visit
the Temple of Hours. after a short ride to the temples, this is your chance to study the exact layout of one of these fabulous pharaonic structures built on the site of an earlier temple; it was dedicated to the Sun God (Horus), (Hathor) of Dendera and their son the youthful (Harsomtus). According to the myth, Hours, who fought one of the great combats with Seth here, presented as a flying falcon in human form ahead of the falcon or the winged sun disk. The Temple of Horus at Edfu is the most complete and best-preserved ever; the reason is that the temple had been submerged under the desert except for the very top of the pylon entrance. A small amount of stone had been removed from the exposed part, but it was found to be in near-perfect conditions when excavated.
Then, we visit Kom Ombo, a riverside town surrounded by sugar cane fields, home to Egypt’s only double temple shared by two Gods, Sobek and Haroeris. That is. Dramatically situated along a bend on the Nile, the beautiful Greco Roman
Kom Ombo Temple features one side dedicated to the local crocodile god, Sobek (it is said that real crocodiles used to bask here). The other side honours the falcon god, Haroeris. The entire structure is unusual in that everything is doubled and perfectly symmetrical along the main axis: twin entrances, twin courts, and twin colonnades. Another unique feature of Kom Ombo is a series of engravings thought to be among the world’s first representations of medical and surgical instruments. Return to the cruise for the most beautiful town of Upper Aswan.
Overnight moored in Aswan on board Nile cruise.
[Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner]
Day: 7 Temples of Philae & the unfinished Obelisk and Aswan High Dam
This morning, after breakfast and Disembarkation, we’ll take a boat to the island
Temples of Philae, the centre of the cult of the goddess Isis. Similar to the plight of Abu Simbel, this temple complex was moved to save it from the rising waters of Lake Nasser. Our discoveries include the Temple of Isis, whose courtyards flanked by granite lions and walls covered with fantastic relives. Continue to the Granite Quarries that supplied the ancient Egyptians with most of the hard stones used in building the Pyramids, Temples.
The unfinished Obelisk has three separate sides, and the fourth one is still connected to the mountain. The obelisk measures nearly 138 feet in length, 1200 tons in weight and it would be the largest single piece of stone ever handled if a flaw had not ever appeared in the granite. We continue visiting the worldwide famous
Aswan High Dam, an engineering miracle built in 1960 and finished in 1970. It contains 18 times the material used in building the big pyramid of Cheops. The Dam is 11,811 long, 3215 thick at the base, and 364 tall. Today, it provided irrigation and electricity for the whole of Egypt and the old Aswan Dam. The High Dam added a whole new aspect to Egypt and a new environment as well. The lake is some 500 miles long, and at times, it was the largest artificial lake, if not now Aswan.
Overnight moored in Aswan on board Nile cruise.
[Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner]
Day 8 Fly to Abu Simbel / Cairo
This morning, after breakfast, we will fly to Abu Simbel to end our Time Machine Tour with the iconic temples seemingly carved into living rock both by day and at night. The massive colossi of Ramses II were an expression of Egypt’s might and its dominance over the Nubian kingdom.
The Great Temples of Abu Simbel of Ramses the Second and his wife Queen Nefertari were miraculously saved from the inundations by the monumental effort of Unesco and the world community and ranked among the most stupendous monuments of Ancient Egypt. Both temples were carved during the reign of Ramses the second (1290 1224BC) to mark the 30th anniversary of accession. The larger temples were dedicated to Amun Ra of Thebes and RaHor Akhty of Heliopolis, the principal divinities of Upper and Lower Egypt, and Petah of Memphis and the defied Ramses himself were worshipped here.
The Small temple was dedicated to Goddess Hathor and Queen Nefertari, who was as well defined. Lunch then Drive back to Aswan to fresh up then take a flight back to Cairo.
Cairo five a stars hotel. Le-Meridien Airport (premium room)
Arrival Cairo drives to our hotel for Morning at leisure, lunch, and final shopping. Afternoon Farewell dinner.
Overnight moored in Cairo five stars hotel. Le-Meridien Airport.
[Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner]
Day: 9 Welcome back, Home
After breakfast this morning, at a time per coordinate with the Cairo representative, meet and transfer to the Cairo International Airport for your flight home, with romantic memories and leaving behind new friends always grateful for your coming and wishing you the best.
[Breakfast]
