DAY 01: ARRIVAL IN Cairo, EGYPT

Arrival at Cairo International Airport, where you will be met and assisted by one of our representatives at the gate of the aircraft and transferred to the VIP Lounge to rest while our representative finalizes the passport control formalities and collects your luggage

You will then be transferred to St. Regis Hotel (Astor Room) for check in and overnight
THE ST. REGIS HOTEL

DAY 02: CAIRO
Optional, with supplement Meeting at the hotel’s lobby with one of our representatives to start your day’s tour in a very unique and jaw-dropping way.

You will be transferred to the Pyramids area for a very special visit to the Pyramids area to enjoy the sunrise at the Pyramids.

Pyramids of Giza & NMEC Museum
Towards the Pyramids of Giza. Nothing evokes the long and intriguing history of Egypt as powerfully as the pyramids. Rising from the desert, Khufu (Cheops), Khafra and Menkaura seem to symbolize the enigmatic tug of Egypt in our imaginations. The Great Pyramid of Cheops immortalizes the son of Sneferu and Hetepheres.

The Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest and largest of the three. It is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one to remain largely intact. There are three known chambers inside the Great Pyramid. The lowest chamber is cut into the bedrock upon which the pyramid was built and was unfinished. The so-called Queen’s Chamber and King’s Chamber are higher up within the pyramid structure.

Sphinx, which has stood guard over the pyramids for more than 4,500 years. Carved from an outcrop of rock, the Sphinx remains the ultimate symbol of Ancient Egypt with its lion’s body and human head.

You will also get to enjoy a camel ride.

Enjoy the history and the lifestyle of ancient Egyptian pharaohs come alive before our eyes through the skilled narrations of our specialist guide.

Enjoy your delectable lunch with a mesmerizing view at Khufu’s Restaurant, located at the heart of the Pyramids

Continue your day’s tour at the first museum of civilization in the Arab world, the NMEC will present a comprehensive view of Egyptian civilization from prehistory to the present day, taking a multidisciplinary thematic approach designed to highlight Egypt’s tangible and intangible heritage. A museum of a new kind, the NMEC’s main goal is to “share knowledge”.
THE ST. REGIS HOTEL (B,L)

DAY 03: CAIRO / DASHUR / CAIRO

Transfer & breakfast at Beit El Reef

Meeting at the hotel’s lobby with one of our representatives to transfer you to Dahshur to enjoy your breakfast at Beit El Reef, surrounded by Rural and Pharaonic Egypt.

Start your day’s tour.

Dahshur is a royal necropolis located in the desert on the west bank of the Nile approximately 40 kilometers (25 mi) south of Cairo. It is known chiefly for several pyramids, two of which are among the oldest, largest and best preserved in Egypt, built from 2613–2589 BC. Building the Dahshur pyramids was an extremely important learning experience for the Egyptians before they could build the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Dahshur: Optional: Black Pyramid
Optional, with supplement The Black Pyramid was built by King Amenemhat III during the late Middle Kingdom of Egypt. It is one of the five remaining pyramids of the original eleven pyramids at Dahshur in Egypt. Originally named Amenemhet is Mighty, the pyramid earned the name Black Pyramid for its dark, decaying appearance as a rubble mound. The Black Pyramid was the first to house both the deceased pharaoh and his queens. Jacques de Morgan, on a French mission, began the excavation on the pyramids at Dahshur in 1892.

Citadel, Khan El Khalili
We continue the visit with cultural landmarks that span three millennium of Egyptian history. We begin with the Citadel commanding a complete view of the city. Completed in 1183, the Citadel was surrounded by sturdy walls and towers to withstand attacks from Christian crusaders. Inside, we shall see the lavishly decorated alabaster Mosque of Mohammed Ali.

Stroll with your guide through Khan El Khalili, a bustling warren of shops where you can bargain for rugs, copper and leather crafts, perfumes, and other goods both exotic and familiar.

Afterward enjoy your lunch at Le Riad.
Followed by a return transfer back to your hotel and overnight.
THE ST. REGIS HOTEL (B,L)

DAY 04: CAIRO / ASWAN / ABU SIMBEL /ASWAN
Very Early Flight – Flight to Abu Simbel via Aswan

Early this morning, breakfast boxes will be ready for your early departure and checkout. You will meet one of our representatives in the hotel lobby for your transfer to Cairo Domestic Airport for your flight to Aswan. Upon arrival at Aswan Airport, you will connect to your flight to Abu Simbel to start your over-day tour.

Visit the Temples of Ramses II & Queen Nefertari
Arrival at Abu Simbel, where you will be met by our representative to start your day’s tour by visiting the Temple of Ramses II & Queen Nefertari.

The Temples of Abu Simbel are amongst the most interesting Pharaonic Temples. Located close to the southern border with the Sudan, it is 280 km south of Aswan and consists of two, rock-cut Temples, which both dates back to the reign of King Ramses II (12901223 BC). Unfortunately, these unique Temples suffered from the raising water of Lake Nasser while the High Dam was being built.

After your visit you will fly back to Aswan. Upon arrival at Aswan Airport, where you will be met by one of our representatives to transfer you to Cataract Hotel (Luxury Room) for check in and overnight
OLD CATARACT HOTEL (B)

DAY 05: ASWAN

Visit the Temples of Isis and High Dam of Aswan

After breakfast at your hotel, check out and meet your Egyptologist in the hotel lobby to start your day’s tour.

The Temple of Isis in Philae is one of the greatest Temples in Egypt and it occupies about a quarter of the island. It is the main temple on the island, with its huge, complete, pylons and beautiful scenes.

The High Dam of Aswan is a great project. In fact it was one of the most important achievements of the in the last century in Egypt, even for many years it was a symbol of the New Era of the Revolution of 1952. It provided Egypt with water and electricity and secured the country of the risk of the destructive inundation of the River Nile.

Transfer to Amirat II Dahabiyya for check in and embarkation.

After embarking on your cruise, enjoy lunch and afternoon tea on board.
Enjoy the evening with dinner on board followed by an evening of entertainment of a Nubian show.
AMIRAT II DAHABIYYA CRUISE (B,L,D)

DAY 06: ASWAN / KOM OMBO / RAMADI ISLAND
Early morning sail to Kom Ombo

Enjoy breakfast on board before meeting your Egyptologist in the cruise lobby to begin your day’s tour to the Temple Shared by two God, Sobek and Horus.

The Temple of Kom Ombo dedicated to two Gods, Horus and Sobek. The Temple was mainly dedicated to the God Sobek, the crocodile God, together with his wife, in another form of the Goddess Hathor.

Sailing and Lunch on Board

Lunch will be served on board while you sail to Ramadi Island. Enjoy afternoon tea while sailing to Ramadi Island where dinner will be held, followed by overnight accommodation.
AMIRAT II DAHABIYYA CRUISE – (B,L,D)

DAY 07: RAMADI ISLAND / EDFU/ LUXOR
Nile Cruising Sightseeing: Sailing to Edfu

Horus Temple in Edfu

Enjoy breakfast on board before meeting your Egyptologist in the cruise lobby to begin your day’s tour .
Horus Temple in Edfu, the place where the god Horus was worshipped and where the battle between Horus and his traditional enemy Seth in ancient mythology took place. The Temple of Horus is the most well-preserved and the only one we know to have been completed.

Sailing to Luxor & Meals on Board

After the visit, the cruise sails to Luxor. Lunch will be served on board, and in the evening, dinner will also be served on board, followed by overnight accommodation on the ship.
AMIRAT II DAHABIYYA CRUISE (B,L,D)

DAY 08: Luxor
Optional, with supplement Meeting at the hotel’s lobby to be transferred for your Private Hot Air Balloon adventure with the sunrise light. (This activity is quoted separately). Soar above Luxor’s West Bank for an aerial perspective of the city’s archaic sights. Enjoy scenes of vast temples and tall statues illuminated and richly colored by the sun sitting low in the sky. Observe the complex of temples and chapels at Karnak to the east, then cast your eyes to the west for views of Hatshepsut Temple. In its dramatic spot at the foot of colossal cliffs. See the Colossi of Memnon rising up and seemingly guarding royal tombs. This activity is very early in the morning.

Breakfast at Al Juneina Villas & West Bank Day Tour

Enjoy your breakfast at Al Juneina Villas before starting your day’s tour to the West Bank.
The Valley of the Kings is a valley in Egypt where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th century BC, tombs were constructed for the Pharaohs and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom (the Eighteenth to the Twentieth Dynasties of Ancient Egypt). The valley stands on the west bank of the Nile, opposite Thebes (modern Luxor), within the heart of the Theban Necropolis. The wadi consists of two valleys, East Valley (where the majority of the royal tombs are situated) and West Valley.

The Colossi of Memnon are two huge ruined statues, around 17m high, once stood at the entrance gate of the mortuary temple of Amenhotep III, though very little of the temple behind them remains today. They were cut from two massive granite blocks, brought from quarries near Cairo, and carved to represent the pharaoh Amenhotep III of Dynasty XVIII.

Deir El Madina is an ancient Egyptian village which was home to the artisans who worked on the tombs in the Valley of the Kings during the 18th to 20th dynasties of the New Kingdom period. The settlement’s ancient name was Set Maat, and the workmen who lived there were called “Servants in the Place of Truth”. During the Christian era the temple of Hathor was converted into a Church from which the name Deir El Madina “the monastery of the town” is derived from.

The Temple of Hatshepsut is a mortuary temple, located opposite the city of Luxor and is considered to be a masterpiece of ancient architecture. The temple was built to commemorate the achievements of the great Queen Hatshepsut and as a funerary temple for her, as well as a sanctuary of the God, Amon Ra.

You will also get to enjoy a very special visit to the tombs of King Tutankhamun, Seti 1, NeferHotep & Ramses VI.

Tutankhamun was buried in a tomb that was unusually small considering his status. His death may have occurred unexpectedly, before the completion of a grander royal tomb, so that his mummy was buried in a tomb intended for someone else. This would preserve the observance of the customary 70 days between death and burial On 4 November 2007, 85 years to the day after Carter’s discovery, the 19year-old pharaoh went on display in his underground tomb at Luxor, when the linen-wrapped mummy was removed from its golden sarcophagus to a climate-controlled glass box.

The tomb of Seti 1 is the longest tomb in the valley, at 137.19 meters, it contains very well-preserved reliefs in all but two of its eleven chambers and side rooms. One of the back chambers is decorated with the Ritual of the Opening of the Mouth, which stated that the mummy’s eating and drinking organs were properly functioning. Believing in the need for these functions in the afterlife, this was a very important ritual.

NerferHotep Tomb is the newly opened tomb at the West Bank of Luxor. Neferhotep lived and worked during Ancient Egypt’s 18th Dynasty, under the rule of the mysterious King Ay. Ay was the penultimate pharaoh of Ancient Egypt’s 18th Dynasty. He held the throne of Egypt for a brief four-year period in the late 14th century BC.

Ramses VI tomb was begun by King Ramesses V of the Twentieth Dynasty. Although it is uncertain whether he was ultimately buried here, it is clear that his uncle Ramesses VI enlarged the tomb and used it for his burial. The tomb’s decorative program consists of various funerary texts to help the king in his successful transition to the afterlife. The first descending passages are decorated with the Book of Gates, Book of Caverns, and Books of the Heavens, ancient Egyptian books of the afterlife.

Optional, with supplement You will also get to enjoy a special opening visit to the tomb of Amenhotep III.
A rare-access royal tomb belonging to Amenhotep III, the great 18th- dynasty Pharaoh who led Egypt’s golden age. The newly-opened to the public chambers reveal refined artwork and scenes guiding the king through the afterlife. A unique opportunity to explore one of Luxor’s most important and rarely opened tombs.

After the tour sailing continues. Lunch will be served on board, and in the evening, dinner will also be served on board, followed by evening entertainment: Whirling Dervish and Belly dance show.
AMIRAT II DAHABIYYA (B,L,D)

DAY 09: LUXOR
After enjoying breakfast on beard you will checkout and meet at the cruise’s lobby with one of our representatives for disembarkation and to start your day’s tour to the East Bank.

The Temple of Luxor. It is close to the Nile and parallel with the riverbank. King Amenhotep III who reigned 1390-53 BC built this beautiful temple and dedicated it to Amon-Re, king of the gods, his consort Mut, and their son Khons. This temple has been in almost continuous use as a place of worship right up to the present day. It was completed by Tutankhamun and Horemheb and added to by Ramses II.

Explore Karnak Temple, the largest religious complex of the ancient world and the spiritual heart of ancient world and the spiritual heart of ancient Thebes. Built over centuries and dedicated mainly to Amun-Ra, the site features monumental pylons, sacred lakes and the iconic Great Hypostyle Hall with its towering columns.

Optional with supplement Continue your day’s tour.
Abdelrasool Cave is one of the most important and largest archaeological discoveries during the past two centuries by the Abdul Rasool family, one of the Qurna West families Luxor In 1881, it included dozens of sarcophagi, mummies, and funerary furniture belonging to a number of kings and priests. Family members found 153 coffins, along with several boxes containing ushabti servants’ statues, as well as large numbers of rare papyri. Cache Deir el-Bahari was discovered in 1881 by 3 brothers from the Abd al-Rasoul family, the mummies of a group of the most important kings who ruled ancient Egypt included Ramses II, Amenhotep III, Seti I, Seqenen-Ra, Ahmose, Thutmose III, Amenhotep II.Abdelrasool Cave is one of the most important and largest archaeological discoveries during the past two centuries by the Abdul Rasool family, one of the Qurna West families Luxor In 1881, it included dozens of sarcophagi, mummies, and funerary furniture belonging to a number of kings and priests. Family members found 153 coffins, along with several boxes containing ushabti servants’ statues, as well as large numbers of rare papyri. Cache Deir el-Bahari was discovered in 1881 by 3 brothers from the Abd al-Rasoul family, the mummies of a group of the most important kings who ruled ancient Egypt included Ramses II, Amenhotep III, Seti I, Seqenen-Ra, Ahmose, Thutmose III, Amenhotep II.

Transfer to Al Moudira Boutique Hotel for check in and overnight.
AL MOUDIRA BOUTIQUE HOTEL (B)

DAY 10: LUXOR / CAIRO
Transfer & Flight

After enjoying breakfast at your hotel and check out, you will meet at the hotel’s lobby with one of our representatives to transfer you to Luxor Airport for your flight to Cairo.

Upon arrival at Cairo Domestic Airport, you will be met by one of our representatives to start your day’s tour.

The Grand Egyptian Museum
The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), Egypt’s newest landmark by the Pyramids of Giza, showcases over 50,000 masterpieces from ancient Egypt, including the complete Tutankhamun collection, in the world’s largest museum dedicated to one civilization. The museum’s vast atrium, Grand Staircase lined with royal statues, and state-of-the-art galleries make it a must highlight of any visit to Cairo.

Optional, with supplement You will also get to enter the Restoration Tent of King Khufu’s Solar Boat.

Enjoy your lunch at the GEM.

Coptic Cairo – Hanging Church & Church of St. Sergius
Coptic Cairo, where we will visit the famous Suspended Church “Hanging Church” dating to the late 4th and early 5th century. This basilica was named “Al-Mu’allaqah” because it was built atop the south gate of the Fortress of Babylon. Continue to the Church of St. Sergius, a 5th century Coptic Church. This basilica is built on the cave in which the Holy Family stayed and is regarded by visitors as a source of blessing.

Ben Ezta Synagogue
Ben Ezra Synagogue is situated in the Fustat part of Old Cairo, Egypt. According to local folklore, it is located on the site where baby Moses was found. The founding date of the Ben Ezra Synagogue is not known, although there is good evidence from documents found in the geniza that it predates 882 CE and is probably pre-Islamic. The style of the carving on the Torah ark door is incompatible with that of the Fatimid Caliphate and is more representative of the Mamluk Sultanate, specifically the 15th century. A medallion that decorates the door is designed with a motif common to bookbinding of that period. It is known that a 15th-century fire in the synagogue damaged the bimah, or pulpit. One plausible theory is that wood from the damaged bimah was repurposed to make a new door for the Torah ark.

Transfer to Waldorf Astoria for check-in and overnight.
WALDORF ASTORIA (B,L)

DAY 11: CAIRO / DEPART
Start your day with breakfast at the hotel, complete your checkout, and then meet our representative in the lobby for your transfer to Cairo International Airport for your departure flight.

Rates are Land only, Double Occupancy: Per person per day: Call for rates