Egypt In Depth llI
Full Itinerary
Day 1
Arrive Cairo where you will be met by our Egypt Tours and Travel tour manager who will meet and greet you upon arrival. Later, you will be transferred to your hotel, the historical and luxurious Marriott Mena House Hotel, accommodations will be in a deluxe suite overlooking the Pyramid. Overnight.
Day 2
Meet with your Egypt Tours and Travel tour manager. Start your tour visiting the Egyptian Museum famous for its antiquities from Egypt's Pharaonic period, which dates back some 50 centuries and includes the fabulous treasures of King Tut-Ankh-Amon. Afternoon excursion to Old Cairo, visiting the very old Coptic Churches and the oldest Jewish Synagogue of Beni Ezra. Continue your visit to the Alabaster Mosque of Mohammad Ali, the Citadel of Salah El-Din, and the medieval Bazaars of Khan-El-Khalili, where you can bargain for your jewelry and hand-tooled leather items. If time doesn’t allow going back to the hotel. Then continue to the Wekalet El Ghuri, an arts complex set in a 16th-century merchants’ house, watch a dazzling tanoura show of spinning dancers in the courtyard, also called The Whirling Dervishes Show. Admire the Mamluk-era architecture and atmosphere of the complex. This is quite an experience, the performance is mesmerizing in itself, showing the deep spiritual meaning behind the colorful swirls, beautiful music, and chants. The musicians were excellent and the dancers amazing. The place where the show takes place is an amazing old building which deserves a visit in its own. Return to your hotel. Overnight.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 3
Meet with your Egypt Tours and Travel tour guide and drive to Dahshur to visit the Red and Bent Pyramid. The builder of these Pyramids is thought to have been Sneferu, who is believed to have built the Pyramid of Maidum. His son was Cheops (Khufu) who continued his construction tendencies. In the afternoon, drive to Memphis on the edge of the western desert, the capital of the ancient kingdom, and one of the most important cities throughout the history of ancient Egypt. Drive to Sakkara, the vast necropolis of ancient Memphis, built Between 2667 – 2648 BC, built by Imhotep and where the Pharaoh Djoser is buried. Saqqara is 203 feet in height, consisting of a total volume of 330,400 cubic meters. Pharaoh Djoser of the third Dynasty conceived the plan, enlarging his Mastaba further and further (due to his long reign) until he ended up with a gigantic step pyramid. Continue to Memphis to visit the mega large statues of Ramses II, found in the temple of the god Ptah. Transfer back to the hotel. Overnight.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 4
In the morning, drive to the pyramids of Giza. Khufu's (Cheop's) pyramid, the largest of the three, was built in the 4th dynasty about 2690 B.C. and is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Enjoy a camel ride by the pyramids if you wish. In front of the pyramid of Khephren, we find the Sphinx carved from a single piece of stone, it is a lion with a pharaoh's head thought to be a portrait of the pharaoh Khephren. Continue tour to the Solar Boat Museum, where a dismantled river barge of King Cheops (Khufu) was found and has been masterfully reassembled. In the afternoon, visit the Pharaonic Village. It is a complete island that was built as a replica of Ancient Egypt. It takes you back 5000 years into history where you will see about 100 actors and actresses depicting the ancient Egyptians' way of life, their art, their craft, paper and perfume making, etc. They also mimic how the ancient Egyptians’ used to live, work, dress, and perform all their daily chores. It also contains a complete replica of King Tut's Tomb. It is indeed a fun experience. Transfer back to your hotel. In the evening, meet your Egypt Tours tour manager and transfer to the Pyramids Plateau to enjoy the magnificent Sound and Light show at the Giza plateau. Transfer back to your hotel. Overnight.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 5
Visit the Gayer Anderson Museum, the Manyal Palace. Continue your tour with a visit to the Islamic Museum, considered one of the greatest in the world, with its exceptional collection of rare woodwork and plaster artifacts, as well as metal, ceramic, glass, crystal, and textile objects of all periods, from all over the Islamic world. Continue tour the Ibn Tulun and the Sultan Hassan Mosques. End tour with the Fishawi area, to have lunch at the famous, Noble prize winner Naguib Mahfouz restaurant. In the afternoon, visit the oldest street in Cairo, the Al Muizz El-Din street where you will see the medieval architectural treasures of the Islamic world. Visit the Synagogue of Moses, one of the most important Jewish sites in Cairo. In the afternoon, visit the Textile Museum, it has a unique collection of ancient Egyptian and Roman artifacts. . Transfer back to your hotel. Overnight.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 6
Meet with your Egypt Tours and Travel tour guide, start tour of Maidum, explore the pyramid built by Snefru, father of Khufu who later built the Great Pyramid in Giza. Maidum has questions mark all around in comparison to the Great Pyramids. Since a sarcophagus has not been found in the burial chamber, there is no evidence that Snefru was ever buried in this pyramid. Nearby is a mastaba of an unknown Noble, where you will see the first example of a granite sarcophagus known in antiquity. Continue to the Hawara pyramid of Amenemhet III, the sixth pharaoh of the 12th Dynasty, around 1850 BC. Hawara is the largest Middle Kingdom funerary complex. Herodotus visited the pyramid during the 5th century BC. After completing our tour of the pyramids. Town of Lahon, where the Pyramid of Lahun is made of mud brick, but here the core of the pyramid consists of a network of stone walls that were infilled by mud brick. This approach was probably intended to ensure the stability of the brick structure. Continue through countryside towns to Minya, where you will be transferred to your hotel. The Horus of Life Hotel in Menia. Overnight.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 7
Meet your Egypt Tours and Travel guide, start your tour to Tuna el-Gebel, the necropolis of Khmun. See the catacombs that used to store thousands of animal mummies, this is a late-era temple. Also visit the tomb of Petosiris, a high priest, labeled as a Ptolemaic temple. The tomb has both Persian and Greek influence, it also has exquisite paintings from 300 BC. In the afternoon, visit the nobles in Beni Hasan, carved into the high limestone cliffs, a Middle Kingdom site 2040 - 1640 BC. Very well preserved, showing scenes depicting dancing, baking, marriage, and military activities. Overnight in Minya.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 8
Meet with your Egypt Tours and Travel guide, start tour visiting Tel el-Amarna, (1353 – 1336). One of the ancient capitals of Egypt, city was built by the pharaoh Akhenaten. Akhenaten had the vision of a society dedicated to the cult of one god. In order for Akhenaten to speed up the construction of the city, most of the buildings are constructed out of mud-brick. Continue to the Valley of the Nobles, where 25 major tombs are located, it has exquisite wall reliefs. Also visit the Royal Palaces and Royal quarters, and the tomb built for Akhenaten with all the impressive scribes. Late afternoon, drive to Abydos. Overnight in Abydos at the Night House of Life Hotel.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 9
Start your tour by visiting Abydos, the temple of Seti I, used to be the most religious site in the country, it is also the burial place for the first kings of a unified Egypt. Its construction started during Seti I era and was finished by Ramesses the Great. Continue in the afternoon, to the temple of Dendera, a complex covers some 40,000 square meters and is surrounded by a hefty mudbrick enclosed wall. Dendera was inhabited in prehistory, a useful oasis on the banks of the Nile. It seems that pharaoh Pepi I (ca. 2250 BC) built on this site and evidence exists of a temple in the Eighteenth Dynasty (ca 1500 BC). The earliest extant building in the compound today is the Mammisi raised by Nectanebo II – last of the native pharaohs (360–343 BC). Temple has depictions of Cleopatra VI which appear on temple walls are good examples of Ptolemaic Egyptian art. On the rear of the temple exterior, you will be able to see a carving of Queen Cleopatra and her son, Caesar (Caesarion), who was fathered by Julius Caesar. Continue your drive to Luxor. Check-in and overnight at the Historical Old Winter Palace Hotel.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 10
Meet your Egypt Tours and Travel guide, visit the Ramesseum, the memorial temple of pharaoh Ramesses the Great, located in Luxor. The temple, famous for its 57-foot seated statue of Ramesses, was dedicated to the god Amon. The walls of the Ramesseum, decorated with reliefs that include well-preserved paintings of battle scenes. Continue tour to visit the Valley of the Kings. Visit some of the most remarkable tombs, the King Tut Tomb, King Tut was the last of his royal family to rule during the end of the 18th dynasty during the New Kingdom of Egyptian history. His tomb is very popular because it was untouched by tomb robbers. In the afternoon, tour to the Tomb of Nefertari, also called QV66, tomb of Nefertari, built for the Great Wife of Ramesses II. It was discovered by Ernesto Schiaparelli, the director of the Egyptian Museum in Turin in 1904. Nefertari means "beautiful companion", was Ramesses II favorite wife. Continue tour to visit the Luxor Museum, see a wide collection that includes an array of masterpieces of pharaonic art. Transfer back to your hotel. Overnight.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 11
Meet your Egypt Tours and Travel guide, cross to the West Bank of the Nile, visit the Tomb of Queen Tausert, the wife of King Seth II. That tomb was usurped by King Set Nakht who changed some of its inscriptions and added to its original construction. Continue tour to visit the Necropolis of Ancient Thebes. Explore the valley of the Kings and Queens where tombs of 64 Pharaohs and 57 Queens have been discovered, enter some of the most remarkable burials, including that of King Tut. Also, visit the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut and Colossi of Memnon. In the afternoon, visit the Temple of Karnak, which took over 1500 years to build and is considered the world's largest religious complex. Continue the tour to visit the Temple of Luxor, started by Amenhotep III and completed by Ramses II. Later transfer back to your hotel. Overnight.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 12
The Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu was an important New Kingdom period temple structure in the West Bank of Luxor in Egypt. Aside from its size and architectural and artistic importance, the temple is probably best known as the source of inscribed reliefs depicting the advent and defeat of the Sea Peoples during the reign of Ramesses III. Continue to visit Deir al-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 of Egypt (1550–1080 BCE). In the afternoon, visit one of the most important tombs in this cemetery, tomb 55, which belonged to Ra-Mose. He was the mayor of Thebes during the end of the reign of Amenhotep III (Amenophis III) and his son Akhenaton, the vizier. This rock-cut tomb has walls decorated with many painted scenes of the various aspects of life in Ancient Egypt. One of the most beautiful scenes is the one that represents the arrival of foreign delegations to the court of the Vizier Re-khme-Re, carrying presents and tributes to the King of Egypt. Overnight at your hotel in Luxor.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 13
Meet your Egypt Tours tour guide, then start with a visit to the Mortuary Temple of Seti I, it is a hidden little gem: The Mortuary Temple of the Pharaoh Seti I (19th dynasty). It’s not as large and as spectacular as Karnak or the temple of Hatshepsut, but still charming. Continue to the palace of Malkata, Amenhotep III, Amenhotep the Magnificent, ruled over Egypt for almost 40 years, from 1386 BCE to 1349 BCE, and never before had Egypt seen such wealth, such power, or such ostentation. He ruled as pharaoh and as a god-king from his sprawling palace of Malkata. In the evening, you will be met by our Egypt Tours tour manager and transferred to Karnak Temple to attend the amazing Sound and Light performance. Transfer back to your hotel. Overnight.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 14
Morning at leisure. Early afternoon, you will be met by your Egypt Tours Travel Escort and transferred to Luxor Airport for your flight back to Cairo. Upon arrival at Cairo Airport, you will be met by your Egypt Tours tour manager and transferred to your hotel, the luxurious Four Seasons Hotel downtown Cairo. In the evening, you will be met and transferred for a dinner cruise and show on the Nile, where you will enjoy Egyptian belly dancing and a folklore show. Transfer back to your hotel. Overnight.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 15
Start tour with Churches of Old Cairo, there was a settlement from the 6th century BC. The Romans built a fortress here which we call Babylon. Some of these Roman walls still exist. Later, it became a Christian stronghold, with as many as 20 churches built within an area of one square mile. Visit the Hanging Church, also called, Church of the Virgin Mary, built into the walls of the Water Gate of the Roman fortress. It is estimated the oldest Christian church in Egypt, dating to around the 4th Century. Continue to the Church of St. Sergius, built atop one of the sites where the Holy Family rested during their escape from Herod. From there, we head to The Coptic Museum, it has the largest collection of Egyptian Christian artifacts in the world. It was founded in 1908 to house Coptic antiquities. The museum traces the history of Egypt from its beginnings to the present day. Erected on roughly 40,000 square feet o land. In the afternoon, Continue the tour to the Manyal Palace, built-in 1826, and conceals an Ottoman-Baroque fantasy within an immense marble basin with a marble island in its center. The Palace was built by Prince Mohammed Ali, the cousin of King Farouk, which includes a Museum exhibiting King Farouk's trophies and the Prince's own residence with its furnishings and a large collection of the family's memorabilia. Transfer back to your hotel. Overnight.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 16
Meet with your Egypt Tours tour guide, start your Drive from Cairo to Alexandria. Upon arrival, start your tour with a visit to the Greco-Roman museum which contains statues, bas reliefs, pottery, jewelry, marble pieces, and other artifacts, which give you a picture of the grandeur of Alexandria in its Greek and Roman days, founded by Alexander the Great in 332 BC. Then visit the Roman Amphitheater which is the only known amphitheater from the Roman era in Egypt. Continue your tour to visit the Catacombs of Kom-El-Shouqafa. These tombs are remarkable for their unusual mixture of art styles, sculptures, and reliefs of Egyptian gods. Also visit the famous Alexandria Library and the famous Lighthouse. Continue your tour to visit Pompey's Pillar which is a column 98 feet high and 7 feet thick, made of Aswan rose granite erected in 297 A.D. Transfer to your hotel. The Alexandria Palestine hotel. Overnight.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 17
Meet your guide and drive from Alexandria to Siwa Oasis. Upon arrival, visit what is now called it is the Old Siwa which used to be called (Shali). the fortress was built on the ecolodge building system, and at the top, you can feel the magic of nature. Explore Swia. Then transfer to your hotel, the Siwa Shaly Hotel. Overnight
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 18
Start your tour of the 26th-dynasty Temple of the Oracle sits in the northwest corner of the ruins of Aghurmi village. Built-in the 6th century BC, probably on top of an earlier temple, it was dedicated to Amun (occasionally referred to as Zeus or Jupiter Ammon) and was a powerful symbol of the town’s wealth. It is believed Alexander the Great was declared the son of Amun in this temple. Also, visit the mountain of the dead where you can see some tombs with great Pharaonic inscriptions on the walls and ceiling. The tombs are decorated with the afterlife story on how the dead were judged by the afterlife Gods. In the afternoon, visit will include springs where you can swim, see the remains of the Temple of the Oracle, where Alexander. Alexander the Great came to confirm his divinity and some Greco-Roman tombs. At the edge of town, the towering dunes of the Great Sand Sea stand. Another favorite bathing spot for locals and tourists is Fatness Island, located on the salt lake. Overnight at your Hotel in Siwa.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 19
Transfer from Siwa back to Cairo. Upon arrival at Cairo airport, transfer to your hotel. The Cairo Marriott Hotel Towers and Casino. Accommodations in a Nile view Suite. Overnight.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 20
Morning at leisure. In the evening you will be met and transferred by your Egypt Tours tour manager, to an Egyptian home for a traditional dinner and to get acquainted with the local people. Tour the home and engage in a friendly social discussion to get to know the Egyptian people and their way of life. Later you will be transferred back to your hotel. Overnight.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 21
A day at leisure. Overnight.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 22
You will be met by your Egypt Tours tour manager and transferred to Cairo Airport, where you will be helped with your check-in for your departure flight.
Meals: Breakfast
Also Included: Egypt Tours also includes all taxes, service charges, entrance fees to sights mentioned included as well. All transfers, meeting and assistance and baggage handling are also included.
**If any modifications or changes are needed to package, that will be accommodated at an extra cost
Extensions & Optional Tours: Extra days and optional tours to sites that are not included are available upon request.
Pricing
$9,269
Egypt In Depth llI
$1865
Single Supplement
**Please keep in mind that if you are travelling alone, you are single occupancy.
