CAIRO / BAHARIYA / WHITE DESERT / FARAFRA / DAKHLA / FARAFRA / KHARGA / LUXOR / ASWAN / FELUCCA CRUISE / LUXOR .
| DEPARTURE/RETURN LOCATION | Cairo International Airport | ||||
| DEPARTURE TIME | Please arrive at least 2 hours before the flight. | ||||
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1
Upon arrival to Cairo, you will be met by our representative and transferred to your hotel for overnight.
2
After breakfast, your private Egyptologist tour guide and driver will pick you up and start your tour. Drive to Giza and visit the Pyramids. See the Great Pyramid, the Valley Temple and the Sphinx.
Overnight at your hotel.
3
After breakfast, drive through the Western Desert to the oasis ofBahariya. You can visit the natural springs and there is an optional Bedouin dinner in Beir El Ghaba.
4
Using 4WD jeeps to explore the Black Desert, the Crystal Mountain, and the fascinating White Desert.
The night will be spent sleeping out in the desert under the stars.
5
Drive to Farafra. Visit the Old Mud-brick Town and BaderMuseum before driving to Dakhla. Also stop to visit the Old Islamic City of El Qaser. Overnight in Dakhla.
6
Drive to Kharga and visit the Temple of Hibis and the fascinatingNecropolis which dates back to the 4th century. Overnight inKharga.
7
Drive to Luxor. Free day to explore the town.
8
Rise early to visit the Valley of the Kings, a vast City of the Dead where 62 of Egypt Pharaohs have their magnificent royal tombs graved into the desert rocks richly decorated, and filled with treasures for the afterlife by generations of Pharaohs.
Rising out of the desert plain in a series of terraces, the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, beautiful monument to the reign of the only female pharaoh, merges with the sheer limestone cliffs that surround it, as if nature herself had built this extraordinary monument.
On the way back to the river Nile, your road passes by the famedColossi of Memnon, two gigantic statues, 20 meters (66ft) high, one thousand ton statues of Amenhotep III. known in ancient Greek times for their haunting voices at dawn. Though damaged by nature and ancient tourists, the statues are still impressive.
Afternoon train to Aswan.
9
Arrive in Aswan, the sunniest city of Egypt. Enjoy a free day to explore the beautiful Nubian city. There is time to optional visit the magnificent temples at Abu Simbel. Two templesamong the most magnificent monuments in the world, their removal and reconstruction was an historic event in itself, when the temples were threatened by submersion in Lake Nasser, due to the construction of the High Dam. During the salvage operation which began in 1964 and continued until 1968, the two temples were dismantled and raised over 60 meters up the sandstone cliff where they had been built more than 3,000 years before. Here they were reassembled, in the exact same relationship to each other and the sun, and covered with an artificial mountain.
10
Board the traditional feluccas for a three-day cruise to Edfu. Stop en route at Kom Ombo and visit the Temple of Kom Ombo, the temple of duplications, a part for Horus and the other part for Sobek (the crocodile-headed god of fertility and creator of the world). The temple stands at a bend in the Nile where in ancient times sacred crocodiles basked in the sun on the riverbank.
All meals are provided on board.
13
Disembark in Edfu and transfer to the hotel in Luxor. In the afternoon, take horse drawn carriages to Karnak for a guided tour of the magnificent temple there. Some would call Karnak Templethe Temple of Temples and the largest worship place ever built.Karnak is actually the sites modern name. Its ancient name was Iput-isut, meaning The Most Select (or Sacred) of Places”, built over more than 2 thousands years by generations of Pharaohs. The great “Hypostyle Hall” is an incredible forest of giant pillars, covering an area larger than the whole of Notre Dame Cathedral.
14
Our train journey back to Cairo passing by the towns and farmlands of the Nile Valley.
15
After breakfast, transfer to Cairo airport for your departure flight.
Destinations covered: Cairo / Luxor / Esna / Kom Ombo / Aswan/ Luxor / Cairo
Duration: 10 nights 11 days
Since prehistoric times, the Nile River provided the main trade route between the Mediterranean and Africa, with Nubia the point of contact between the two worlds. For Pharaonic, Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Arab civilizations, Nubia was a valued province and the corridor to Africa, the home of diverse cultures and political powers over thousands of years.
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