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08 days 7 nights
Daily Tour
Unlimited
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Ancient Egypt, land of the pharaohs, colossal statues, vast pyramids and magnificent many-columned temples. Travel the full length of the Nile Valley to visit both the highlights of ancient Egypt, and some of the rarely-visited sites. Visit iconic sites such as the Great Pyramid at Giza, the Valley of the Kings, and Karnak Temple, but also archaeological sites off the beaten track, whose fascinating changes to art and religion still provoke debate.
We cover 3000 years of ancient Egyptian history, from the pyramids of Egypt’s Old Kingdom, through to the Roman-era temple of Philae, ‘Jewel of the Nile’. This tour offers a varied and comprehensive exploration of the pyramids, rock-cut tombs, temples and towns of ancient Egypt, examining an ancient civilization not just of pharaohs but also of ordinary people.
Our knowledge of ancient Egypt is often focused on mummies, mysterious tombs, intriguing funerary rituals and beliefs in the afterlife, and there will be plenty of these on our tour, but we also be visiting non-royal tombs to experience daily life in ancient Egypt through scenes painted on the walls. The detail and colour preservation in tombs at Beni Hasan, Luxor and Aswan are extraordinary, but not often seen. Nor do many visitors to Egypt get to explore the archaeology of ancient settlements, but we will do this at the sites of Deir el-Medina.
Join us for a journey through Egypt’s colourful and vibrant history and landscape.
Welcome to Egypt,
Upon arrival at Cairo Airport you will be met by our
Cairo office representative and transferred to your Luxurious Hotel in Cairo to check in the hotel.(D)
Depart by coach this morning for Saqqara to see the Step Pyramid of 3rd dynasty pharaoh, Djoser, which is also the oldest monument we visit from the Old Kingdom. We visit the Museum of Imhotep and go inside the pyramids of the great kings Teti to see the pyramid texts. After lunch, we visit the mastaba tomb of the powerful vizier Kagemni.
Then evolution of royal burials from stepped to smooth sided pyramids with a visit to the Red and Bent Pyramids at Dahshur. Both built by the pharaoh Sneferu, the Bent Pyramid was the first, unsuccessful attempt at a smooth-sided pyramid. Determined to build an appropriate resting place, Sneferu succeeded in building his pride and glory with the Red Pyramid and it is possible to go inside.
Then Giza we explore the plateau’s iconic monuments of the 4th dynasty, the Sphinx, Great Pyramid of Khufu, son of Sneferu.
Overnight Cairo
This morning we visit the Egyptian Museum, Cairo’s vast treasure trove of antiquities from all periods of Egyptian history including the wondrous finds from Tutankhamun’s tomb. In the afternoon, we visit the Coptic Museum which houses the world’s largest and most important collection of Coptic art and artefacts. We also visit the Mosque of Ibn Tulun, Egypt’s oldest with its unique Andalusian influenced minaret, and the adjacent Gayer-Andersen Museum noted for its various rooms decorated in a variety of oriental and Arab styles. Overnight Cairo (B)
Flying to Luxor upon arrival visiting the vast open-air museum of Karnak, the cult temple of Amun-Ra, chief of the deities of the New Kingdom and the largest religious site in the ancient world. The temple is unusual for its longevity, having been continuously used for a period of some 2000 years.
In the afternoon, we visit the delightful Luxor Temple,the New Kingdom Temple of Luxor; commenced by Amenhotep III, it is dedicated to Amun-Ra and the cult of divine kingship. There is a shrine to Alexander the Great at the rear and remnants of a Coptic Church and a well-preserved mosque, demonstrating the temple has been in almost continuous use up until the present day. Returning to our ship for lunch, we cast off from the banks and cruise down the Nile for the remainder of the day. Overnight Nile cruise. (B, L, D).
Crossing by boat to the West Bank our first stop is the Colossi of Memnon. These two eighteen-metre-high stone statues represent the Pharaoh Amonhotep III and once guarded.
Then. We continue into the Valley of the Kings and explore some of the 63 known tombs built for the pharaohs and nobles of the New Kingdom.
Returning across the Nile we visit AL Deir el-Bahri and the imposing Memorial Temple of Hatshepsut. Set in a natural amphitheatre and built on three levels, the temple seems to emerge from the surrounding rock. There was a garden of exotic incense trees in the first courtyard brought back from the Queen’s trading expeditions to Punt, perhaps modern day Somalia. Lucia will give a talk this evening following our return to the East Bank
. Overnight Luxor. (B, L.D)
This morning we go ashore to visit the Temple of Horus at Edfu. The Temple is very dramatic and quite extensive, with many reliefs and hidden ambulatory. It is dedicated to Horus and was built in Greco-Roman times. After lunch, we cruise to Kom Ombo to see the double temples of the crocodile headed god, Sobek, associated with Upper Egypt, and Horus the Elder, associated with Lower Egypt. We continue sailing to Aswan this afternoon. Overnight Nile cruise. (B, L, D)
Our shore excursion today takes us to the picturesque island of Philae where the exquisite temple of Isis rises magically out of the river. We also visit the Aswan High Dam and the Unfinished Obelisk - more than twice the size of any known obelisk. Quarrymen apparently abandoned the obelisk when fractures appeared in its sides. However, the stone, still attached to bedrock, gives important clues to how the Egyptians quarried granite. We return to the boat for lunch, before checking into our Aswan hotel on Elephantine Island. Overnight Nile Cruise (B, L, D)
After breakfast, we fly back to Cairo for the final departure.
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