Tour Itinerary:
Jan 2 Tue Depart Calgary – Fly Cairo
Jan 3 Wed Arrive Cairo Airport
Our representative will meet you before immigration, customs and baggage claim, with a “DAP –TUTKU” sign. He will help you with your visas and customs check. Transfer to the hotel for dinner and overnight. (D)
Jan 4 Thu Pyramids & Sakkara
Our tour of Egypt begins with a drive into the exciting Giza Plateau in the southwest outskirts of Cairo, to see Egypt’s iconic Pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx. Constructed as tombs for the pharaohs Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure, each of the three stone structures was built by hand using finely tuned ancient techniques that remain a mystery today. The Great Pyramid of Giza — or Pyramid of Khufu — is the oldest and largest of the three, dating back to 2545-2525 BCE and reaching 455 feet high. Located nearby on this otherworldly archaeological site, you will also see the mystical Sphinx, a huge limestone statue of a reclining lion with the head of the pharaoh Khafre. Following lunch at a local establishment, we will visit another ancient site, Saqqara, and explore the Step Pyramid. Built during Egypt’s third dynasty to honor King Zoser, this ancient, ziggurat-shaped limestone “skyscraper” is believed to be the world’s earliest pyramid. Dinner and overnight in Cairo. (B,D)
Jan 5 Fri Civilization Museum - Grand Egyptian Museum
The day begins with a visit to the new National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (2 hours), which provides a comprehensive history of Egypt and houses 20 royal mummies of the New Kingdom. After lunch,we will visit the Grand Egyptian Museum. This vast state-of-the-art repository, the largest archaeological museum in the world, is the new home of the country’s most valuable antiquities, including the iconic, gold funerary mask and 5,000 other items uncovered in the tomb of the boy-king Tutankhamun (2 hours). We will then return to the hotel in early afternoon to relax before dinner. (B,D)
Jan 6 Sat Maadi – Mostorad - Cairo
Transfer after breakfast to visit the Land of Goshen, Tanis and Bubastis, Tanis is the Delta capital after Pi-Ramesses (Rameses/Raamses of Gen 47:11 &Exod 1:11 & 12:37) was abandoned around 1130 B.C. Many of the statues, inscribed blocks and remains at Tanis came from Pi-Ramesses, Tel Basta (Bubastis ), home of the popular worshipped cat goddess, Bastet, according to local tradition, is where the young Jesus caused water to miraculously spew from the ground resulting in his family being expelled from the town. Then we visit The Church of the Virgin Mary in Maadi, south of Cairo, it is where the Holy Family boarded a boat which carried them up the Nile to southern Egypt. Mostorod is ‘the Bathing Place’ where tradition recalls that the Virgin Mary bathed the Christ child and washed his clothes. Back to Cairo for dinner and overnight. (B,D)
Jan 7 Sun Coptic Cairo & Citadel
Our tour continues with a trip to Coptic Museum, which houses a vast history of the early the Coptic Church. We will visit the Cave Church, Abu Serga, where tradition says Mary, Joseph, and Jesus rested during their time in Egypt. Also, the Hanging Church, one of the oldest churches in Egypt, followed hopefully by a visit to the Ben Ezra Synagogue — known as the site where some 400,000 medieval secular and sacred manuscripts were found in the 19th century. (currently closed for preservation work.) After lunch, we will visit the Citadel (Mohamed Ali Mosque, aka the Alabaster Mosque). The mosque, the largest such structure built during the first half of the 19th century, is more impressive at a distance than close up. It is an unparalleled contribution to the skyline of Cairo, visible high atop the Citadel grounds. Its great dome and towering minarets give the Citadel a romantic, oriental quality that makes up for any shortcomings in its detail. Dinner and overnight in Cairo. (B,D)
Jan 8 Mon Fly to Luxor visit Karnak & Luxor temples – NILE CRUISE
After breakfast we will transfer to the airport for a short flight south to Luxor, site of what was once the ancient dynastic capital of Upper Egypt, Thebes, during the New Kingdom. Here, we will embark our luxurious ship, our home for the Nile River cruise portion of our journey. After settling in and enjoying lunch on board, we will stay on the Nile’s East Bank to see two of Egypt’s most illustrious shrines. First is the Karnak Temple Complex, built and used over a period of 2,000 years — encompassing the ruins of numerous temples, chapels, and other structures, as well as a lovely sacred lake. Its Great Hypostyle Hall alone measures some 54,000 square feet, and is adorned with 134 79-foot-high columns arrayed in 16 rows. The Karnak Temple is the cult center of Amun, No-Amon (Thebes) of the Bible. Here Thutmose III’s Annals record his famous battle at Megiddo and Shishak’s relief records the campaign of 925 BC against Israel and Judah. Later that day, we will have an evening visit of the Luxor Temple Complex. Karnak was once connected by a ceremonial, sphinx-lined 1 ¾ mile avenue to the Luxor Temple, which we will also explore. This latter site once also served as a Roman legionnaire outpost and it boasts chapels built by Alexander the Great and Tutankhamun. Dinner and overnight on board. (B,L,D)
Jan 9 Tue Valley of the kings, Tomb of the Nobles & Sail to Edfu –
NILE CRUISE The day will begin with an optional hot air balloon flight, where you will see the sunrise over the Valley of the Kings. The morning will continue (or begin for those who choose not to go on the hot air balloon ride) as we will journey to the west side of the Nile, where we will explore the vast Necropolis of Thebes. This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that includes the Valley of the Kings, where more than 60 pharaohs’ tombs and burial chambers were cut deep into rock cliffs over a 500-year span. We will explore five of these sacred chambers — including tombs of the powerful kings of the New Kingdom and the famous boy-king Tutankhamun. Here we will admire the elaborate hieroglyphs and paintings that adorn their walls with illustrative stories of lives and dynasties past. Later, we will take a short drive to the Tomb of the Nobles including remarkable painted and carved scenes in the tombs of the Egyptian administrators. In the Tomb of Rekhmire, we will see the famous scene in which foreigners are forced to make bricks (Exodus 1:8-14). Dinner on board and overnight. Enjoy the shipboard amenities as we sail south or upriver toward Aswan. Mostly, it is a great opportunity to watch the passing scene as we float up the Nile towards Esna, where the ship will pass through some locks. As we cruise you will see riverside farms lined by lush grasses and date palms, an indication of how the river has sustained almost all Egyptian agriculture for millennia. The small villages with flat-roofed, clay houses look much as they did hundreds of years ago, and occasionally, we will see children playing on banks who will invariably wave and shout as we pass by. We continue making our way south until we reach Edfu around dinner. (B,L,D)
Jan 10 Wed Visit Edfu & Komombo temples then Sail to Aswan –
NILE CRUISE After breakfast, we will begin the day on the morning excursion to Edfu’s famously well-preserved temple. Dedicated to Egypt’s falcon-headed god, Horus. The massive Temple of Horus at Edfu , which is one of the best preserved temples in Egypt, was constructed between 237 and 57 BCE, partially during the reign of Cleopatra VII. It tells a central story in Egyptian mythology about Horus avenging the death of his father, Osiris, at the hands of his uncle. Following our visit, reboard your ship for lunch and a leisurely afternoon cruise toward Kom Ombo. Here we will visit the town’s small and elegant namesake temple. Kom Ombo is unusual in that it is a “double” temple whose symmetrical halves honor Haroeris (Horus) the falcon god and Sobek the crocodile god. Built during the Ptolemaic era, both temples are decorated with distinctive, sturdy columns and intricate, well-preserved reliefs. Some 300 crocodile mummies were discovered here, and you can see some of them displayed at the on-site Crocodile Museum. Return to the ship for dinner as we set sail towards Aswan, one of Upper Egypt’s most beautiful locations. (B,L,D)
Jan 11 Thu Visit High Dam, Temple of Philae & Elephantine Island –
Aswan – NILE CRUISE Today you’ll explore the area around Aswan, beginning with the massive Aswan High Dam. This 13,000-foot-long and 3,200-foot-wide wall was built across the Nile between 1960 and 1970 with Soviet support. It supplanted the British-built Low Dam of the 1900s and created the vast reservoir known today as Lake Nasser. We will also visit the renowned Temple of Philae. A striking monument dedicated to the goddess Isis. This cultural treasure was painstakingly moved to its current location on Angelika Island by UNESCO engineers after the High Dam’s completion. To reach the island we will travel aboard small local boats, then explore the various halls and temples. Philae was one of the last pagan temples to operate after the advent of Christianity in Egypt, and in some places you can see where crosses were etched into walls and where the gods’ images were defaced. Will not want to miss Elephantine Island, which is opposite Awan in the middle of the Nile. The Elephantine papyri are caches of legal documents and letters written in Aramaic dating to sometime in the fifth century BCE. These papyri document the presence of a community of Judean mercenaries and their families on Elephantine, starting in the seventh century BCE. The mercenaries guarded the frontier between Egypt and Nubia to the south. Following the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in the sixth century BCE, some Judean refugees, including Jeremiah, traveled south and, in what may be called an “exodus in reverse,” settled on Elephantine. They maintained their own temple, in which sacrifices were offered, evincing polytheistic beliefs, which functioned alongside that of Khnum. The Jewish Temple at the military garrison on Elephantine island was built sometime in the sixth century, it was destroyed in 410 BCE at the hands of the priests of the Egyptian god, Khnum. Although rebuilt, the temple was eventually abandoned sometime after 400 BCE. We will take some time this afternoon to shop the Aswan souq. (B.L,D)
Jan 12 Fri Abu Simbel
Disembarkation and day trip to Abu Simbel out of Aswan that departs very early in the morning and then returns in late afternoon to Aswan. See the massive Ramses II monuments and temples of Ramses and Hathor . Overnight at stay at the Movenpick Aswan Hotel (B,D)
Jan 13 Sat Fly from Aswan to Cairo – Garbage Town Church -
Papyrus shop and Egyptian essential oils shop After breakfast, we will take a flight back to Cairo . Visit the largest church in the Middle East, which is in the remarkable garbage collector’s town. Enjoy the afternoon to shop at a papyrus shop and Egyptian essential oils shop. We will checkin to our Cairo hotel for dinner and a relaxing evening. Dinner and overnight in Cairo in an airport hotel. (B,D)
Jan 14 Sun Departure - Transfer to Cairo Airport for flight back to
Calgary