Intriguing Egypt Series II

Breakfast, then start your tour by 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 old Coptic Churches and the oldest Jewish Synagogue of Beni Ezra. Continue your tour to the Citadel of Salah El-Din, the Mohammed Ali Mosque and the Medieval Bazaars of Khan-El-Khalili, where you can bargain for your jewelry, hand-tooled leather items, copper, silver, ivory and fine Egyptian textiles. Return to your hotel for an overnight. (B)

Breakfast, then you will be met and transferred to Cairo Airport for your flight to Aswan. Upon arrival at Aswan Airport, you will be met and transferred to embark your super deluxe cruise ship. Later you will be taken by "Felucca" to visit the Elephantine Island, the Mausoleum of Agha Khan, the Botanical Gardens and the Temple of Philae. Lunch, dinner and overnight on board. (B,L,D)

The Sonesta Nile Goddess cruise ship

Click above for the Sonesta Nile Goddess Fact Sheet

The Reception on board cruise ship

Breakfast, then visit the Unfinished Obelisk at the Ancient Granite Quarries, and the famous High Dam. Lunch, then cruise to Kom-Ombo. Visit the Ptolemaic Temple of Kom-Ombo, which was dedicated to two gods: The Crocodile god Sobek and the Falcon-Headed god Haroeris. Sail to Edfu. Dinner and overnight on board. (B,L,D)

Breakfast, then visit the Temple of Horus (237 BC), the best preserved Egyptian temple in Egypt. Lunch. Sail to Esna and visit the Temple of Khnum. Continue to Luxor. Dinner and overnight on board. (B,L,D)

Sonesta Nile Goddess Cabin

Breakfast, then cross the Nile 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, and enter some of the most remarkable burials. Visit the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon. Lunch. Afternoon visit to the Temple of Karnak, which took over 1500 years to build and is considered the world's largest religious complex. Then visit the Temple of Luxor, which was started by Amenhotep III and completed by Ramses II. Dinner and overnight on board. (B,L,D)

Views of a typical Deluxe Cabin

Breakfast, then disembark your cruise ship, where you will be met and transferred to Luxor Airport for your flight back to Cairo. Upon arrival at Cairo Airport, you will be met and transferred to your hotel, the luxurious Cairo Marriott Hotel & Casino, for an overnight. (B)

Entrance to the Cairo Marriott & Palace

Breakfast, then transfer from Cairo to Alexandria (about a 3-hour ride). Upon arrival, start your sightseeing by visiting the Greco-Roman Museum, which contains a wide variety of Pharaonic, Ptolemaic, Roman and Christian antiques, statues, bas reliefs, pottery, jewelry, marble pieces and other artifacts. These give you a picture of the grandeur of Alexandria in its Greek and Roman days. Then visit the Roman Amphitheatre, which is the only known amphitheatre from the Roman Era in Egypt. Continue your tour to the Catacombs of Kom-El-Shouqafa. These tombs are remarkable for their unusual mixture of art styles, sculpture, reliefs and images of Egyptian gods. Continue your tour to Pompey's Pillar which is a column 98 feet high and 7 feet thick, made of Aswan rose granite erected in 297 AD. Transfer back to your hotel in Cairo for an overnight. (B)

Stairway to the dining room and casino area at the elegant Cairo Marriott Hotel

Breakfast, then start your tour by visiting the Gayer Anderson Museum (Bayt Al-Kiridlyyah): two houses, one from the 16th century, the other from the 17th, comfortable dwellings by the standards of their time. They have been delightfully joined together, both filled with antique furniture form all over the Middle East. Continue the tour to the Manyal Palace, built in 1826, which 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 and 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. From there we visit the Ibn Tulun Mosque which is one of the architectural glories of the Muslim world. Completed in the year 879, it covers 8.5 acres of land and is designed in the classical courtyard style. It is well known for its pointed arches, beautifully carved stucco, and Quranic inscriptions in sycamore wood. In the evening continue our tour to the Islamic Museum which contains Islamic art from Egypt, Turkey and Persia dating from the 7th to 19th centuries. Then visit the Coptic Museum which is built on the site of the Roman fortress of Babylon, constructed about 30 BC. Inside you will find some of the richest collections of Coptic art in the world. Later transfer back to your hotel for an overnight. (B)

Hallway of the elegant Cairo Marriott and Casino Hotel

Breakfast. then drive to Dahshur to visit the Red Pyramid and the Bent Pyramid.  The builder of these pyramids is thought to have been Sneferu who is beleived  to have built the pyramid of Maidum.  His son was Cheops (Khufu) who continued his construction tendencies.  Later transfer to downtown Cairo to embark on a  2-hour "Felucca" (sail boat) ride, exploring downtown Cairo and riding in a sail boat exactly the same way as the ancient Egyptians did thousands of years ago.  Return to your hotel for an overnight. (B)

Breakfast, then you will be met by our representative and transferred to Cairo Airport, where you will be helped with your check-in and immigration formalities for your flight back home. (B)