Upper Egypt Exploration

Following breakfast, we’ll begin at the Great Pyramids of Giza. We’ll also approach the Sphinx and its watchful gaze. We’ll enjoy lunch at a local restaurant. Afterward, we’ll visit the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities downtown or the new Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza should it have opened, both the greatest repositories of ancient Egyptian treasures in the world. Following a guided visit, we’ll return to our hotel.  Meals: included B+L. Optional meal L

This morning we will fly to Aswan. Upon arrival, we’ll check in Aswan 5 stars Hotel and then we’ll join our guide for a comfortable drive across the Egyptian Desert on a new highway heading to one of the most impressive sights of antiquity, the temples of Ramses II.  We’ll enjoy a fine lunch at a family-run restaurant on the shore of Lake Nasser and then walk a short distance to a small boat that will take us along the shoreline to see these majestic temples from the water.  We’ll then explore them by land.
With our expert guide, you’ll behold 67-foot-high figures of the King and his wife, Nefertari, and hear the dramatic story of how they were moved 200 feet above their original site to protect them from the rising waters of the Aswan Dam. This engineering feat by UNESCO to relocate and protect this architectural wonder was so successful and precise that twice a year, on February 22 and October 22, the rays of the rising sun pierce the temple entrance and reach deep into the heart of the temple – just 24 hours later than the original plan! In addition to its famous statues, the interior hall is decorated with amazing relief carvings that depict a great battle won by Ramses.
Following our exploration, we’ll return back to Aswan where we will spend the night. Meals: included B+L.

After breakfast, our private vehicle will meet us for our drive up the Nile to the Temple of Horus at Edfu, another of Egypt’s most spectacular ancient monuments. This 2,000-year-old temple complex is renowned for its monumental reliefs, its impressive setting and exquisite hieroglyphics. We’ll continue on to Luxor. Then we cross the Nile and drive west to the fabled Valley of the Kings. Here, the pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty built tombs deep into the arid mountainsides, abandoning the funerary pyramids of their predecessors. We’ll be here early, before any crowds, to admire the vivid frescoes that adorn each tomb in miraculous condition, visiting the most elaborate tombs of Ramses III, Ramses IX and King Tutankhamen. In the neighboring Valley of the Queens, we’ll visit the elegant Tomb of Queen Hatshepsut, one of two female pharaohs. With our skilled guide in the lead, we’ll next stand in front of the massive pillars of the great Karnak Temple to admire the enormous Grand Hypostyle Hall, still the largest religious hall in the world. We’ll then walk the recently renovated Avenue of the Sphinxes to the temple walls of Luxor, embellished with skillful carvings of the gods accompanied by festive processions of priests, musicians, dancers and sacred cows. We return to our hotel for the evening. Meals: included B+L.

Mid-morning we’ll fly back to Cairo  and visit the Khan al-Khalili Bazaar, which since the 15th Century has been Cairo’s major center of foreign goods, jewels and even slaves in its early days. We’ll have lunch in an atmospheric restaurant with time to roam the extensive alleyways of the market. Meals: B+L

This morning we’ll drive to Memphis , the site of Egypt’s ancient capital, to marvel at the formidable Colossus of Ramses II. Nearby we’ll see the Alabaster Sphinx before heading to Sakkara at the edge of the Egyptian desert to visit the impressive Step Pyramid of King Zoser , the oldest standing stone structure in the world. We’ll also enter the 4,000-year-old Tomb of Mehu, a wealthy merchant, with its vibrant drawings of daily life that adorn the walls.  Meals: B+L

Today you’ll be escorted to the airport for your departure at the appropriate time for your onward flight.  Meals: B