Egypt

Jan 13 Wed Depart New York – Fly Cairo

Jan 14 Thu Arrival at Cairo International Airport.
• Meet and assist through customs and formalities.
• Transfer to the hotel. Dinner and overnight in Cairo.

Jan 15 Fri Cairo
• After breakfast, transfer to Giza.
• Visit the Pyramids of Cheops, Chefren & Mikarinus.
• Optional: enter inside any pyramid.
• After viewing the three great Pyramids from a panoramic viewpoint, visit to the giant one stone Sphinx.
• Transfer to visit the new Grand Egyptian Museum.
• Back to the hotel. Dinner and overnight in Cairo.

Jan 16 Sat Cairo
• After breakfast, transfer to visit the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization , in which antiquities of comprehensive history of Egypt are exhibited, including 20 royal mummies of the New Kingdom.
• Visit Old Coptic Cairo. The Church of St Sergius. This church is the oldest and most unique of the churches in Old Cairo, founded in the 5th century. Its main attraction is crypt claimed to be the place where the Holy Family stayed during their Egyptian exile.
• Visit Ben Ezra Synagogue is the supreme Jewish monument in Cairo. Legends claim that the synagogue is built on the spot where pharaoh’s daughter found Moses in the bulrushes and where Jeremiah spoke to survivors after the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar.
• Visit the Cave Church, also known as the Church of St. Simon the Tanner.
• Dinner and overnight in Cairo.

Jan 17 Sun Fly Abu Simbel – Fly Aswan
• Check out after breakfast.
• Transfer to Cairo Airport to fly to Abu Simbel.
• Here at Abu Simbel, there are two iconic temples: the Temple of Hathor and Nefertari, and nearby the mammoth Great Temple of Ramesses II, are carved from the rock. Four Colossal sitting statues greet visitors on their entry to the Great Temple. The temple serves as a living legacy of the Pharaoh Ramesses II.
• Fly to Aswan.
• Transfer to the hotel. Dinner and overnight in Aswan.

Jan 18 Mon Aswan
• After breakfast, you will visit The Unfinished Obelisque (Granite Quarry) and Philae Temple dedicated to the goddess ISIS.
• Afternoon visit the High Dam, rock-fill dam across the Nile River, at Aswan, Egypt, completed in 1970 (and formally inaugurated in January 1971). The dam, 364 feet (111 m) high, with a crest length of 12,562 feet (3,830 m) and a volume of 57,940,000 cubic yards (44,300,000 cubic m), impounds a reservoir, Lake Nasser, that has a gross capacity of 5.97 trillion cubic feet (169 billion cubic m).
• Optional: Visit Nubian Museum.
• Dinner and overnight onboard in Aswan.

Jan 19 Tue Bus to Luxor
• Morning transfer to Luxor by bus.
• Arrive Luxor visit Karnak Temple. Walk among the pillars of the temple dedicated to the god Amun Ra and along the avenue of the Sphinxes at Karnak.
• In the evening, visit the illuminated Luxor Temple.
• Dinner and overnight in Luxor.

Jan 20 Wed Luxor
• Optional: early morning hot-air balloon flight over west Luxor.
• After early breakfast, drive to the west side of Luxor: explore the great Valley of Kings, where generations of Pharaohs were buried in crypts cut into the cliffs
• Optional: visit Tut Ankh Amon’s tomb.
• Stop by the Colossi of Memnon, then proceed to visit the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut.
• Dinner and overnight in Luxor.

Jan 21 Thu Luxor – Fly Cairo
• After breakfast transfer to Visit the Valley of the Nobles.
• Then transfer to sist Madinat Habu and Ramssum Temples.
• Evening flight to Cairo.
• Dinner and overnight in Cairo.

Jan 22 Fri Alexandria - Cairo
• After breakfast early transfer to Alexandria to visit Bibliotheca of Alexandria, the New Bibliotheca Alexandrina is dedicated to recapture the spirit of openness and scholarship of the original Bibliotheca Alexandrina.
• The Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa These tombs were tunneled into the bedrock in the age of the Antoine emperors (2nd century A.D.) for a single wealthy family that were still practicing the ancient religion. These tombs represent the last existing major construction for the sake of the old Egyptian religion.
• The Roman Theater (Kom Al-Dikka) Over 30 years of excavation have uncovered many Roman remains including this well-preserved theatre with galleries, sections of mosaic-flooring and marble seats for up to 800 spectators. The theatre at one point may have been roofed over to serve as an Odeon for musical performances. Inscriptions suggest that it was sometimes also used for wrestling contests.
• Back to Cairo. Overnight in Cairo.

Jan 23 Sat St Catherine
• After breakfast, transfer to Sinai to visit the village of St. Catherine. It has been called the oldest working Christian monastery and the smallest diocese in the world. The Chapel of the Burning Bush was originally ordered built by Empress Helen, the mother of Constantine the Great, but the monastery itself was actually built by Emperor Justinian to protect the monks in the region and to honor the site of the Burning Bush. St. Catherine, whose body was reportedly carried away by angels, was discovered five hundred years later at the top of the peak that now bears her name. Her relics are stored in a marble reliquary in the Basilica.
• Dinner and sleep for a few hours.

Jan 24 Sun Mt Sinai - Cairo
• 01.30 Start to climb Sinai Mountain.
• 08.00 Breakfast at the hotel.
• After visiting the monastery, transfer back to Cairo.
• Dinner and overnight in Cairo.

Jan 25 Mon Fly back to New York - End

• Roundtrip International Air from New York
• Cairo-Abu Simbel flight
• Abu Simbel-Aswan flight
• Luxor-Cairo flight
• Meet and assist at Cairo, Aswan & Luxor Airports upon arrivals and departures.
• Accommodation at 5-star hotels as per hotels specified below or similar categories.
o 6 Nights in Cairo at Movenpick Media City Hotel (or similar)
o 2 Nights in Aswan at Tolip Aswan Hotel (or similar)
o 2 Nights in Luxor at Sonesta Luxor Hotel (or similar)
o 1 Night in St. Catherine at Morgan Land Hotel (or similar)
• Daily breakfast at the hotels
• 11 Dinners at the hotels
• Entrance fees to all archaeological sites included in the program
• English Speaking licensed tour guide throughout the tour
• Transfers & transportation by private A/C Bus
• Guide wireless headset system
• Portage for one piece of luggage at the hotels
• Service charges and local taxes

• Egypt Visa ($25 per person to be paid upon arrival)
• Lunches and drinks.
• Personal expenses, any other item which is not included above
• Charges for camera permit at museums and some sites
• Tips to tour guide, driver and hotel staff