Egypt Revisited “It Was an Amazing Experience to See Such Wonderful Sites Enhanced by Our Lecturer’S Knowledge...A Fabulous Experience!”
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Limited to just 16 guests EGYPT Revisited “It was an amazing experience to see such wonderful sites enhanced by our lecturer’s knowledge...A fabulous experience!” - Barbara, Maryland Foreground, Red Pyramid at Dahshur; background, Temple of Seti I at Abydos October 19-November 3, 2019 (16 days | 16 guests) with Egyptologist Stephen Harvey optional extensions: pre-tour Siwa Oasis & Alexandria (8 days) and/or post-tour Jordan (5 days) Archaeology-focused tours for the curious to the connoisseur. Dear Traveler, You are invited to return to Egypt on a brand-new, custom-designed tour in the company of AIA lecturer/host Stephen Harvey, Egyptology guide Enass Salah, and a professional tour manager. © Ivrienen Snefru's Bent Pyramid at Dahshur Highlights are many and varied: • Gain inside access to the Red Pyramid at Dahshur, enter the burial chamber of the collapsed pyramid at Meidum, and visit two mud-brick pyramids (Illahun and Hawara) at the Fayoum Oasis. • Go behind-the-scenes at the ancient necropolis of Saqqara to see some of the new and remarkable excavations that are not open to the public, including (pending final confirmation) special access to the newly- discovered, 5th-dynasty Tomb of Wah Ti. • Make a special, private visit (permission pending) to the new Grand Egyptian Museum. • Explore the necropoli of Beni Hasan, known for its 39 rock-cut tombs © Olaf Tausch with well-preserved paintings of dancing, acrobatics, juggling, fishing, Red Pyramid at Dahshur hunting, and weaving; and Tuna el-Gebel, with huge catacombs for thousands of mummified ibises and baboons, and much more. • Visit Tell el-Amarna, which replaced Thebes (modern Luxor) as capital of Egypt under the heretic, 18th-dynasty pharaoh Akhenaton and was significant for its monotheism and distinctive artistic style. • Enjoy two in-depth visits to Abydos, where Stephen Harvey has worked for over 25 years, including visits to the spectacular Temple of Seti I, with its invaluable “Abydos King List” and chapels with exquisite reliefs; and special access to descend into the tomb of Senwosret III, one of the largest ever built and the first known example of a hidden royal tomb. • Discover two interesting and lesser-visited sites near Luxor: the Temple of Montu (the falcon-headed god of war) at El-Tod, and the tomb of © Tekisch Ankhtifi, a provincial governor and warlord, at El-Mo’alla. Black Pyramid of Amenemhet III • See what is perhaps a different side of Cairo: have lunch at Al-Azhar Park, a glorious public space with splendid views of Islamic Cairo; and visit the 9th-century Mosque of Ibn Tulun, the city’s oldest mosque in its original form and its largest mosque in terms of area. • Enjoy luxurious and best available accommodations throughout, with two to four nights at each property except our final night at an ideally- located, 5-star airport hotel. • Extend your adventure with a pre-tour program in Egypt’s Siwa Oasis and Alexandria (accompanied by Steve Harvey), and/or a post-tour program to Jordan, including Petra, Jerash, Madaba, and Wadi Rum. © Kurohito I urge you to reserve your space today by calling 800-748-6262 or emailing Snefru’s collapsed pyramid at Meidum [email protected]. There are only 16 spaces available! Sincerely, R. Todd Nielsen Director, AIA Tours Archaeological Institute of America © R. Todd Nielsen Step pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara Ajloun Castle Jerash Mediterranean Sea Archaeological Institute of Amman Marsa Alexandria Mt. Nebo/ America Lecturer & Host Madaba Matruh Since 1993, Stephen Harvey El-Alamein Petra CAIRO 3 1 (Ph.D., U. of PA) has been Saqqara JORDAN Director of the Ahmose and Siwa Oasis Dahshur Tetisheri Project, which centers 2 FAYOUM Nile River Meidum on excavation of the monumental Wadi el-Hitan complex of King Ahmose at 2 AL MINYA Abydos, under the aegis of the Beni Hasan Pennsylvania-Yale-Institute of Tuna el-Gebel Tell el-Amarna Red Sea Fine Arts, NYU Expedition to 2 ABYDOS Abydos. Steve’s fieldwork in and LUXOR around the pyramid complex of Medinet Habu 4 Ahmose (ca. 1550-1525 B.C.) has Ramesseum El-Tod/El Mo’alla provided important new insight into temple architecture and decoration at the outset of Egypt’s New Kingdom. He has been working on archaeological projects in Egypt (including at Giza and Memphis) since 1987, and has also worked on projects EGYPT in the U.S., Syria, and Turkey. Steve has been consulted on and interviewed for a number of television documentaries for NOVA on PBS, the History Channel, National Geographic, and the Travel Channel (among others). In 2013-14 and 2008- 09, he lectured on the Archaeological Institute of America’s national circuit. Steve has also been a lecturer on many study tours to Egypt sponsored by major U.S. and UK institutions, including fourteen AIA tours of Egypt since 2002. # = Main tour number of hotel nights = Overnight stop = Itinerary stop “Steve is excited to share his passion for Egypt’s ancient = Flights treasures and hidden secrets and his stories and = Pre-trip extension = Post-trip extension explanations are fun, learned without being pompous and helped me to connect many of the different places, kings and traditions.” - Barbara, Hawaii Ramesses III’s Temple at Medinet Habu © Olaf Tausch For questions and reservations: 800-748-6262 | [email protected] | www.aiatours.org © R.Todd Nielsen Columns at the Ramesseum Itinerary (B)= Breakfast, (L)= Lunch, (R)= Reception, (D)= Dinner Saturday, October 19, 2019: Fly to Cairo, Egypt Sunday, October 20: Arrive in Cairo | Welcome dinner You will be met upon arrival at Cairo International Airport (CAI) and transferred to the historic Mena House, a palatial hotel set amid 40 acres of gardens, with magnificent views of the adjacent Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops). This evening we gather (including travelers from the optional, pre- trip extension) for a welcome reception and dinner with your three expert trip leaders: AIA lecturer/host, Egyptology guide, and Trip Manager. Overnight at the 5-star Marriott Mena House (Pyramid View rooms) for three nights. (R,D) Monday, October 21: Cairo: Grand Egyptian Museum, Museum of Egyptian Antiquities Today we enjoy a special private visit (permission pending) to the new Grand Egyptian Museum (scheduled to officially open in 2020) that claims to be the world’s largest archaeological museum. Spend the balance of the day either relaxing at the splendid Mena House, or visiting the historic © Jorge Láscar Egyptian Museum (Museum of Egyptian Antiquities) to see treasures that most visitors missed during their previous visits. Return to our hotel and gather for dinner this The 61-meter-long passage inside evening. (B,L,D) the Red Pyramid, where our group has been granted access. Tuesday, October 22: Dahshur: Bent & Red Pyramids | Saqqara excavations Drive to Dahshur, part of the UNESCO World Heritage site “Memphis and its Necropolis – the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur,” where we will learn firsthand about the transition from step-sided to smooth-sided pyramids. See 4th-dynasty Pharaoh Snefru’s Bent Pyramid, whose appearance is due to miscalculations on the structural weight and slope of the blocks. Learning from these mistakes, Snefru went on to build the shorter North (Red) Pyramid, which was the first completed true pyramid. We will have inside access to the Red Pyramid. At Dahshur, we can “Steve Harvey's enthusiasm and incredible appreciation and knowledge of Egyptian history, archeology, and ability to read hieroglyphs at a glance made everything come alive.” -Cynthia, Virginia see from a distance both the remains of Amenemhet III’s pyramid, known as the ‘Black Pyramid’ due to the exposed dark color of its mudbrick core, as well as the remains of the pyramid of Senwosret III of the 12th dynasty, where the Metropolitan Museum of Art currently conducts excavation and restoration. After lunch we enjoy a behind-the-scenes visit to the vast, ancient burial ground of Saqqara to see the some of the new excavations (not open to the public) dating to the Old and New Kingdoms. Pending final confirmation, we will also gain special access to the newly-discovered, 5th-dynasty Tomb of Wah Ti. The condition of this tomb is exceptional, especially for its age, and the two-story structure contains dozens of sculptures as well as scenes of daily life. Return to our hotel and gather for dinner this evening. (B,L,D) Wednesday, October 23: Meidum | Fayoum (Faiyum) Oasis: Illahun & Hawara This morning we drive south to visit 4th-dynasty Pharaoh Snefru’s collapsed pyramid at Meidum, which represents the transition between step pyramids and true pyramids. Its construction began as a stepped pyramid, but nearer completion the steps were filled in and it was cased with limestone. At some point in (probably) the New Kingdom, it began to collapse and today stands only its three- © operator stepped core amid a pile of rubble from its exterior. We will enter its burial chamber through a corridor that descends 177 feet. Continue driving to the southern edge of the Fayoum Oasis, a region that was popular with Middle Kingdom pharaohs and high officials for hunting and fishing. Here we will visit the mud-brick Illahun pyramid built for 12th-dynasty Pharaoh Senwosret II, and the mud-brick Hawara pyramid built for 12th-dynasty Pharaoh Amenemhet III. Check-in to our hotel and gather for dinner this evening. Overnight at the 5-star Helnan Auberge Fayoum for two nights. (B,L,D) Thursday, October 24: Wadi el-Hitan (Valley of the Whales) Explore Wadi el-Hitan, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Egypt’s Western Desert, where erosion by wind and water has produced spectacular cliffs and buttes. This paleontological site has yielded invaluable fossil remains of the earliest suborder of © AhmedMosaad whales, Archaeoceti, now extinct.