Palace Tours − Luxury Tours Collection Classical Egypt Revisited Classical Egypt Revisited Discover Classical Egypt on a tour of the most important cities throughout the land. Visit Cairo, the jewel of the Orient, the city of a thousand Minarets and the melting pot of ancient and modern Egyptian civilization. Sail away to Aswan on an afternoon felucca ride and dazzle your eyes with the sights of the sun sleeping in the arms of the River Nile. In Luxor, take a trip through the history of an immortal civilization. Join Palace Tours now for an amazing, luxurious Egyptian experience. ITINERARY • Day 1 − Welcome to Egypt Upon arrival at Cairo International Airport, you are met by a Palace Tours representative, then transferred to your hotel for an overnight stay. • Day 2 − The Triumphant City of Cairo After breakfast, meet your tour guide to start a full day of Cairo's famous sightseeing. Begin with a visit to the Great Pyramids of Giza, one of the seven wonders of world, and the Sphinx, a statue of a lion with a pharaoh's head. Later, drive to Memphis, one of the most important cities throughout the archeological history of Ancient Egypt. End your day with a visit to Sakkara, the City of the Dead which boasts the famous step pyramid of Djoser (2650 BC). Return to the hotel and stay overnight. • Day 3 − Ancient Egyptian History and bustling bazaars After breakfast, visit the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities which contains a vast collection of Pharaonic antiquities including the treasures of King Tutankhamen. Later, drive to the medieval Citadel of Salah El−Din, built in the 12th century. Later, tour the alabaster Mosque of Mohamed Ali, built in the 19th century. End your day with a visit to the Khan El Khalili bazaar, one of the most exciting attractions in Cairo. Stay overnight at the hotel. • Day 4 − The essence of the past in Abu Simbel After breakfast at the hotel, prepare to travel to your next amazing destination. Transfer to Cairo International Airport for your flight to Abu Simbel via Aswan to visit the great temples of Abu Simbel. After your visit, fly back to Aswan where you are met by a Palace Tours representative at the airport and transferred to your hotel. Check in to the hotel and spend the afternoon at leisure, where you may choose to explore Aswan's Market. Stay overnight at the hotel. • Day 5 − A Nile Cruise expedition After breakfast, prepare for a relaxing three−night cruise on the Nile River. Travel back in time to experience the glory of the Pharaohs of ancient Egyptian civilizations as you step aboard the cruise ship. The rest of the day is yours at leisure on board the cruise. • Day 6 − Explore the sights on the banks of the Nile After breakfast on board, take a guided tour of the highlights of the major sites on the banks of the Nile. Start in Aswan by visiting Philae Temple, the unfinished Obelisk and the High Dam. Enjoy lunch on board, then sail to Kom Ombo to explore the unique double temple of Sobek and Haroeris. Sail to Edfu, where a short horse drawn carriage ride brings you to the temple of Horus. Dinner is served on board as the ship makes its way to Edfu, where it is moored overnight. 1 • Day 7 − Luxor sightseeing This morning, set sail to Luxor. After a delicious lunch on board, visit The Valley of the Kings on the west bank of the River Nile, which in modern times has become famous for the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen, and is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world. You will also see Hatsebshute temple at El Dier El Bahary and the famous Colossi of Memnon on the west bank. Stay overnight on board the cruise ship in Luxor. • Day 8 − Your last night in the land of the pharaohs Disembark the cruise this morning after breakfast and transfer to Luxor Airport for your flight back to Cairo. You are met upon arrival at Cairo Airport by our friendly representative and driven to your hotel. Spend the rest of your day at leisure preparing for your departure flight home, or stroll around the city, soaking in the atmosphere. Return to the hotel and stay overnight. • Day 9 − Farewell, Egypt Enjoy breakfast at the hotel and transfer to Cairo Airport for your departure flight home or to your next exotic destination. DESTINATION INFORMATION • Abu Simbel Abu Simbel is an archaeological site comprising two massive rock temples in southern Egypt on the western bank of Lake Nasser, about 290 km southwest of Aswan. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the "Nubian Monuments", which run from Abu Simbel downriver to Philae (near Aswan). The twin temples were originally carved out of the mountainside during the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II in the 13th century BC, as a lasting monument to himself and his queen Nefertari, to commemorate his alleged victory at the Battle of Kadesh, and to intimidate his Nubian neighbors. However, the complex was relocated in its entirety in the 1960s atop an artificial hill made from a domed structure, high above the Aswan Dam reservoir. The relocation of the temples was necessary to avoid being submerged during the creation of Lake Nasser, the massive artificial water reservoir formed after the building of the Aswan Dam on the Nile River. Abu Simbel remains one of Egypt's top tourist attractions. • Aswan Aswan is a busy market and tourist center in the south of Egypt that stands on the east bank of the Nile at the first cataract. The city has many sites that are worth exploring − Elephant Island, the Philae Temple, the Aswan Dam and Abu Simbel, which can be visited as a day trip. Aswan is one of the driest inhabited places in the world. Aswan was the first town in the ancient Egyptian land because the Egyptians oriented to the south, and was formerly known as Swenet, a hieroglyphic word for 'trade'. Aswan is also one of the driest inhabited places in the world, as it rains on average about once every six years. The quarries of Aswan were celebrated for their stone, especially for the granite rock called Syenite. They furnished the colossal statues, obelisks, monolithic shrines and pyramids which are found throughout Egypt, and the traces of the quarrymen who wrought in these quarries over 3000 years ago are still visible in the native rock. Aswan was equally important as a military station and as a place of traffic. Under every dynasty it was a garrison town which levied tolls and customs on all boats passing southward and northward. 2 • Cairo Cairo − the Triumphant City − is the glorious capital of Egypt, the cradle of civilization and the beacon of religion. The largest city in the Middle East and Africa, Cairo lies at the center of all routes leading to and from the continents of Asia, Africa and Europe. Greater Cairo extends on the banks of the River Nile to the south of its delta. Here the Nile divides into its two distributaries, Rosetta and Damietta. Cairo is the city where the past meets the present. On its east side stands the evidence of 2000 years of Christian Coptic, Islamic and Jewish culture still flourishing to this day while on its west side lays the Ancient Egyptian city of Memphis (Giza), the renowned capital of the Old Kingdom and the site of the Pyramids, the only extant wonder of the Seven Wonders of the World. A journey through Cairo is indeed a journey through time... • Edfu Edfu is an Egyptian city located on the west bank of the River Nile between Esna and Aswan with a population of approximately sixty thousand people. Edfu is a friendly town which produces sugar and pottery, is a hub of a road network, and is a vivid religious and commercial center. It was the capital of the second Nome (Horus) of Upper Egypt. The main attraction in Edfu is the Temple of Horus, which is considered by most to be the best preserved cult temple in Egypt, but there is a mound of rubble to the west of the Temple which is probably the original city of Djeba. Edfu was formerly known as Tbot by the early Egyptians, Apollinopolis Magna by the Greeks and Atbo during the Coptic times. • Kom Ombo Kom Ombo is an agricultural town in Egypt famous for its magnificent temple of Kom Ombo. Today, irrigated sugar cane and corn account for most of the agricultural industry. It was originally an Egyptian city called Nubt, meaning City of Gold and during the Greco−Roman Period it became a Greek settlement. The town's location on the Nile 50 km north of Aswan (Syene) gave it some control over trade routes from Nubia to the Nile Valley, but its main rise to prominence came with the erection of the temple in the 2nd century BC. In the Kom Ombo temple, there is a rare engraved image of Cleopatra VII on the walls of the main temple and also the engraving of what is thought to be the first representation of medical instruments for performing surgery, including scalpels, curettes, forceps, dilator, scissors and medicine bottles dating from the days of Roman Egypt. • Luxor 3 Luxor is a city in Upper (southern) Egypt. As the site of the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes, Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open air museum", as the ruins of the temple complexes at Karnak and Luxor stand within this modern city.