just Maximum of 16 guests Abydos © Olawf Tausch ABSOLUTELuxor at night EGYPT with 3 nights aboard an 8-cabin dahabiya sailing vessel December 4-20, 2019 (17 days | 16 guests) with Egyptologist Stephen Harvey plus an optional pre-tour extension to Jordan Archaeology-focused tours for the curious to the connoisseur. “The tour exceeded our expectations...Steve [Harvey] has endless enthusiasm for Accommodations ancient Egypt and is a lively host as well. All AIA staff were dedicated, patient, flexible, and quick to smile and laugh...As clients, Dave and I felt safe, appreciated, and pampered...We loved the all-inclusive nature of the tour. AIA took care of all our needs as travelers, so we were free to focus on the fascinating and comprehensive itinerary...” - Lorraine and Dave, Colorado Dear Traveler, This revised Absolute Egypt itinerary is carefully crafted to provide the discerning traveler with the finest Egypt tour available. It combines all the best attributes of © R.Todd Nielsen an in-depth, all-inclusive, well-paced luxury trip. In Cairo, start your day with a breakfast buffet at the lovely terrace restaurant of the 5-star Mena House. Highlights include: • Traveling with a distinguished and engaging American scholar plus a wonderful local Egyptologist and an excellent trip manager, who have been working together for years and have received excellent reviews; • The exclusivity of a maximum of just sixteen guests plus your triad of leaders; • A 15-night itinerary, longer than most Egypt tours, so that your experience is in-depth and not rushed; • The best accommodations available: © R.Todd Nielsen • Four nights at the 5-star Mena House hotel in Giza to start your In Luxor, relax in the elegant main lounge of the 5-star Old Winter Palace. trip; • Three nights in Luxor at the 5-star Old Winter Palace in Luxury Garden rooms that are quieter and larger than the Standard Nile-view rooms; • Three nights cruising the Nile aboard a comfortable, eight-cabin dahabiya (a traditional Nile sail boat). Our group of 16 guests (plus our three leaders) will sail aboard two of these smaller-sized vessels that will travel together and avoid the crowds cruising in a convoy of large Nile riverboats. Enjoy 3 nights on a private, 8-cabin dahabiya sailing • Spacious rooms with great views of the Nile cataracts and vessel on the Nile River. Elephantine Island in the Nile wing of the 5-star Sofitel Legend Old Cataract Aswan hotel for three nights; • In the middle of the trip you stay one night at the best-available hotel in Abydos so that you can explore two less-visited and fabulous sites, Abydos and Dendara; • Special meetings with excavators and conservators, including behind-the-scenes visits, when possible. Please join our small group of just 16 guests plus our three expert leaders on this special December 2019 departure. It will be an enjoyable, fascinating, and unforgettable adventure. Sincerely, Admire views of the First Cataract of the Nile and Elephantine Island from your spacious room in the Nile wing of the 5-star Sofitel Legend Old Cataract R. Todd Nielsen Aswan hotel. Director, AIA Tours Archaeological Institute of America Ajloun Castle Jerash Itinerary (B)= Breakfast, (L)= Lunch, (R)= Reception, (D)= Dinner Mediterranean Sea Amman Mt. Nebo/ Wednesday, December 4, 2019: Depart home Madaba Thursday, December 5: Arrive Cairo, Egypt | Petra CAIRO Private transfer to hotel in Giza | Welcome dinner 4 GIZA 1 JORDAN You will be met upon arrival at Cairo’s airport and transferred to Giza’s historic Mena House, a SAQQARA palatial hotel set amid forty acres of gardens, with magnificent views of the adjacent Great Pyramid Nile River of Khufu (Cheops). This evening we gather for a welcome reception and dinner with your three SOHAG Red Sea expert trip leaders: AIA lecturer, Egyptology DENDARA guide, and Trip Manager. Overnight at the 5-star ABYDOS Marriott Mena House hotel in Pyramid View 1 LUXOR rooms for four nights. (R,D) VALLEYS OF THE KINGS & QUEENS 3 EL KAB Friday, December 6: Giza Plateau 3* ESNA Spend the morning exploring the Giza Plateau, EDFU GEBEL EL-SILSILA including the Great Pyramid of Khufu; Solar Boat ASWAN 3 Museum; Eastern Cemetery, with its vibrantly- KOM OMBO decorated mastaba of Meresankh III; mortuary Lake Nasser temple of Khufu; timeless Sphinx; and nearby ABU SIMBEL Valley Temple of Khafra. After lunch at a nearby restaurant we return to our hotel, where the balance of the afternoon is at leisure to relax and enjoy the pool. Gather for dinner at the Mena House hotel this evening. (B,L,D) Saturday, December 7: Cairo: Egyptian Museum, Mosque of Ibn Tulun, Gayer-Anderson Museum Spend the morning at the Egyptian Museum, which houses the celebrated treasures of Tutankhamen and the Royal Mummy Room. After lunch overlooking # = of hotel nights the Nile we visit two major Islamic sites: the 9th- = Overnight stop century mosque of Ibn Tulun (both Cairo’s largest = Itinerary stop mosque in terms of land area and its oldest mosque in its original form) and the adjacent Gayer-Anderson = Flights Museum (a superb example of 17th-century domestic = Pre-tour extension architecture with a vast collection of furniture, * Aboard a private, 8-cabin carpets, curios, and other objects). Return to dahabiya sailing vessel the Mena House hotel this evening for dinner. (B,L,D) Sunday, December 8: Saqqara | A statue of Ramesses with his wife at Karnak PM at leisure temple. © R.Todd Nielsen This morning we visit the Imhotep Museum on our way into the EGYPT extraordinary necropolis at Saqqara, where we see the Step Pyramid of Djoser; the pyramid and causeway of Unas; and the mastaba of the “two brothers,” Nyankhkhnum and Khnumhotep; and (pending permission) the Travel with Egyptologist Stephen Harvey th newly-discovered, closed-to-the-public, 5 -dynasty Tomb of Wah Ti. After an on our meticulously-planned itinerary, outdoor lunch at Saqqara Palm Club, we return to the Mena House hotel for an afternoon at leisure to relax, enjoy the pool, and pack for our early flight featuring premium accommodations and tomorrow morning. Gather for dinner at our hotel. (B,L,D) a private, 3-night Nile River cruise. Visit Monday, December 9: Fly to Sohag | Abydos all the preeminent sites of the pharaohs Transfer to the airport early this morning for our flight to Sohag. Upon arrival from Cairo to Luxor, Aswan, and Abu we drive to Abydos, one of the oldest and most important ancient cities in Egypt, where our AIA lecturer Stephen Harvey has worked for over 25 years. Begin our Simbel including the stunning tombs of visit at Shunet es-Zebib, one of the oldest standing massive brick structures in Seti I and Nefertari. the world, the architecture of which points to some features of later structures, like the Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara. Next explore Kom el-Sultan, another large, Early Dynastic Period mud-brick structure, which includes an early Temple of Osiris where excavations have revealed hundreds of stelae yielding information about the cult of Osiris. The only known statue of Khufu was found here, and recently a portal temple to Ramesses II was excavated. “[Highlights of the trip were the] depth and breadth of After lunch we will visit the spectacular Temple of Seti I, where was discovered the “Abydos King List”—the exposure to ancient Egypt; amazing, packed itinerary long, invaluable list of pharaohs of the principal superior to any offered by other tour operators; attention dynasties (as recognized by Seti) that was inscribed on to history, interpretation, and ability to interact, made a wall. The temple also has seven chapels with exquisite reliefs. Time-permitting we will also visit the Temple possible by the small group size.” of Ramesses II, with the impressive reliefs of the Battle - N.T., North Carolina of Kadesh on its exterior walls and delicately-preserved paint colors. Return to our hotel and gather for dinner this evening. Overnight at the House of Life Abydos hotel. (B,L,D) Tuesday, December 10: Abydos | Dendara | Luxor Early this morning we gain special entry (pending permission) to the tomb of 12th-dynasty pharaoh Senwosret III which, although excavated in 1902, was only recently re-excavated and restored. This extraordinary tomb, one of the largest ever built in Egypt, is considered the first known example of a hidden royal tomb, akin to the later, subterranean royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings. Descend into the underground chambers to admire the well-dressed masonry of Tura limestone and red Aswan quartzite, as well as stone blocks weighing more than 50 tons that were intended to keep out tomb robbers. After lunch we drive to Luxor, stopping en route at the Temple of Hathor at Dendara, which has recently been extensively restored, revealing its startlingly well-preserved painted astronomical ceiling © Diaa Mekky and reliefs. Upon arrival at Luxor we settle in at our hotel and gather for dinner Cairo's 9th-century Mosque of Ibn Tulun, with a this evening. Overnight at the 5-star Sofitel Winter Palace Luxor Hotel (Old Wing) staircase that winds itself around the outside of for three nights. (B,L,D) the minaret. Wednesday, December 11: Karnak | Luxor Temple A short drive through town brings us to Karnak, the world’s largest temple complex (built over the course of two thousand years), where a generous amount of time is scheduled for exploring this astounding and immense archaeological site. Our visit will include Karnak’s Open Air Museum, which has on display many newly reconstructed buildings. We return to our historic hotel on the east bank of the Nile and enjoy lunch and then time at leisure to relax and enjoy the gardens and pool.