A private guide, five-star hotels and a five-star Nile cruise on board the M/S Salacia assure you of an excellent voyage through these ancient lands. The M/S Salacia is renowned world wide for its high standard of accommodation and service, the Salacia has catered for an array of international clientele. Visit Cairo, Luxor, Aswan and Abu Simbel and enjoy a Nile cruise.
Your Itinerary
Day 1 (Sun) - USA / Paris. Enjoy the finest service tonight as you relax onboard an Air France overnight flight to Paris.
Day 2 (Mon) - Paris / Cairo. Arrive Paris and connect to Cairo. You will be met and transferred to the Semiramis Intercontinental Hotel. The evening is at leisure.
Day 3 (Tue) - Cairo (Giza, Memphis & Sakkara). Enjoy a full day tour of the Pyramids, Sphinx and Solar Boat. The Great Pyramid, built c. 2570 BC for Khufu (Greek: Cheops) still stands 451 feet high. The burial chamber was robbed in antiquity, as were those in the Pyramid of Khafre (Chephren) and the smaller Pyramid of Menkaure (Mycerinus). Beside the Great Sphinx stands the T-shaped valley temple of Khafre's pyramid complex, where his body was embalmed.
Lunch at the Mena House. This afternoon visit Memphis, former Capital of a united Egypt (from c. 3100 BC). Little remains (the ruins were plundered to build Cairo) more than the supine colossal statue of Ramesses ll and nearby a still half buried temple to Hathor. Continue to Sakkara, cemetery for Memphis, used continuously for 3,000 years. See the earliest monumental stone structure in Egypt, a stepped pyramid built for King Djoser (c. 2650 BC). Includes: (B), (L).
Day 4 (Wed) – Cairo. Tour the Citadel overlooking all of Cairo and visit the Alabaster Mosque of Mohammed Ali. Just below stands the 14th Century Sultan Hassan Mosque whence lead the narrow winding streets of the Khan el Khalili bazaar, where artisans and merchants have traded for centuries. Continue to the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities with its treasures of Tutankhamen and endless statuary. Walk to adjacent Nile Hilton for lunch on your own in one of several restaurants, the pizza bar or the coffee shop.
Continue touring visiting Old Cairo, the Synogogue of Ben Ezra, The Hanging Church and the Coptic museum within the walls. The Copts are the Christian direct descendants of the ancient Egyptians, whose language of Ancient Egypt, in Greek letters helped in hieroglyph decipherment. Return to the hotel via Jacob's Island and the amazingly accurate reconstruction of Tutankhamen's Tomb, which gives a better understanding of the great discovery than is possible at the real site in the Valley of the Kings. Includes: (B).
Day 5 (Thu) - Cairo / Luxor. Transfer to Cairo Airport for the flight to Upper Egypt. Embarkation aboard the M/S Salacia begins mid morning. This will be your home for the next four nights. The M/S Salacia one of the largest Nile vessels, which carries a modest 110 passengers. Accommodations will be in Junior Suites in the “Ambassador Club” on the top deck, which has its own private lounge. You will also be escorted by our dedicated guide, save for Abu Simbel, if you choose this option.
This afternoon visit the temple of Karnak, begun by 12th Dynasty kings at the beginning of the second millennium BC. Only an exquisite peripheral chapel survives. From the New Kingdom on, every king enlarged or re-built in honor of the imperial god. Gauge Karnak’s extent by the 10 monumental pylon gateways – the earliest of Tuthmosis I, c. 1510 BC, the last 900 years later built by Ramesses III before the second pylon, now tucked away in a corner of the first court. Visit the Temple of Luxor. Includes: (B), (L), (D).
Day 6 (Fri) - Luxor / Edfu. Early morning cross to the West Bank, visiting the Valley of the Kings including the tomb of Tutankhamen (when available), Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, the Valley of the Queens before returning to the ship via the Colossi of Memnon. We will try for the tomb of Queen Nefertari, optional permits permitting (cost: LE 100 or about $25). Nowadays the government rotates the availability of tombs to lessen the environmental impact of visitors. Return to the vessel and sail midday south toward Edfu. Includes: (B), (L), (D).
Day 7 (Sat) - Edfu / Kom Ombo / Aswan. This morning, visit the almost perfectly preserved Ptolemaic Temple of Horus. The ever-dark rooms, crowded with dumpy figures and clumsy late hieroglyph are unchanged since ancient times and some of the cartouches for the royal name are empty, indicating how swiftly the throne could change hands.
Return to the vessel to enjoy lunch and sail to Kom Ombo to visit the twin sanctuaries of crocodile-headed Sobek and hawk-headed Haroeris, uniquely set, side-by-side in a single picturesque Ptolemaic temple on a hill overlooking the Nile. Of special interest here, are the surgical instruments depicted in the reliefs on the temple walls. Arrive Aswan in the late afternoon and visit the new Nubian Museum showing life in ancient Egypt through to Islamic times. Includes: (B), (L), (D).
Day 8 (Sun) – Aswan. Today visit the High Dam, Temple of Philae, and the ancient granite quarries, in use since the first Dynasty to see the unfinished obelisk – Egypt’s tallest had it ever been disengaged – which clearly demonstrates how stone was extracted in ancient times. This afternoon cruise among the granite islands of the Nile by felucca. This evening, visit the new Nubian Museum in Aswan, which tells the story of Egyptian civilization from the earliest days through to the Ottoman conquest. Includes: (B), (L), (D).
Day 9 (Mon) - Aswan /(Abu Simbel) / Cairo. Disembark early. Transfer to Aswan airport and fly to Abu Simbel (if you choose this option) to visit the rock-hewn temples of Ramesses ll and his wife Nefertari, moved 200 feet above their former site now under Lake Nasser. They are housed in an artificial mountain to re-create their original setting. You can go behind the scenes and see how this was constructed. Fly back to Cairo and transfer to the Semiramis Intercontinental Hotel. Includes: (B).
Day 10 (Tue) - Cairo / Paris / USA. Transfer to the airport for the Air France flight to Paris connecting to the USA. Includes: (B).
Notes:
Airfare is included in the tour price.
The cost includes:
* Air France flights from USA gateway to Cairo (via Paris) and internal Egypt airfares;
* All transfers;
* All guided sightseeing in Cairo;
* Table d'hôte meals as listed in the itinerary, B = Full breakfast, L= Lunch, D = Dinner;
* Hotel service charges and taxes;
* Egypt visas for USA citizens;
* M/S Salacia program;
* Superior rooms at the Semiramis Intercontinental Hotel;
* Ambassador Club Junior Suites on ship’s upper deck;
* Bottled water in cabin daily;
* Fruit basket and wine on arrival;
* Private lounge for Ambassador Club.
Also see tour packages in:
Africa
Egypt
Archeology/History
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