DAY ONE
On the first day of your journey through Egypt, begin with a filling breakfast at your hotel before meeting your expert Egyptologist guide. The tour itself begins on the Giza Plateau, with a panoramic view of nine pyramids, including the Great Pyramid of Giza, the only remaining Seven Wonders of the World. Step up to gaze at the Great Sphinx - the Terrifying One - as he guards the pyramids and their many treasures. The tour will also offer the opportunity to experience a solar boat ride, ships thought to be vessels ferrying resurrected kings across the heavens. (Tickets to enter the Great Pyramid and for a Solar Boat ride are not included).
The tour will then journey to Saqqara, the ancient necropolis, or burial ground, for Memphis. Learn about the Step Tomb of Djoser, the first pyramid in history. Explore the most beautiful - and largest - tomb in Saqqara, the Kagemni Tomb (circa 2340 BC). You will also go inside the Pyramid of Titi and see all of the wonders the well-preserved chambers and corridors. The Pyramid of Teti is the second-known structure to contain Pyramid Texts, ancient religious scrolls.
Before taking a well-deserved lunch break, the tour will visit Memphis, the capitol city of ancient Egypt. Here we will view the Colossus of Ramses II, an enormous limestone statue measuring more than 10 meters in length, an the Alabaster Sphinx, carved during the 18th dynasty.
After lunch, the tour will visit the Papyrus Institute, to see how paper was invented by ancient Egyptians more than 5,000 years ago. Learn how the papyrus plant was harvested and formed to create scrolls. View examples of ancient writing and have the opportunity to purchase your own piece of history.
RAMESSES II COLOSSUS
Giza, Memphis and Saqqara
DAY TWO
Our second day adventure has an early start with a 3-hour drive to Alexandria in a fully air-conditioned vehicle. Once we arrive in Alexandria, we will first visit the Catacombs of Kom El Shaqafa, which means the 'Mound of Shards.' On of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages, Kom El Shoqafa is a necropolis consisting of a series of Alexandrian tombs, statues and archaeological objects of the Pharaonic funeral cult and which blends Roman, Greek and Egyptian styles.
Our tour will visit Pompey's Pillar, the most well-known Egyptian monument that is still standing among the ancient remains of Egypt. This free-standing column's shaft measures 20.46 m in height with a diameter of 2.71 m at its base. Be regaled with tales of adventurers who attempted to climb this giant structure.
We will then journey to the Roma Amphitheatre, which dates back to the 2nd Century AD. The ampitheatre was one of the most important Roman architectural achievements in ancient Egypt and was a place of culture, hosting musical and theatrical performances as well as later public meetings such as public and governmental assemblies.
The tour will then proceed to the Library of Alexandria, one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world. The library was created by Ptolemy I Soter, successor to Alexander the Great, and was thought to have housed anywhere from 40,000 to 400,000 scrolls at its height. Dedicated to the Muses, the nine goddesses of the arts, the Library of Alexandria functioned as a major center of scholarship until the Roman conquest of 30 BC. Arguably, this library is most famous for having been burned down resulting in the loss of many scrolls and books; its destruction has become a symbol for the loss of cultural knowledge.
After all of this exploration, you will have developed an appetite. The tour will visit one of the many seafood restaurants in Alexandria or, if preferred, dining is available at the upscale Fish Market Restaurant.
After lunch, relaxation is on the menu as we enjoy the beauty of Alexandria's beaches along 30 kilometers of the sparkling blue Meditteranean Sea.
KOM EL SHOQAFA
LIBRARY OF ALEXANDRIA
Alexandria
DAY THREE
On the third day of our tour, we will return to Cairo and discover the history that lies behind this modern metropolis. Coptic Cairo, part of Old Cairo, was a stronghold for Christianity in Egypt until the Islamic Era. It is believed that the Holy Family visited this area.
Visitors wil first take in The Hanging Church, located above the gatehouse to the Babylon Fortress. Early visitors to the church dubbed it the Staircase Church, as it is approached by 29 steps. The Seat of the Coptic Pope, the Hanging Church is the site of several reported apparitions of the Virgin Mary.
After the Hanging Church, we will explore the Synagogue of Ben Ezra, a temple that likely predates 882 CE and is pre-Islamic. Rumored to be built on the site where the baby Moses was found, the Synagogue of Ben Ezra was found to contain a treasure of abandoned Hebrew, Aramaic and Judeo-Arabic secular and sacred manuscripts.
Next, the tour will journey to the Babylon Tower of the Roman Fortress, the entranceway to this ancient walled city. Here, ancient rivercraft would have paid tolls to ascend or descend along the Nile River.
Finally, we will step inside history in the Egyptian Museum. Home to more than 120,000 artifacts, the museum is the most extensive collection of Egyptian art in the world today, including the treasures of King Tutenkhamen. Your guide can help you navigate through the extensive collection of art, jewelry, artifacts and more, all while providing insight and information into the cultural and historical significance of many of the pieces.
Time will be set aside for visitors to wander through the old market (Souk), Khan El Khalili bazar in Cairo. Here, you can marvel at the myriad of sights, sounds and smells that Egypts merchants have to offer.After lunch, the tour will visit the Citadel of Salah Edin, or Saladin Castle. This medieval fortress has a rich history of battles and sieges, turning hands numerous times.
Finally, we will take in the Alabaster Mosque of Mohammad Ali, commissioned between 1830 and 1848. Situated on the summit of the citadel, this Ottoman mosque, the largest to be built in the first half of the 19th century, is, with its animated silhouette and twin minarets, the most visible mosque in Cairo. The mosque was built in memory of Tusun Pasha, Muhammad Ali's oldest son, who died in 1816.
EGYPTIAN MUSEUM