From
Marrakech to Constantinople
With a Foray into the Nile Kingdom
Explore
the two gems of North Africa--Morocco and Egypt-- and Istanbul . on
this 16-day, tour to Casablanca, Marrakech, Cairo and Luxor.
Weekly on Tuesday , year round
Compare
with the Ultra Deluxe Version
Day
1 - MARRAKECH Tuesday
Your international flight arrives in mystical Marrakech. Our staff escorts
us to our hotel.
Day
2 - MARRAKECH - Wednesday (BD)
Full day at leisure. Breakfast at the Hotel. Evening dinner at a typical
Moroccan restaurant.
DAY
3 - MARRAKECH Thursday (BL)
We board a horse-drawn carriage for a clip-clop tour of this ancient
royal capital, including the Kotoubia, a former royal palace,
and of course the labyrinthine souks (bazaars). Lunch is included
at a charming local restaurant.
Day
4 - MARRAKECH - Home Hosted Family Dinner Friday (BD)
Now that you've got your bearings, today is yours to explore the city
on your own. If you prefer, join one of our optional tours (for an additional
fee): one takes you to a nearby Berber village, another takes you into
the souks for a shopping spree.
This
evening we'll venture where few ordinary visitors ever tread . . . right
into the homes of some of the people of Marrakech ! You'll be invited
to a family dinner, and while you enjoy wholesome home-cooked specialties,
you'll learn about and appreciate the outlook, aspirations, and way
of life of your hosts. Be assured, as curious as you may be about your
new friends, they're sure to have questions about your own background.
Once the ice is broken, you'll enjoy a lively evening, and find that
you have more in common than you ever suspected. Of course, you may
enjoy dinner in a quiet restaurant with your travel companions, by letting
us know your preferences.
Day
5 - BY TRAIN TO CASABLANCA Saturday (BLD)
"Getting there is half the fun!" We board the train for our return to
Casablanca, cruising through the lovely countryside past green
fields, fruit-laden orchards, traditional villages and modern towns,
with the lofty Atlas Mountains soaring in the distance.
Lunch
is included in Casablanca. Our tour escort points out interesting features,
and fills us in on Moroccan life and culture. After arriving in Casablanca,
we visit the majestic new Grand Mosque of King Hassan II, second
only to the Great Mosque at Mecca in size. We continue on a panoramic
tour of the city and its souks. After dinner, we drive to the airport
for our Royal Air Maroc night flight across North Africa to Egypt.
Day
6 - CAIRO Sunday (aBD)
 We
arrive in Cairo with the dawn,Complimentary
visa issued upon arrival at Cairo Airport, valid only for American &
Japanese citizens. Passports must be valid for 6 month at least at time
of arrival.
We
drive through the awakening city to our hotel for breakfast and a bracing
cup of coffee or tea. Refreshed, we visit the Citadel of Saladin
and its Alabaster Mosque, enjoying spectacular views of the city below.
We descend from the Citadel into Khan el-Khalili, the bazaar
district, in search of Egyptian treasures. The rest of the day is yours:
find a little local restaurant for lunch, go museum-hopping, take a
nap, or stroll along the Nile, as you like. Dinner at the hotel.
DAY
7 - CAIRO Monday (aBLD)
Today we visit Cairo's most famous monuments: the awesome pyramids of
Giza, the Valley Temple and the timeless Sphinx.
After lunch we drive to Dahshour, the newly opened pyramid field
south of Cairo, where we visit several ancient structures, including
the great pyramid built by Senfru, father of Cheops. In the evening,
we board our first-class sleeper train for the journey to Luxor.
Dinner is served in our private compartments as we speed southward along
the banks of the Nile.
DAY
8 - LUXOR Tuesday (aBLD)
We leave our train for breakfast in a luxury hotel, after which we cross
the Nile to visit the Valley of the Kings and the Colossi
of Memnon. After lunch in Luxor, we tour the stupendous Great
Temple of Amon at Karnak, and visit the Sacred Lake and red
granite quarry with its huge unfinished obelisk. We take a quick look
at the great temple of Amon Ra at Luxor on our way to the airport
for our flight back to Cairo. In the evening, we enjoy dinner and a
folklore or a belly dance show.
DAY
9 - CAIRO -Home Hosted Dinner - Wednesday (BLD)
The world-famous Egyptian Museum, which holds the treasures of
Tutankhamon, is our first stop today, after which we wander the narrow
streets of Old Cairo (once a Roman fort). We go on to the Jewish
Quarter, then the Coptic Christian Quarter, stopping at the
churches of Abu Serghius and Al Molaka, the Coptic Museum, and the Ben
Ezra synagogue. After lunch at a typical local restaurant, the afternoon
is yours to enjoy as you like. You may explore Cairo, guidebook in hand,
or accompany us on one of our optional tours (at additional cost).
In the evening you are invited to dinner with an Egyptian local
home to meet the locals,
you may wish to bring token gifts to exchange with the host family (
T shirt , small souvenirs of your home town). ( if you prefer to have
a quiet dinner at the hotel, please let's know ).
DAY
10 - CAIRO - Thursday (B)
Full day at leisure or ask us for optional tour choices.
Day
11 - Istanbul - Friday (B)
After breakfast, our staff escorts you to the airport for your flight
to Istanbul , air fare is included in economy class with tax, ticket
is issued & delivered in Cairo Egypt
You're
met by our representative, who sees you to your hotel, and answers any
questions you may have about getting to know the city. As you ride into
the great metropolis from the airport, two thousand years of history
are revealed: towering Roman walls, ancient Byzantine churches, slender
minarets framing the bulbous domes of graceful mosques. These ancient
monuments float on the skyline of a bustling modern metropolis of ten
million people. Welcome fruit basket in your room awaits you with our
compliments.
DAY
12 - ISTANBUL- Saturday (BL)
The center of ancient Constantinople and Istanbul was on Seraglio Point,
framed by the Golden Horn, the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara. We
visit the Blue Mosque, built by Sultan Ahmet III to challenge
the architectural primacy of neighboring Sancta Sophia. We then
walk next door to compare achievements in Justinian's great Sancta Sophia.
Right behind Sancta Sophia is our next stop, sumptuous Topkapi Palace,
the sultans seraglio for centuries, filled with breathtaking exhibits
of priceless jewels, golden thrones, delicate colored tiles, and lavish
court costumes. After lunch in a local restaurant ,we finish up in the
bustling Grand Bazaar, where you can find jewelry, carpets, goat-hair
rugs, hand-painted ceramics, copper and brass in labyrinthine streets
holding nearly 4000 shops.
Complimentary
entrance tickets to the Harem's Quarter in Topkape Palace in Istanbul
DAY
13 - BOSPHORUS- Meet the locals - Sunday(BL)
Istanbul's history was formed by the Bosphorus, the winding strait
that separates Europe and Asia, connecting the Black Sea with the Sea
of Marmara. Now, as in ancient times, it is a maritime vital link between
the countries bordering the Black Sea and those in the rest of the world.
Today we take a leisurely cruise northward along this historic waterway.
Along its shores are ranged palaces great and small-Topkapi, Dolmabahçe,
Beylerbeyi, Küçüksu, Hünkar Iskelesi. Four
great fortresses rise on the hills, reminding us that to control the
Bosphorus was to control the destinies of nations. Our afternoon cruise
(morning cruise fro Oct-Apr season) of two continents, crossing from
Europe to Asia and back, includes visits to the Navy's Museum (showing
some magnificent boats used by the Ottoman Sultans), the Bosphorus Bridge,
Çamlica Hill lookout, and stupendous Dolmabahçe Palace.
Lunch
is included at a local home to meet the locals,
you may wish to bring token gifts to exchange with the host family (
T shirt , small souvenirs of your home town).
Meet the locals,
we'll venture where few ordinary visitors ever tread . . . right into
the homes of some of the people of Istanbul l! You'll be invited to
a family lunch , and while you enjoy wholesome home-cooked specialties
. Of course, you may enjoy a quiet lunch with your travel companions
served in a charming local restaurant , by letting us know your preferences.
Hotel
Room amenity : Complimentary
Turkish Lokoom pastries
DAY 14 - ISTANBUL - Monday (B)
Istanbul is all yours, day at leisure, any way you like it.
Grab your Lonely Planet guidebook to Istanbul and stroll along the restored
19th-century thoroughfare of Istiklal Caddesi, once known as
the Grand Rue de Péra. Search for spices and folk remedies in the Egyptian
Bazaar. Admire the medieval mosaics in the city's many Byzantine
churches. Shop in the chic boutiques around Taksim Square. Climb
the Galata Tower, built by the Genoese six centuries ago, for
a panoramic view of Old Istanbul.
Day
15 - "Imperial Constantinople in the Belle Epoque"
(late 19th century), the exotic romance of the "Paris of the East:"
- Tuesday (BL)
Morning walking tour : We start with our guide in Karaköy where
the foreign bankers and shipping companies had their headquarters, then
take the Tünel up to istiklal Caddesi; stop in the whirling dervish
tekke, and walk past the various old embassy buildings (now consulates),
and point out the architecture. Stop for tea (included) at the
famous Pera Palace Hotel.
Walk at least as far as Galatasaray Square, and have lunch in
the Çicek Pasaji (Flower Passage); then walk up to Taksim Square and
be picked up for the afternoon tour. In the afternoon the tour visit
Yildiz Palace Park and the Ihlamur Kasri, a mini-palace south of Yildiz,
and finish up with a visit to the Military History Museum in Harbiye
in time to hear the "Mehter," or Ottoman military band (mid-afternoon).
DAY
16 - ISTANBUL - Wednesday (B)
There are many more things to see and do in this fascinating city, but
they will have to wait for your next visit. After breakfast, our representative
escorts you to the airport for your homeward flight--until next time!
Bon
Voyage
RATES per
person in USD
|
|
Deluxe
Hotels |
First
Class |
In
Triple
occupancy
|
US$
5050.00 |
US$
4690.00 |
Double
|
US$
5178.00 |
US$4730.00
|
Single
|
US$
6560.00 |
US$
6220.00 |
Your
tour includes:
- International
airfare from Casablanca to Cairo and on to Istanbul in economy
class, tax included
-
Domestic airfares Casablanca-Marrakech and Luxor-Cairo, in economy
class , including tax
-
First-class day train Marrakech-Casablanca and sleeper train Cairo-Luxor,
including tax and service
- All
airport and train station transfers in Morocco and Egypt as described
in the tour itinerary
-
Your hotel room at a carefully-selected deluxe,or first class hotel,
whichever you prefer, including tax & service
- B
= Breakfast, (or aB, American Buffet Breakfast),
L = Lunch, D = Dinner
and all Egyptian airport taxes.
- Guided
sightseeing as listed in the itinerary including all entrance fees.
- US,
Australian, NZ, EU and Japanese passport holders need a visa to enter
Egypt. You will obtain a visa at the airport upon arrival in Cairo
With our compliments, as long as your passport valid for at least
6 month . Visas are not required of US and Canadian passport holders
for entry into Morocco.
- VERY
IMPORTANT NOTE ON the visa for Turkey : You WILL require visa, please
contact the Turkish Consulate or secure upon arrival in Istanbul (
Cash only)
Hotels
:
Marrakech
In Morocco
Option A : Deluxe
Deluxe Standard 5 stars hotel :
KENZI FARAH or similar www.kenzi-hotels.com/anglais
Deluxe Standard 5 stars Riad - RIAD
TIWALINE - www.riadtiwaline.com
In
Egypt : Cairo : Sofitel / Hilton / Sheraton / Grand Hyatt / Conrad/
Inter.continental
Nile Cruise : M/S Adonis . M/S Florence . M/S Mojito . M/S Monaco
. M/S Monte Carlo .
Istanbul
: Inter.Continental . Hyatt . Hilton
Option B : Deluxe Superior
Deluxe Superior ( 15 % supplement applies to the deluxe rate
listed above)
Marrakech
in Morocco :
Deluxe Superior 5 stars Riad - RIAD KNIZA www.riadkniza.com
Deluxe five stars Superior
hotel / Riad : JARDINS DE LA KOUTOUBIA www.lesjardinsdelakoutoubia.com
In
Egypt : Cairo : Four Seasons Hotel
In Istanbul : Four Seasons or Ciragan Palace
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Click
for 19
day version with a Nile Cruise
and couple of nights at a deluxe camp in the Moroccan
sahara .
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