Spiritual Journey to the Land of the Pyramids

Join us for a spiritual encounter in Egypt, where tradition, history, powerful sites, and mystic energy unite as nowhere else

On this eleven-day experience, we will follow the Nile, from Cairo to Aswan. We will transcend the ordinary, to become active participants in sacraments at the ancient places. We will draw upon the energy of the pyramids in the balancing ritual at Sakkara; experience the Opening of the Third Eye before the Sphinx itself at Giza; and journey in pilgrimage to Isis at the Temple of the Root Chakra. We will gaze in awe at the site of the celebrated Zodiac, at Denderah, and undergo a healing ritual at the temple of Horus. And we will be among the privileged to enter the village of the ancient workers who built the Pharaohs palaces, temples & tombs.

Throughout, we will rediscover the journeys of the soul and the transcendence of received limits of the ancients, and in so doing, enhance and enrich our personal journeys. Compare with the Nile Cruise edition

Uniquely, we will be guided not by visitors from afar, but by an Egyptian spiritual practitioner. Since his /her childhood in the very shadow of the pyramids at Giza, our pool of guides that specialize in Spiritual Tours , each and every one of them has been fascinated by their mysteries. Their formal training in Egyptology was only the start of their discovery of ancient wisdom and secrets. Add Petra Tour ?

DAY 1 - USA - Friday - Monthly Departure
Tour leaves from the USA on the first Friday of each month

We take off from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, bound for our encounter with ancient Egypt. For West Coast passengers ( San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle , San Diego) please add : $ 300 , British Airways, Lufthansa , Swiss or KLM . Please deduct $500 per person if/when you handle your own air travel arrangements.

DAY 2 - CAIRO- Saturday

Our representative greets you at the airport and whisks you to your hotel. Complimentary visa is issued upon arrival only for American, Australian, NZ, EU , Canadian, Mexican , Japanese citizens, passports must be valid for at least 6 month beyond the date of your arrival

Visa will be issued upon arrival.
As you exit the gate, you will pass through a door or two , down some stairs , then walk for 2-5 minutes , until you pass the duty free shops, at the end of a wide corridor , you will see the security officers. There you will be met by a local representative, who will be holding a sign with the name you prefer to use for the sign .
Our local representative will then take your passport to obtain a stamp from the cashier / bank window and escort you to speak with the passport officer. He will escort you through another last check on your passport as you exit the passport control, into customs area, he will assist you in collecting your luggage and clearing customs . After exiting the terminal, our local representative will escort you (private vehicle) to the hotel

DAY 3 - CAIRO - Sunday (BL) SAKKARA--THE BALANCING RITUAL

We leave Cairo in the morning, and journey into the desert to Sakkara, known for the unique Step Pyramid of Zoser. We will learn how the ancients sited their structures to project power. We will then actually experience for ourselves the rite of the balancing of energy, followed by the Reunion with the Sun. Lunch will be taken at a delightful rest house. Afterwards, a fortune teller will delve into our destinies by reading our palms and our coffee grounds. Later, we'll return to bustling Cairo to view the wonders of the Egyptian Museum, with its mummies of illustrious pharaohs--including Rameses the Great--along with statuary, and a treasury of gems and precious metals.

Later, you'll have the option to accept our invitation to a complimentary oriental dance workshop, where you'll discover that "belly dancing" is not just a spectacle, but an art form with a long tradition. Women will have an opportunity to practice the sinuous and graceful movements, while men will learn, perhaps unexpectedly, that they have a leading role. The evening will be yours to explore Cairo on your own, perhaps to take a light dinner by the Nile, or to delve into the labyrinthine bazaar of Khan el-Kahilili.

DAY 4 - CAIRO, THIRD EYE OF THE SPHINX, FAMILY HOSPITALITY (BLD) Monday

This morning, we'll motor to the edge of the desert, to the Pyramids and the Sphinx at Giza. We will delve into altered perceptions and realities, as we come to understand how the ancients aligned these great structures to maximize not only visual impressions, but projection of energy. While most visitors only imagine the ceremonies of the ancients at Giza, we will become active participants. In Rebirthing, we focus our energies on renewal. In the Opening of the Third Eye--before the Sphinx itself--we will discover the path to purer sight. Our lunch will be taken at a charming local restaurant, after which we'll return to Cairo.

For our evening meal, Nubian Nile Cruises has arranged an extraordinary opportunity to enter where ordinary tourists never tread . . . into the home of Egyptians! You'll be invited to dinner by a Cairo family, 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. The encounter is sure to be among your most treasured memories of Egypt.

DAY 5 - CAIRO, ASWAN, ABU SIMBEL (B) Tuesday

We'll get an early start after breakfast for an ambitious day. We'll fly south to Aswan, in Upper Egypt, to be met by our motor coach. Immediately, we'll proceed to one of the wonders of the Ancient World: Abu Simbel. Our visit is planned to provide maximum enrichment of your experience. We will motor along the shore of Lake Nasser as the sky lightens, and reach the great temples just when the sun casts a golden cast perfect for photographs. The world watched in awe as the temples were saved from the rising waters of the Nile when the High Dam at Aswan was inaugurated; we will gaze in awe as well at their majesty, and experience their lasting power.

A marvel of both civil and sacred engineering, the imposing temple of Rameses the Great marked the south most reaches of the dominion of the Pharaohs. We will learn how in ancient times--and still today--the sun penetrated to the Holy of Holies on precisely two occasions each year, to illuminate the stone figures of Rameses and Queen Nefertari.
We'll explore the temples both within and without, to fully appreciate their aura, artistry, and power. After a break for refreshments, we'll resume our journey, to reach Aswan in the afternoon. There, we'll experience of the Nile and its rocky isles in a timeless manner, aboard a felucca, the graceful sailing craft that appears today much as it does on the walls of ancient tombs.

DAY 6 - ASWAN (B) Wednesday

This morning, we set out upon the waters of Lake Nasser to the Temple of Philae, known to many as the Temple of the Root Chakra, the balance of male and female energy. This island shrine, built in the 30th Dynasty, honors the goddess Isis, the embodiment of fertility and motherhood. Wed to her brother Osiris, she bore the god of daylight, falcon-headed Horus. Here we will celebrate a Pilgrimage to Isis, guided by our Egyptian spiritual leader. Later, we'll continue to the High Dam, a modern wonder in this ancient land, and at an ancient granite quarry, we'll view the Unfinished Obelisk.

DAY 7 - KOM OMBO: ANCIENT PRIESTS AND PHYSICIANS, EDFU, LUXOR (BL) Thursday

We'll depart Aswan after breakfast, heading overland to the north, following the course of the Nile. Our first goal is Kom Ombo, the twin temple famed as the Shrine of Ancient Priests and Physicians. Kom Ombo honors Sobek, the ancient deity with the head of a crocodile, as well as Horus, god of daylight. Here, we will sustain a healing ritual. Later, we'll break for our box lunch, and then continue our route. At Edfu, we'll enter the Temple of Horus, with its massive and finely decorated bastion. Known as the Temple of the Sexual Chakra, it was the site of an annual encounter between Horus and his consort, Hathor, always on the new moon. By evening, we'll be welcomed at our hotel in Luxor.

DAY 8 - LUXOR, TEMPLE OF MAN (B)

We set out early today to the massive Temple of Karnak, arriving in time to see the first rays of sunlight shine on Sekhmet, the lion-headed goddess of war. We then proceed to the Temple of Ptah, known also as the Temple of Dreams. Husband of Sekhmet, Ptah is the ruler of the underworld, often represented as a mummy. We'll follow with a visit to the Temple of Luxor, also denominated the Temple of Man, where we will experience the opening of all seven chakras.

DAY 9 - LUXOR, DENDERAH (BL)

We travel overland this morning to Denderah, to visit the Temple of Hathor, the consort of the god of daylight, ruler of the west, and protector of the underworld. Denderah is one of the best-preserved sites in Egypt, with unusually deep tombs. We will pass under the celebrated Zodiac, in a chapel dedicated to Osiris. Denderah is the traditional site of the rebirth of Osiris, and here, with the Nile valley spread before us, we will experience a ceremony of healing. Afterward, we'll enjoy our box lunch, and return later in the day to Luxor. The rest of the day is yours to explore Luxor on your own, to look in on artisans at work, and to acquire mementos of your journey.

DAY 10 - LUXOR, CEREMONY OF PURIFICATION (B)

Once again, we'll get an early start, as we set out to visit the tomb of Queen Nefertari ( closed for repairs , we'll visit Deir El Medinah instead), who held sway over the heart and soul of Rameses the Great, and through him, over Egypt itself. At her death, the grieving pharaoh erected this grandest of tombs, a rare shrine to a female goddess-ruler.

Now restored with great care to its original appearance, its fragility, delicacy and detail require strict control of visitation. We are the only company that can include this monument in its regular program. We are required to arrive early, strictly in keeping with the very name given by Rameses to his queen: She For Whom the Sun Shines.

Deir El Medinah is on Luxor's west bank you get a totally different perspective on ancient Egyptian life, at the ancient workers' settlement of Deir el-Medinah. While most of the imposing stone monuments and sites of Egypt honor the lives and after-lives of royalty, Deir el-Medinah gives us unique and surprising insights into the ordinary citizens who constructed and decorated the tombs.

Here we'll see the excavated homes shared by laborers with their domestic animals. These quarters were surprisingly large, with three good-sized rooms, courtyard, kitchen, and even storage cellars. While ancient Egypt might not have been a workers' paradise, we'll see that artisans and builders were highly regarded in their community. We are proud to be the only operator to offer regular visits to this singular ancient settlement in its tour and cruise programs.

As soon as Nefertari is opened again, we will reinstate it in our programs.

We'll follow with a visit to the tomb chambers of the Valley of the Kings and the imposing tomb-temple in the Valley of the Queens. Our day culminates at the walled precincts of Habu, with their temple dedicated to Rameses III, last of the great pharaohs. Here, in preparation for our departure, we will take part in the Ceremony of Purification. In the evening, we'll fly back to Cairo, for our final night in Egypt.

DAY 11 - DEPARTURE FOR HOME (B)

Our Cairo staff will call for you after breakfast, and escort you to the airport for your flight home. Add Petra Tour ?

RATES per person in USD

This tour leaves weekly from USA .

For Easter , Christmas/New Year's week, add 15 % to the rates.

The rates include :

• All airfares from JFK , within Egypt in economy class
• All transfers within Egypt.
• Preset menu meals including B = Breakfast, (or cB, Continental Breakfast) L = Lunch, D = Dinner .
• Guided sightseeing as per itinerary including all entrance fees.
• Hotel accommodation as listed, including all tax & service charges.
• Visa fee issued upon arrival for Western European , American, Australian, NZ, Singaporean & Japanese citizens, passport must be valid for at least 6 month beyond the date of arrival.

Air fare notes:

• For departures during : May through end of Sep as well as Dec 20 - Jan 2, , please note that a $ 400 supplement is added to the above rate (not applicable if you make your own air arrangements).
• For departure from Boston, , Chicago or Washington, DC (Dulles), please add $ 300. For departures from the West Coast, Dallas/Fort Worth or Houston, please add $ 400
• Please deduct $500 per person if/when you handle your own air travel arrangements.

Rates do not include:

• Tips.
• Insurance
• Drinks with meals. Meals not specifically mentioned. Tips for guides and hotel personnel.
  Expenses of a personal nature

The view from the Cataract Hotel in Aswan
Compare with the Nile Cruise edition

Jacquie Kennedy & Abu Simbel:

All Americans alive during the 1960s remember President John F Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. Most Americans from that time also remember Abu Simbel, the dramatic, ancient Pharaonic temple
threatened by the rising waters blocked by the new Aswan High Dam.

It’s worth remembering that it was Jacquie Kennedy who provided crucial support for the mammoth rescue project. Without her help, Abu Simbel might have been lost.

No one questioned that the temple must be saved. UNESCO developed a marvelous plan to cut the huge monument into 1,423 stone blocks and move it 200 meters (219 yards) north and 63 meters (207 feet) higher,
just above the estimated level of Lake Nasser, the vast inland sea that would be created by the new dam.

But who would pay? As a developing country, Egypt could not shoulder the burden alone. Other countries could contribute, but only one country--the United States of America--truly had the resources for this
monumental rescue effort.

No matter how much wealth there is, it is never enough. Many legitimate, worthwhile projects compete for funds. What Abu Simbel needed was an advocate, someone who recognized the temple for the irreplaceable world art treasure that it was.

First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, already famous for her grace, refinement, and sensitivity to the arts, saw the need to work for the salvation of Abu Simbel. It was she who urged Congress to allocate $10 million for the rescue effort (a sum roughly equivalent to $100 million today). It was an enormous amount of money, but she saw that America
must step up to the challenge of saving this treasure of worldwide importance for all time.

The rescue funds were approved by Congress and the temple was saved.

In appreciation for her efforts, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser presented the First Lady and the president with a 4000-year-old Egyptian statue (which is now preserved in the John F Kennedy Library &
Museum in Boston). (http://www.jfklibrary.org/visit_museum-14.html)

President Nasser wanted also to give a gift of thanks to the people of the United States for their valuable support. He asked Mrs. Kennedy to choose an appropriate monument. She suggested the small Temple of
Dendur (c. 15 BC), and the gift was readily approved. The temple was brought to the United States in 1965 and installed at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1967.
(http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/ view1.asp?dep=10&full=0&item=68%2E154)

Times change, leaders come and go, but some acts of support and generosity are remembered through the decades.

First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy loved Egypt, and Egypt still loves her.