The
Best of Egypt , Israel and Palestine
Here's
the best way to see the best of Egypt and the Holy land in 15 Days
Tour starts weekly in Cairo , year round . Compare
with Egypt only
Tour
Egypt , Jordan,
Israel & Palestine . Give us two weeks , and we'll show
you all the best sights in Cairo , Petra , Israel & palestine
. Weekly departure, year round.
You'll start with the throbbing capital of Egypt, and an exploration
of the key sites both within the city and nearby. Then it's on to the
old-new land of Jordan , before we head for the Israel & Palestine
. Add Greece
DAY
1 - CAIRO- Friday
Our
staff meets you at the airport and escorts you to your hotel. Complimentary
visa issued upon arrival for American, Australian, NZ, EU & Japanese
citizens. Passports must be valid for at least 6 month at time of arrival.
DAY
2 - CAIRO - Saturday (BL)
We plunge into Cairo: the treasure-filled Egyptian Museum,
the Citadel of Saladin perched high above the city, and Mohammed Ali's
Alabaster Mosque. After lunch at a local Restaurant. We drive to the
old section of Cairo where we wander through the alleys of Khan el-Khalili
bazaar in search of magic carpets and other traditional souvenirs.
DAY
3 - Joseph Gift to the Mighty Pharaoh of Egypt : Fayoum Oases - Suday
(B)
Private
Desert Caravan Desert Safari to Fayoum Oases for the Day
The wilds of the desert begin right on the outskirts of Cairo, and continue
for hundreds of miles to the east and west, through sands, rock, mountains,
oases, and a surprising variety of scenery and inhabitants.
Join us for a day ranging across the desert like modern nomads. In place
of camels, we’ll travel in comfortable, reliable four-by-four
Toyota Land Cruisers. Your guide and drivers will meet you at your hotel,
and soon you’ll leave bustling Cairo behind as you undertake the
drive toward the Oasis of El Fayoum, 150 kilometers to the southwest.
Hard as it is to believe, a great inland sea once covered these sands.
It was a holy reserve of sacred crocodiles, symbolized by the god Sobek.
We’ll visit the temple of Kom Oshim, drive over ancient lake beds,
and alongside the waters of today’s Fayoum Lake to reach the fishermen’s
village of Chak Chouk. There we’ll stop for a lunch of fish caught
fresh that morning. There will be time to wander the village lanes and
discreetly watch the everyday activities of baking flatbread, irrigating
crops from the lake’s waters, and bringing in the catch. We’ll
also include the craft and pottery museum where the best works of local
artisans are on display.
Then it’s into our four-by-fours again, for an off-road adventure!
We’ll head alongside and across desert washes, between dunes,
and over ancient lake beds for 35 kilometers to the Valley of the Whales.
Incredibly, these great mammals once thrived in waters surrounded by
sands. We’ll stop and gaze in amazement at their fossilized remains
alongside smaller sea creatures that remain in stone. In the evening,
you’ll return to your hotel in Cairo.
Private Land transportation in air-conditioned four-wheel-drive Toyota
Land Cruiser
Services of a private guide and English-speaking driver . Lunch at a
local restaurant including one large bottle of water and tea or coffle
for each guest
DAY
4 - CAIRO - Monday (BL)
After breakfast , We drive to Giza to see the Pyramids, the
Sphinx, the Solar Boat Cheops Museum and the Valley Temple. If you're
physically fit, you may scramble deep within the Great Pyramid to the
king's chamber. Lunch is included at a local restaurant . Remainder
of the day at leisure.
In the evening, we host you on a Nile dinner cruise complete with exotic
Egyptian entertainment
DAY
5 - Cairo / AMMAN - Tuesday (BLD)
Air fare Cairo Amman is included in our rate in economy class ,
tax included.
Our Jordan-based staff greets you at Amman airport and escorts you to
your hotel. Complimentary visa issued upon arrival for American, Canadian,
EU & Japanese citizens. Passports must be valid and in order .
You'll
have time to get acquainted with this city built on hills, its cafes
and shops, and its surprisingly cosmopolitan population of Bedouins,
Palestinians, and the descendants of migrants from the Caucasus. Dinner
included at the hotel
DAY
6 - PETRA - Wednesday (BLD)
From Amman, we drive south along an ancient caravan route
to Madaba, site of a church containing the oldest known map of the Holy
Land. At Mount Nebo, we behold the panoramic view of the Promised Land
as seen by Moses in his last moments. We press on to the fabled Petra.
We spend the entire day at Petra, the stunning desert city hewn by the
Nabateans from solid cliffs of pink and violet sandstone. Petra was
known in the bible as Sela, and rediscovered only in 1812. You'll feel
like Indiana Jones in "Raiders of the Lost Ark" as you penetrate the
city through a narrow sandstone gorge, the Siq, and wander among the
Temple of the Winged Lion, tombs, Roman theater, and the imposing Treasury.
DAY
7 - Petra / Jerusalem Thursday (B)
After a very breakfast breakfast, our local rep. escorts you to
the border where we change cars and on to Jerusalem and your hotel
DAY
8 - TEL AVIV & JERUSALEM- Friday (cB)
After
breakfast at the hotel , we'll escort you to Cairo Airport for your
flight to Tel Aviv.
Our rate includes the air fare Cairo Tel Aviv in economy class .
Our staff meets you at Ben-Gurion airport, assists with arrival formalities,
and escorts you to your Jerusalem hotel.
DAY
9 - JERUSALEM - Saturday (cB)
We start our explorations of Jerusalem, holy city to Christians, Jews
and Muslims, with a drive to the Mount of Olives, which offers panoramic
views. We visit the Church of Pater Noster and the Chapel of the Ascension
on our way to the Garden of Gethsemane. From the Garden, we enter Jerusalem's
walls to the Old City for a visit to the Western Wall and the Dome of
the Rock. We follow in Jesus' footsteps along the Via Dolorosa to the
Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
DAY
10 - JERUSALEM- Sunday (cB)
Now
that you've had a tour of the city, set out on your own to discover
its charms: the narrow bazaar streets of the Old City, the cheerful
cafés of New Jerusalem, and the broad boulevards surrounding
the modern city.
DAY
11 - JERUSALEM & BETHLEHEM - Monday (cB)
We
start our tour at the scale model of Jerusalem as it appeared in Herod's
time, then go on to the Shrine of the Book to see the sacred Dead Sea
Scrolls. Then it's on to Ein Kerem and Bethlehem for a visit to the
Church of the Nativity, stopping at the Shepherds' Field on the way
back to Jerusalem.
DAY
12 - BETHANY, DEAD SEA & MASADA - Tuesday (cB)
We
drive to Bethany and the site of the Good Samaritan's inn, then continue
through the Judean Hills down to the Dead Sea, below sea level. At Qumran,
we see the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. We go on
to the verdant oasis of Ein Gedi, and to Masada, where we ascend the
natural fortress by cable car. We return to Jerusalem passing by fabled
Jericho, the oldest city in the world.
DAY
13 - GOLAN, NAZARETH & GALILEE- Wednesday (cB)
We
drive north to Nazareth to see the Church of the Annunciation, built
to shelter the grotto where Mary received the message that she would
bear Jesus. Passing by Cana of Galilee, we reach Tiberias, on the Sea
of Galilee. We sail aboard the Lido to Tabgha, on the opposite shore,
returning to Tiberias for the night.
DAY
14 - ACRE, HAIFA, TEL AVIV & JAFFA - Thursday (cB)
Acre, the medieval fortress-city, was visited by Caesar, Richard the
Lion-Hearted, and Napoleon. We follow in their footsteps along its ancient
streets. Continuing our journey, we seethe Baha'i Shrine and its Persian
Gardens in Haifa, and the Roman amphitheater and Crusaders' fortress
in Caesarea. Then traveling along Tel Aviv's bustling streets, we make
our way to Jaffa (Joppa) to see its ancient port and the artists' colony
which has grown up around it. We spend the night in Tel Aviv.
DAY
15 - TEL AVIV -Departure - Friday (cB)
Our local rep. escorts you to Ben Gurion airport
for your flight.
RATES per
person in USD $
|
|
Deluxe
Hotels |
First
Class |
|
Triple |
US$
3410 |
US$
3190 |
|
Double |
US$
3570 |
US$
3220 |
|
Single |
US$
4755 |
US$
4095 |
Rate
includes :
- Visas
for Egypt & Jordan issued upon arrival at Cairo & Amman Airport,
valid for American, Australian, NZ, Canadian , Mexican , EU &
Japanese citizens. Passports must be valid and in order
- All
transfers , meet & greet
- Hotel
accommodation including tax , service charge and Continental breakfast
daily
- Guided
sightseeing as per itinerary including all entrance fees all with
an English speaking guide .
- Airfare
is included between CAIRO / AMMAN. in economy class, tax included
- Preset
menu as listed : B= Continental Breakfast , L/D = Preset menu lunch
/Dinner
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.
Rate
Does Not Includes:
- Tips.
- Travel
Insurance
- International
air fare from/to your home country .
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