Best of the Nile

A Fantasy 7-Day Tour of Egypt with a 4- days Nile Cruise
Cairo , Luxor and Abu Simbel

Includes One Night in each of Cairo and Luxor , all transfers
One way Flying Cairo to Aswan & One way sleeper train Luxor to Cairo

Cruise embarkation from Aswan or Luxor on
Map -Nile Cruise Route . Presidential Suite Version
Compare with the Round-trip fights between Cairo & the Cruise . Add an extra night in Aswan or Luxor
Add 2 nights in Cairo , Private Nile Cruising M/S Royal Cleopatra . Overnight in Abu Simbel

DAY 1 - CAIRO ABU SIMBEL / ASWAN & KOM OMBO Wednesday & Fridays (LD)
Please advise the name of your hotel in Cairo. Transfer is included ( private car/driver) from your hotel to Cairo Airport. Air fare is included, ticket issued in Cairo . Fly to Abu Simbel :

In Abu Simbel : Your private air-conditioned vehicle , private chauffeur and private guide awit you :
Tour the mighty Temples of Ramses the Great & his Queen:
In the larger temple, colossal figures of Ramses are seated with the gods and attended by his queen and daughters. The smaller temple is dedicated to Queen Nefertari, who appears as Hathor, the goddess of love, joy and fertility, symbolized by the benevolent cow. We explore these fine temples, then fly back to Aswan and your Nile cruise .

We have several vessels available , embarkation on Wednesdays & Fridays Transfer is included , complimentary fruit basket awaits you on board.

Visit the Aswan High Dam, the red granite quarries of the ancient pharaohs, and the Island temple of Philae , dedicated to the Ancient Goddess ISIS :

The Mystery of Isis : Two millennia ago the Mediterranean world was enthralled by the mystery of Isis:

"I, Isis, am all that has been, that is or shall be; no mortal man hath ever seen me unveiled."

Called Aset by the ancient Egyptians, the goddess was a Madonna in the Mediterranean tradition that stretches far, far back to the primitive Mother Goddess from Anatolia, home to some of the oldest human communities on earth.

Isis was the powerful and quick-witted protector of her son Horus, the Sun God. Ancient peoples throughout the Mediterranean regarded Isis and Horus as the perfect Madonna and Child. Another legend says she was
also the mother of the fertility god Min who, judging from the depiction of him on temple walls, needed no help from Viagra! Because of her wisdom and skill at protection, she was admired as a good magician capable of healing the sick and protecting the dead in their journey to the Underworld.

Isis is portrayed regally, as a queen seated on a throne (which may be the meaning of her name), often holding her son Horus as a baby. Other images show her with broad, magnificent gilded wings able to protect the world.

Isis, the great Mother Goddess. Come explore her mystery in timeless Egypt when you Travel in Style!

After a shipboard lunch, we set sail for Kom Ombo, where we explore the twin Temples of Haroeris and Sobek. We continue our cruise to Edfu, where we dock for the night.

Luxury on the Nile - The All Suites : M/S Amarco
Supplement applies

DAY 2 - EDFU & LUXOR Thursday (BLD)
We board horse-drawn carriages (or motor vans) for the ride to Edfu's Temple of Horus, one of the best-preserved Ancient Egyptian temples on the Nile. After lunch , we continue our cruise down the Nile to Luxor. Afternoon tea is served on the sun -deck. Dinner & entertainment on board.

DAY 3 - LUXOR & THEBES Friday (BLD)
Today we tour the Valley of the Kings, Queen Hatshepsut's Temple of El Deir El Bahari in the Valley of the Queens , and the Colossi of Memnon. After lunch we tour the Luxor Museuym . Afternoon tea is served back on deck. Dinner & folk dance show on board.

DAY 4 - LUXOR & KARNAK / Saturday (cB)
We tour the Great Temple of Amon at Karnak , the "mother" of all temples, and the smaller yet charming Temple of Luxor, checking out of our cruise vessel before lunch, and on to your hotel in Luxor : The Steinberger Nile Palace Luxor Nile View Room. For Old Winter Palace please add $ $95 per person in double

Afternoon tour of the Ancient Workers Village at Deir El Medineh, the first known "Workers Village" these were the true creative heroes who built the temples & tombs for the mighty Pharaohs of the Nile Kingdom.

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.

DAY 5 - LUXOR - Sunday (B)
The morning is devoted to visit the new & old "Qurna" or Gurnah" : In Ancient times as well as in a more recent history, the locals populated the West Bank and lived in series of villages near the tombs they built for their kings & queens. The largest of these villages is Gurnah or Qurna , these villages continue to grow in population in spite of the damage caused to the nearby tombs, the house are an example of the traditional Egyptian rural homes, the houses are usually built of mud break mixed with straw, the New Gurnah was designed by the famous Hassan Fathy , author of " Architecture for the Poor", we conclude the afternoon by a visit to the nearby Nobles Tombs , can not guarantee which ones will be open as they are rotated , but you may visit : tomb of Rekhmire , Senoufer , or Ramose ..
In the evening your guide will call on you for a horse drawn carriage ride touring Luxor souks and bazzars.
If you prefer to add an extra night in Luxor , please click here.

DAY 6 -Cairo- Monday (cB)
Fly back to Cairo . Air fare is included in economy class, with tax included. In Cairo our local rep will meet you & assist with your transfer back to your hotel, remainder of the day at leisure.
Hotels : Deluxe : Grand Hyatt , Sofitel, Sheraton, Sonesta or similar, First Class : Shepheard's. Oases or similar

DAY 7 - Cairo -Departure - Tuesday
Transfer to Cairo Airport . Bon Voyage . ( More cruise images)

Rate for Four Stars First Class
Rates per person in USD

Christmas, New Year's & Easter Weeks : Please add %15 to the above listed rates

Sample 4 stars cruises : Presidential Nile Cruise , MS Ruby , MS Nile Dream

Rates for the Five Star Deluxe - Rates per person in USD

Sample deluxe cruises

M/S Monaco , M/S Monte Carlo , M/S Mojito
Queen of Hansa ,MS Solitaire. MS Renaissance . MS Beau Soleil

MS Adonis , M/S Florence. MS Renaissance. MS Solitaire

Rate Includes :

• Bottled water (large bottle per person daily while on board the cruise)
• Welcome fruit basket
• All meals & afternoon tea (daily)
• All shore excursions. Including all entrance fees.
• All entrance fees and the service of an English speaking guide .
• Meals B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner. As well as afternoon tea daily.
• Air fare within Egypt flying in economy " Y" class, tax included
• Abu Simbel group tour by air, unless you choose a private guide ( supplement applies).
• Hotel accommodation in Luxor and Cairo as listed , including continental breakfast tax and service charges
• Complimentary Galabya delivered to you on board the Nile cruise

Rates are per person in US Itinerary is subject to change without notice.

Not Included :

• Tips.
• International air fare .
• Trip cancellation & travel insurance
  

• One way sleeper & one way air fare , between Cairo & the Cruise Private Nile Cruising : Royal Cleopatra
  

• Add Petra Jordan A La Indiana Jones
  

• Overnight in Abu Simbel & Watch the Sound & Light Show
  

• Please click here for the Four Seasons Ultra Deluxe Edition
  

• Add Cairo stay and Abu Simbel Temples .
  

• Add one way sleeper & one way air fare , between Cairo & the Cruise.
  

• Add an extra night in Aswan or Luxor
  

• Map -Nile Cruise Route .
  

• For Private Nile Cruising , consider the sailing boat the : Royal Cleopatra

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.