In Search of Egypt and Jordan
Ancient Lands

A Grand 17- Day tour of Egypt and Jordan : An 8 day Nile Cruise , Abu Simbel Temples
Alexandria and a foray into Petra , we have even included all the tips , no hidden charges , no additional taxes

See the Pyramids,the Sphinx, Alexandria , the timeless temples along the Nile in Luxury fit for a Pharaoh. Tour starts weekly in Cairo year round. How would you like to cruise the Nile the way the Pharaoh & Cleopatra did ? These graceful boats will allow you to cruise the great river in a stately Pharaonic style. Our Egyptian adventure" cruise visits Cairo, all of Upper Egypt's top sights, and gives you the chance to see the Ancient city of Alexander the Great , the timeless Nile as adventurers have seen it throughout the ages. Available also : 10-Day , 12-Day , 13 days , 15-day Edition   & 14 Days with Red Sea Extension, Abu Simbel Edition . Add Petra ? 20-Day including Minya and Tel Al-Amarna

DAY 1 - CAIRO : Start Daily in Cairo year round , subject to availability
Upon arrival, we escort you to your comfortable hotel. Complimentary visa is issued upon arrival for the following nationalities; American, EU , Canadian & Japanese, your passport must be valid and in order . All transfers in Egypt are on a private basis. Private air conditioned vehicle, private chauffeur . Grand Hyatt Hotel, Club Level rooms , or Conrad Hotel , club level rooms . Always Nile view rooms

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 2 - GIZA (BLD) Private air conditioned vehicle, private chauffeur and private Egyptologist
After breakfast, we'll motor to the edge of Cairo, to the mysterious Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza. The museum of the Royal Barge of Cheops The museum is built over the rectangular pit that housed the Royal Barge for thousands of years , the wooden boat was readied for the king's daily journey with the sun god, Ra . Discovered in 1954, in a completely dismantled state, the 43-metre (140-foot) cedar boat is a rare window on the Royal boats used by the kings of Ancient Egypt.

Guests who are fit and adventurous enough may wish to penetrate into the heart of the Great Pyramid, to the King's Chamber your ticket is included with our compliments (or the interior of Kephren Pyramid). Taking a camel ride (Included) is entirely your own choice!

Continue to Dahshour, the newly-opened pyramid field south of Cairo. We visit the great pyramid of Senfru, father of Cheops, and other structure:

The "Discovery" of Dahshour:
For almost half a century, the great field of huge pyramids near the desert village of Dahshour, 25 miles south of Cairo, has been off limits to the public. Confined within the perimeter of a military base were many pyramids, including the great 4500-year-old pyramid built by Senfru, father of Cheops. Senfru's pyramid, the largest in Egypt until his son built Giza's Great Pyramid, is rhomboidal in shape: it tapers more distinctly on its upper half. All the pyramids were coated in thick plaster at one time. Most have lost these protective, decorative sheaths, but Senfru's--miraculously--is still in place.
Lunch is included at the Mena House . . All tours in Cairo are on a private basis. Private air conditioned vehicle, private chauffeur

DAY 3 - CAIRO - Home Hosted Dinner (BLD)
Private air conditioned vehicle, private chauffeur and private Egyptologist

Today we see Cairo's major sights: the Egyptian Museum, including the Mummies Room.
Lunch at a local restaurant at Hadaik Al-Azhar or similar . In the afternoon tour Saladin's Citadel, the Alabaster Mosque, anda leisurly walk through the 12th Century Khan El Khalili Bazaar district.
As you have a very early morning flight tomorrow, we'll have an early dinner this evening :

Complimentary Dinner is included at a local home:
Meet the locals, you may wish to bring token gifts to exchange with the host family ( T shirt , small souvenirs of your home town):
This evening we'll venture where few ordinary visitors ever tread . . . right into the homes of some of the people of Cairo ! 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 a quiet evening with your travel companions, by letting us know your preferences.

DAY 4 - LUXOR - Business Class Flights Within Egypt (BLD)
Morning flight to Luxor , we'll escort you to your Nile cruises . Check- in is at noon, if/when you arrive earlier your cabin may not be ready , yet all the public facilities on board are at your disposal.

Complimentary welcome fruit basket awaits you in your cabin.

Tour 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. Evening Sound & Light show at Karnak Temple. Private air conditioned vehicle, private chauffeur and private Egyptologist

DAY 5 - VALLEY OF THE KINGS - (BLD)
Today we tour the Valley of the Kings, including King Tut's tomb, Valley of the Queens, Queen Hatshepsut's Temple and the Colossi of Memnon. After a shipboard lunch. Sail for Edfu where we dock for the night. Private air conditioned vehicle, private chauffeur and private Egyptologist

DAY 6- EDFU & ASWAN- (BLD)
In Edfu, we board horse-drawn carriages for the ride to the Temple of Horus. The best preserved temple in Egypt. Returning to our ship, we set sail for Aswan .Complimentary Galabya , you may wish to try on for the evening when there's a jolly galabia party aboard. Private air conditioned vehicle, private chauffeur and private Egyptologist

DAY 7 -ASWAN & CAMEL CARAVAN - (BLD)
Get ready for the tour of Aswan Dam, the Unfinished Obelisk, The Nubian Museum, and Philae Temple ,before we head back for our lunch aboard. In the afternoon we board a graceful felucca and cruise among the islands of the Nile, be our guest if you wish on a complimentary short camel caravan to a near by Nubian Village for tea with the locals. Return to the ship in time for your " afternoon Tea". Private air conditioned vehicle, private chauffeur and private Egyptologist

DAY 8- Abu Simbel - Aswan - KOM OMBO - (BLD)
Breakfast on board , then we head for the airport , to fly to Abu Simbel:
Depending on flight confirmation your Abu Simbel flights may be morning or an afternoon ones: Abu Simbel may be considered the highlight of your Egyptian adventure. Fly south over Lake Nasser.
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.Read More.

In Abu Simbel, your private guide, private chauffeur and private air-conditioned vehicle await you , tour the larger temple dedicated to Ramses the Great , 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 , admiring their ancient aura and artistry, after which we fly back to Aswan Airport and your Nile Cruise , off we sail for Kom Ombo. Where we dock for the night.

DAY 9 - KOM OMBO - (BLD)
We explore the twin Temples of Haroeris , the Sun God, and Sobek , the Crocodile God, at Kom Ombo, . Returning to our ship in time for tea. We set sail for Luxor. Private air conditioned vehicle, private chauffeur and private Egyptologist

DAY 10 - LUXOR - (BLD)
After breakfast, on to the Gigantic Temple of Karnak & the great temple of Luxor are our goal this morning , after lunch we see the most recent discoveries housed in the relatively new & charming Luxor Museum. Return to our Nile cruiser in time for afternoon tea Private air conditioned vehicle, private chauffeur and private Egyptologist

DAY 11- LUXOR/ CAIRO - (Breakfast)
After breakfast, we check out, and our flight back to Cairo and your hotel .

DAY 12 - Cairo - (BD)
Full day at leisure , explore Cairo as you wish, or just relax and enjoy your hotel . Dinner is included at La Bodega restaurant in Zamalek .

DAY 13 - Cairo - On Desert Safari for the Day - Fayoum Oases - And you thought the Pyramids were old (BL)
We leave Cairo by sunrise ( private air conditioned car/driver/guide): Full day Fayoum Oases including:
Hawara Pyramid, El Lahoun Pyramid, Ruins of Karanis, drive by Lake Qarun, lunch is included at a local restaurant.

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 ( In Arabic : Wadi-El-Hitan) . Incredibly, these great mammals once thrived - almost forty million years ago- in waters surrounded by sands. We’ll stop and gaze in amazement at their fossilized remains alongside smaller sea creatures that remain in stone.
This valley was discovered in 1936 , by the German geologist George Schweinfurth in the northwestern corner of Wadi El-Rayan.

The valley provides evidence of one of the major changes in this mammal evolution has been declared by the UNESCO to be a World Heritage Site. It is believed that these land based whales once had feet that may have helped them somewhat while ashore . A team from the University of Michigan discovered in the late 80's that these Zeuglodon whales did have rudimentary feet , this was a startling discovery , suggesting that whales of Wadi -El-Hitan had recently started living in water as well , these whales were not related to any of the whales we have today , rather a more slender body and may grow up to 75 feet long. Several skeletons of whales are exposed in the sand. George Schweinfurth named this extinct specie the Zeuglodon Isis Whales .

In the evening, you’ll return to your hotel in Cairo. Land transportation in air-conditioned four-wheel-drive Toyota Land Cruiser with the services of driver and English-speaking driver. Lunch is included

DAY 14 - Departure Cairo Amman by air - (B)
After breakfast , our local rep. escorts you to the airport for your flight to Amman , in business class , tax included . Complimentary Jordanian visa fee (valid only for American , Australian, NZ , Canadian, EU , Singaporean & Japanese citizens. Passports must be valid for at least 6 month upon arrival).
From the airport proceed to the Dead Sea and Movenpick Dead Sea or Kempinski Hotel Ishtar Dead Sea

DAY 15 - PETRA - (B. Lunch )
Private guide will escort you from Amman to Petra and back to the Airport .
After breakfast we'll drive to the port of Nuweiba, where we'll board the Red Sea ferry. Across the water in Aqaba, with Israel and Saudi Arabia in sight, our Jordan-based representative waits to greet you. You'll drive north under a towering ridge of mountains, and arrive at your hotel in Petra for the night. Petra . Movenpick Petra ( suite) or similar . Lunch is included enroute at a local restaurant .

DAY 16 - PETRA - (BD)
We'll 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 into 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.

In the evening we will call on you for a unique experience :
Dine as a local : The Petra Kitchen is a delightful way to round out your Jordan travel experiences. Like any home kitchen, The Petra Kitchen is a relaxed, informal atmosphere where you’ll gather to prepare an evening meal, working alongside local women under the supervision of our chef.

Each evening meal includes soup, cold and hot mezza ( appetizers ) and salads, and a main course—all typical Jordanian dishes. You will have get an inside glimpse of the secrets behind the famous regional cuisine of the Levant.

The Petra Kitchen offers an evening of learning, fun and a very special dining experience, with each dish gaining the special flavor of a reward well-earned. Great care has been taken to make The Petra Kitchen a truly Jordanian experience—right down to the furnishings, all crafted in Jordan, the tableware, all produced by the Iraq al Amir Women’s Co-operative, and the aprons and table linens, all hand-embroidered by the Jordan River Foundation.

Tour experience tonight includes the cuisine course, meal and all non-alcoholic beverages as well as take-home recipes for all dishes prepared that evening.

DAY 17 - DEPARTURE (B)
Our local rep. escorts you to the airport for your flight home. Salam and Bon Voyage

Deluxe Hotels : Cairo Marriott , Cairo Conrad , Grand Hyatt , or similar .
Sample of the Deluxe Nile Cruise .

• The M/S Mojito
• The M/S Monaco
• The M/S Tuya , or M/S TiYi
  
• The Movenpick M/S Royal Lotus, or Movenpick M/S Royal Lily s or the Movenpick MS Radamis II
  
  

RATES per person in USD $

Dec 20 - Jan 5 & Easter Week : Please add 20 % holiday supplement.

For private air-conditioned vehicle, private Egyptologist and private chauffeur for all cruise shore excursions : please add $ 250 per person .

Ultra Deluxe :

• Special Nile Cruise Category :
  Sonesta M/S Star Goddess . Ultra Deluxe Cruise
  Sonesta M/S Moon Goddess . Ultra Deluxe Cruise
  
• Hotels : Four Seasons Nile Plaza , Mena House Oberoi ( Palace Wing),
  or Four Seasons First Residence Hotel in Cairo ( OK to mix and match these hotels during your stay in Cairo )

RATES per person in USD $

Dec 20 - Jan 5 & Easter Week : Please add 20 % holiday supplement.

For private air-conditioned vehicle, private Egyptologist and private chauffeur for all cruise shore excursions : please add $ 250 per person .

YOUR TOUR INCLUDES :

• Egyptian domestic airfares as described in the itinerary in " c" business class . Tax included .
  
• One way air fare Cairo Amman in business class, tax included .
  
• All airport transfers are on a private basis in Egypt.
  
• Hotel accommodations as listed , including taxes.
  
• Pre set-menu (table d'hôte) meals as indicated in the itinerary above.
  
• Nile cruise based on the ultra deluxe ones listed above or similar , with all shore excursions on private basis , private car & Egyptologist.
  
• All meals on board the Nile Cruise
  
• Complimentary welcome drink upon arrival on board the Nile Cruise.
  
• Complimentary welcome fruit basket on board the Nile Cruise.
  
• Large bottle of water ( per person ) delivered to you cabin daily while you are on board the Nile Cruise.
  
• Tea or coffee and bottled water with each / every meal while you are on board the Nile Cruise.
  
• Guided sightseeing by private air-conditioned sedan / coach, mini coach , including all admissions fees. All tours are on a private basis. Private air conditioned vehicle, private chauffeur.
  
• Visa fee issued upon arrival for EU , American, Australian, NZ, Singaporean & Japanese citizens, passport must be valid for at least 6 month beyond the date of arrival.
  
• Tips to all your dreivers, guides and crew on board your Nile cruise .
  

Not included :

• Any items/ charge of personal nature such as : Phone calls, faxes, dry clean , beverage , room service etc.
• Insurance and trip cancellation insurance
• International air fare from/to your country

Kempinski Hotel Ishtar Dead Sea

Amid scenes of exquisiteness and peace, the Kempinski Hotel Ishtar will give you the opportunity to enjoy its riches where Marc Anthony, Queen of Sheba, Aristotle and even Cleopatra once strived to unravel mystery.

Millennia Of History, Welcome to Ishtar

Surely there is no region on earth where nature and history have more wonderfully conspired, where so exciting a drama has obtained so beautiful a theatre.

Amid scenes of exquisiteness and peace, the Kempinski Hotel Ishtar Dead Sea gives you the opportunity to enjoy its riches - where Marc Anthony, Queen of Sheba, Aristotle and even Cleopatra once strived to unravel mystery.

Indulge in the ultimate family escape to the Ishtar Royal Villa. Additional $$$ apply
The Ishtar Royal Villa is a three bedroom masterpiece that allows the comfort of joining two
Ishtar Beach Chalets located directly on the beach to it, making it an ideal secluded retreat for families seeking unmatched personalised luxury and intimacy.