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The
Nubian Queen
Our
exclusive 12 day tour shows you:
Cairo , Alexandria, Luxor Aswan, with a five-day luxury cruise on Lake
Nasser to Abu Simbel.
The heartland of Nubia (Land of gold) that gave birth to the brilliant
25th Dynasty of the Nubian Kings known as the "Black Pharaohs"
Who were able to protect Egypt from the Assyrians
( approx. until 600 BC) - Compare
with the Red Sea Edition
Tour starts weekly in Cairo , year round
DAY
1 - CAIRO - Weekly on Saturday . Year Round
Upon your arrival in Cairo, you are met at Cairo International Airport
by a member of our staff, assisted through formalities, and escorted to
your deluxe hotel. Visa fee is included & issued upon arrival for
American , Canadian , EU , Australian, NZ & Japanese citizens, passport
must be valid for at least 6 month beyond date of arrival.
DAY
2 - Sunday- Cairo (BL)
On your first day in Egypt we explore the wonders of Cairo: the Egyptian
Museum which holds the treasures of King Tutankhamon; the pyramids
of Giza and the Great Sphinx; and the Valley Temple
made from huge blocks of red granite.
DAY
3 - Monday-Aswan, Board your Cruise (BLD)
After an early breakfast, we drive to the airport for the flight to Aswan,
where we board our lake cruiser. Morning tour of the newly opened Museum
of Nubia After lunch aboard, we visit the Temple of Kalabsha,
originally constructed in Pharaonic style, but later remodeled in Greco-Roman
style and dedicated to the god Mandulis. Next we visit Beit el Wali,
a work of Pharaoh Ramses the Great, followed by a stop at Kertassi
Kiosk, dedicated to the goddess Isis. We dine aboard our floating
hotel.
DAY
4 - Tuesday - Cruising Lake Nasser (BLD)
We set out on our voyage across vast Lake Nasser, Egypt's great
man-made inland sea formed by the waters held behind the Aswan High
Dam. Our luxury cruise vessel is equipped with a swimming pool, jacuzzi,
Turkish (steam) bath, sauna and staff trained in massage. As we head south
towards Wadi el Seboua, you have time to relax on deck, take a
dip in the pool, read up on Egyptian history, and get to know your fellow
travelers.
DAY
5- Wednesday - On board your Nubian Cruise (BLD)
Our first port of call is at the Temple of Wadi el Seboua, dedicated
by the mighty Ramses the Great to two of ancient Egypt's most powerful
gods. Our next stop is Dakka Temple, followed by a visit to Amada
and the tomb of Penout, the powerful viceroy of Nubia, one of ancient
Egypt's richest regions. Known as the "Land of Gold," Nubia was
famous for the stream of gold, ivory, precious stones and minerals which
made their way from Africa to Egypt via the Nubian Nile. We dock at Kasr
Ibrim.
DAY
6 - Thursday- Abu Simbel- Cruising Lake Nasser (BLD)
As the sun brightens the lakeshore we gaze at the citadel of Kasr Ibrim,
a once-mighty fortress which time and weather have rendered fragile, the
only structure of its kind still extant in Nubia. We learn about the history
of Nubia and this fortress, then, after lunch, set sail for Abu Simbel.
Arriving at the great temple, we have time to explore its colossal facade
and surroundings before enjoying your dinner .
DAY
7- Friday- Abu Simbel / Aswan / Luxor (B)
Get up early today to enjoy (on your own ) the extraordinary vision of
the temple of Abu Simbel at dawn, when the sacred sunlight penetrates
deep into its holy of holies as its architect intended. The morning sun
bathes the ruddy stone in golden light, providing perfect conditions for
photography. We fly to Aswan, connect with our flight to Luxor,
and drive to our hotel, afternoon tour of Karnak and Luxor temples.
DAY
8 - Saturday- Luxor (B)
After breakfast, we cross the Nile to ancient Thebes, capital of
the Egyptian kingdom for almost 20 centuries. We visit the tombs of the
pharaohs in the legendary Valley of the Kings, including the tomb
of King Tutankhamon ( Entrance fee included ) . Then we go on to the Temple
of Queen Hatshepsut in the Valley of the Queens, Deir El-Medinah, Medinet
Habu and the Ramesseum . In the afternoon we enjoy a tour of Luxor Museum
and then off to Karnak Sound and Light show
In the evening , your guide will call on you for a horse
drawn carriage ride through Luxor narrow streets and bazaars
DAY
9 - Cairo / Alexandria - Sunday (B)
We take a short flight to
Cairo and subject to flight scheduel we may connect and fly on to Alexandria,
or continue in your private air-conditioned vehicle from Cairo Airport
with your private chauffeur and private guide on to Alexandria and your
hotel. In the evening your guide will call on you for a walk downtown
Alexandria and El-Raml district.
DAY
10 - Alexandria - Cairo - Monday (BL)
Our full day includes Alexandria highlights: Kaytbey Fortress,
where once the famous Alexandria Light House stood. The Roman Amphitheater,
the Catacombs, The Greco Roman Museum & a brief stop at the site above
the sunken Palace of Cleopatra. Lunch is included at a local restaurant.
We head back to Cairo and your hotel.
DAY
11 - Cairo - Fayoum
Oases - Home
Hosted Dinner - Tuesday (BL)
On Desert Safari for the
Day - Fayoum Oases - And you thought the Pyramids were old
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
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 l! 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
12 - Wednesday - Departure (B)
After breakfast at our hotel, we bid good-bye to magical Egypt as our
staff escorts you to Cairo International Airport for your homeward flight.
RATES per
person in USD
| |
Deluxe |
First
Class |
| Double |
US$
2140.00 |
US$ 1940.00 |
| Single |
US$
3050.00 |
US$ 2810.00 |
Christmas/New
Year's ( Dec 20 - Jan 5 ) & Easter weeks:
15% supplement to be added to any of the listed rates.
Rates
include:
- All
transfers in Egypt
- Visa
fee is included & issued upon arrival for American , Canadian ,
EU , Australian, NZ & Japanese citizens, passport must be valid
for at least 6 month beyond the day of arrival.
- Guided
sightseeing as per itinerary , including all entrance fees and the service
of an English speaking guide
- Hotel
and cruise accommodations as listed including tax, and service charges
- Domestic
airfare within Egypt including tax.
- Sleeper
Train tickets as per itinerary, private compartment always guaranteed.
- Pre-set
menu meals including B = Breakfast, (or cB,
Continental Breakfast), L = Lunch, D
= Dinner.
- Bottled
water delivered to your cabin daily while you are on board the cruise.
- Tea
or Coffee with each / every meal while on board the cruise.
Not
included:
Dining
Room Reservations: Meet other passengers :
Christmas/New
Year's ( Dec 20 - Jan 5 ) & Easter weeks:
15% supplement to be added to any of the listed rates.
Please note that cabins on our Lake Nasser cruise vessels have
two double beds; there are no triple-bedded cabins. A couple traveling
with a child should plan to share the two double beds.
Dining
Room Reservations: Meet other passengers :
YOU will not require any, our dining rooms do accommodate all our guests
in one seating, one less thing to worry about while you are on the Nile.
Enjoy the cosmopolitan atmosphere with several different languages being
heard at dinner.
Do
we get sea sickness while sailing the Nile ?
This is river sailing, so do not expect any waves , no rough seas
! Your Nile cruises is actually a floating hotel that moves from place
to place along the Nile. Actual cruising times are short and pleasant.
For
more Nile Cruises, images, itinerary & rates, please click
here.
For an intimate Nile cruise on board
your own Sailing Boat
The Royal Cleopatra is Available for charter on the Nile
Or an exclusive Air Conditioned
Yacht / Dahibya
Nefertiti
Turns Egypt Upside Down!!
The
first bloodless religious revolution against the established church in
Ancient Egypt
And the seat of power that rested with the priests in Karnak
Nefertiti
Turns Egypt Upside Down!! 1350 BC - Queen Nefertiti is reported to have
led her Egyptian subjects on a wild spree of idol-smashing, temple-destruction,
and forced migration, all part of a campaign of religious reformation.
"From
now on, there will be only one Deity, and that Deity is Aten, the Sun
Disc," she has commanded.
Reliable
sources in the Nile Valley report that all temples to gods other than
Aten have been closed, and that a hefty fine will be imposed on anyone
caught with an outlawed statuette.
Idols
are to be smashed immediately, and the shards turned over to the priests
of Aten.
"The
capital of Egypt will now be at Tel El Amarna," reads a decree widely
circulated in cuneiform on clay tablets.
"All priests are to settle within one hour's journey of the new Temple
to Aten. All bidders on public works contracts will likewise have their
head offices within the same specified distance."
Egyptian
leaders in exile have disputed the motives behind the upheaval. "It's
just a ploy to concentrate power and wealth in her hands and those of
her husband, Ikhnaton," stated one defrocked priest.
"Everybody knows that Nefertiti has risen to her position on qualities
that have nothing to do with religion.
She
isn't called Incarnation of Beauty for nothing," he added, referring to
the literal meaning of her name. The source asked not to be identified,
fearing reprisals. Tel El Amarna, Nile Valley, 2004 - from Paul Glassman,
special correspondent "Wow," commented Joe Shiner, an agro-businesman
from Des Moines, as he toured the main temple at Tel El Amarna. "It's
one thing to hear that Nefertiti was a real beauty. But it's quite another
to visit in person and learn the real story." "Until I came here, I didn't
know that she was behind the idea of having only one god-even before the
Hebrews and Christians and followers of Mohammed.
"And
now that I see her picture, I can understand why people followed her.
This is not what I expected . . . not at all!" Mr. Shiner gestured as
he spoke to a temple painting of a well-endowed Nefertiti in a chariot,
wearing only a see-through cloak and thong-style panties.
"If
she was my queen, I'd follow her to the end of the . . . "
Mr. Shiner's comments were interrupted by the approach of his wife.
Disclaimer:
The facts presented are as accurate as can be ascertained from the archeological
record. Mr. Joe Shiner is a composite of the satisfied clients of Travel
in Style.
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Read
more on
Cleopatra's
First visit to Rome.
She Turned
Heads. The Senate was not amused
Cleopatra
visited Rome in 46 BC, was received in triumph, and moved into Caesar's
villa even though Caesar was already married. Caesar's imperial
ambitions and his indiscreet extramarital affair with Cleopatra
turned powerful senators against him, and he was murdered on the
steps of the Senate in March of 44 BC. |
Daily
Telegraph
Peter Hughes
Saturday 13 May 2006
'Going
with the flow'
...'The
riad I found was not in the city but on the Nile. It's a dahabiya, a
traditional, two-masted Nile sailing cruiser. Anywhere else it would
be called a yacht. King Farouk had several. So if a riad is a small
princely palace on land - now given over to holiday making - a dahabiya
is a riad on the river...'
...'Mahogany
panelled and with two faux-glass oil lamps swinging from the beams -
a perfect touch for a sailing ship - the look was of a colonial club.
Hercule Poirot could have popped up at any moment. There were button-back
leather sofa and chairs, an antique bookcase and Scrabble, and tables
where we ate when the weather was too chilly for the deck. The food
was outstandingly good...'
...'
While the big ships charged by as if permanently late, the El Bey moved
at the same courtly pace as the Nile - slow enough to enable us to smell
woodsmoke from the villages and watch the kingfishers hover. Under our
isosceles sails we were as much a curiosity as the boys laying fishing
nets and the women doing laundry, the donkey carts and buffalo. But
it was the sight of some 40 huge cruise boats, moored in ranks, cheek
by gunwale up to 10 deep, at the pretty little temple of Kom Ombo that
made the greatest sense of dahabiya travel. The dahabiyas don't take
you to sites different from the norm, but they do take you in irresistibly
different style...'
...'The
greatest compliment to the El Bey was that, for all the wonders of ancient
Egypt, shown to us by our own guide, the part of the week my fellow
passengers enjoyed most was the time on the river...'
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