Petra Entrance : a true " Indiana Jones Territory", come and live the dream

Compare with the Sonesta Cruise Version , or the one week cruise version.
Add a foray into the Western Sahara and camping in the White Desert
Add Abu Simbel Temple Tours , compare with the 22-day version

DAY 1 - USA/ JFK - Amman - The First Sunday of each and every Month - Year Round
Your wide-body jet departs JFK - USA bound for Amman . Overnight across the Atlantic.
Air fare add on is available from most major cities in the USA. For West Coast Passengers : You need not to connect via JFK, you will fly LH, BA or AF etc. non-stop to Europe , then connect to another non-stop to Amman .Air fare is always subject to change, even on a last minute basis. Feel free to handle your own air fare if you prefer to do so : Credit $ 600 to be deducted from any of the listed rates.

For business class upgrades from JFK ( roundtrip tax included ) :
Air France , Lufthansa or British Airways : Please add : $ 3050 tax included .


For business class upgrades from LAX, SFO, SEA or SAN (roundtrip) :
Lufthansa , Air FRance or British Airways : Please add : $ 4300 tax included .

DAY 2 - Amman / PETRA – Monday (L)
Upon arrival , your private air-conditioned vehicle , private chauffeur and private guide will be waiting for you , we 'll drive from Amman airport south under a towering ridge of mountains, we will be driving along the King's Highway, an ancient caravan route, to Madaba to visit the church containing the oldest known map of Palestine and the Holy Land. Continuing to Mount Nebo, we enjoy the panoramic view of the Promised Land the way Moses saw it for the first time. Further on, at Kerak, we tour the ruins of its romantic Crusaders' castle of Renaud de Chatillon, one of a line which stretched from Aqaba to Turkey. Finally, we arrive to PETRA for the night. Movenpick or Marriott Petra hotel or similar . Lunch is included enroute
Complimentary Jordanian visa fee (valid only for American , Australian, NZ, Canadian , EU , Mexican , & Japanese citizens. Passports must be valid for at least 6 month upon arrival).

DAY 3 - AMMAN- Tuesday - (BD)
Enjoy a morning tour of Amman. Visit the Roman Theater, the Citadel, the Archaeology and Folklore Museums, old and modern Amman and one of the many art galleries in this enchanting capital city. Afternoon is free for your leisure. In the evening visit Kan Zaman Village for dinner, a Folklore show and a preview of the many handicraft ateliers.

DAY 4 - DEAD SEA / GALILEE - Wednesday (B)
After breakfast, drive down to the lowest spot on Earth and experience floating in the waters of the Dead Sea. Continue northwards to Pella in the Jordan Valley. Visit Um Qais, Gedara of the Bible (Matthew 8:28-34) for a spectacular view of the Sea of Galilee, the Yarmouk River and the Golan Heights. Return in the late afternoon to Amman

DAY 5 - JERASH / AJLOUN -Thursday (B)
A later morning tour of Jerash (Gerasa of antiquity), the best preserved city of Roman times. Visit its theaters, temples, churches and colonnaded streets. Then continue to Ajloun to tour the 12th century Saracen Castle built by one of Saladin’s lieutenants in the campaign against the Crusaders. Overnight in Amman.

DAY 6 - KERAK / PETRA - Friday (B)
We will drive southwards along the Kings’ Way to Petra, visiting Madaba, the oldest map of the Holy Land, and its Mosaic School, Mt. Nebo and the alleged burial site of Moses overlooking the Dead Sea and the Jordan Valley. Then drive through the magnificent scenery of Wadi Mujib to visit the Crusader Castle of Kerak. Stop for optional lunch. Overnight in Petra.

DAY 7 - PETRA - Saturday (B)
A full day to visit the many sites of Petra, the city that was caved into the rose-red Sharah Mountains by the Nabateans and lost to civilization until it was rediscovered by the Swiss Burkhardt. Walk through the Siq, a narrow and winding fissure between the cliffs, to reach the treasury, the Roman Theater, the Courts, Qasr Bint Pharaoun, Temple of the Winged Lion and other monuments. A break for optional lunch, or you may wish to climb up to the Monastery. Overnight in Petra.

DAY 8 - WADI RUM DESERT / AMMAN - Sunday (B)
Visit the Wadi Rum Desert (with a short ride in a 4 Wheel Drive vehicle) and its awesome moonlike landscape, where the film “Lawrence of Arabia” was shot. Return to Amman on the Desert Highway. Overnight in Amman.

DAY 9 - Amman / Cairo - Monday (BD)
Our local rep. in Amman will have the air ticket for you Amman Cairo in economy class ( tax included). Private transfers at all times. After breakfast in Amman we head for the airport and off to Cairo , where our Egypt-based local rep. greets you in bustling Cairo airport and escorts you to your hotel .
Transfers in Egypt are always provided to our guests on a private basis , private air-conditioned vehicle, private chauffeur . On arrival, our local rep. will escort you to your comfortable hotel. Our local representative greets you at the airport and whisks you to your hotel. Visa may be issued upon arrival at Cairo Airport for a limited number of citizens such as : American, EU , Canadian , EU Singaporean and Japanese citizens. For Americans , please pay the $ 15 USD fee in cash upon arrival . You are responsible for having your passport in order valid at least for 6 month beyond the date of your arrival in Cairo. Our local rep. meets with a sign that carries your name you after you clear the passport and customs formalities . After exiting the terminal, our local representative will escort you (private vehicle) to the hotel . Dinner is included upon arrival at the hotel.

DAY 11 - GIZA and OLD CAIRO - Wednesday (BLD)
In the morning, we visit the majestic pyramids of Giza, Cheops Royal Barge Museum and the timeless Sphinx, including that famous shot on the camel with the Pyramids in the background, this is a PHOTO OP. Not a camel ride, as time is very limited. ( entrance ticket is included for the Great Pyramid , yet please read the note below , as guests must be in good health and physical cndition to climb ) in the afternoon we tour Old Cairo: the Coptic museum, Church of Abu Sarga, and Ben Ezra Synagogue, where we will visit the spot at which, tradition says, Moses was found by the banks of the Nile. Lunch at a local restaurant. Evening Whirling Dervishes performance at Wekalet El Ghouri.

The King's Chamber in the Great Pyramid was not meant to be visited:
Getting to it is challenging, and once you enter, it is very difficult to turn back. The stone passage is only wide enough for one person. You must be in good physical condition, able to climb several flights of stairs, bend double, crouch and duck-walk for short distances. The King's Chamber itself is the world's most claustrophobic place, with dim light and heavy, hot, oxygen-poor air. There is no ventilation. If you are at all sensitive to claustrophobia or confinement, or if you have any sort of respiratory condition, for your own safety and the safety of others, you must not enter the pyramid because it is impossible to remove a person or to bring aid to them quickly . Dinner is included at Zeitouni at the Four Seasons.

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.

Today's tour include as well a visit to the Valley of the Kings including Tut-Ank-Amon's tomb , temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Deir el Bahari, and Colossi of Memnon, returning to our Nile cruiser for lunch. Following lunch aboard, we visit the great Temple of Luxor, and the gigantic Great Temple of Amon at Karnak, returning to our vessel in time for tea.

DAY 16 - ESNA & EDFU - Monday- Nile Cruise (cBLD)
We cruise to Esna during the night and pass through the locks. After breakfast we cruise to Edfu and board horse-drawn carriages to get to the fine Temple of Horus. In the evening, we have a jolly galabia party.

DAY 17 - KOM OMBO & ASWAN - Tuesday- Nile Cruise (cBLD)
We explore Kom Ombo's twin Temples of Haroeris, the sun god, and Sobek, the crocodile god, before cruising south to Aswan. After lunch aboard, we board a graceful felucca for a cruise among the Nile islands .

DAY 18 - Disembarkation from your Nile Cruise - ASWAN - CAIRO - Wednesday (cB)
The mighty Aswan dams and the Nubian Museum are our first goal this morning, followed by a trip by motor launch to : 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. 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.

Back on land, we tour of Kalabsha Temple dedicated to the ancient god Mandulis, and the goddess Isis . Built during the reign of the Roman Emperor Augustus , the small rock-cut temple of Beit El Wali, built by Ramses the Great , and the small yet charming Kiosk of Qertassi, before returning to Cairo by plane

DAY 19 - Giza , Memphis , Sakkara - Thursday (BL)
In the morning, we visit the majestic pyramids of Giza and the timeless Sphinx. Lunch is included at the Mena House .
The afternoon is for Memphis and Sakkara, including the Step Pyramid of Zoser & Nobles tombs/Mastabas. In the evening, we return to the Pyramids for an awe-inspiring sound-and-light show. For your tours : Private air-conditioned vehicle, private chauffeur, and private guide .

DAY 20 - CAIRO - Friday (BL) The Culture of Cairo

Today we’ll explore deep into the heart of Cairo, and get to know its daily rhythms, its spirituality, its history, and its modern diversions. We’ll start early, with a visit to a local market, with an immense variety of seasonal fruits and vegetables on offer, both familiar and exotic.

You’ll see that shopping in Cairo goes far beyond a supermarket experience. Be prepared for whispers, gestures, shouting, and controlled chaos. It’s all part of the bargaining process, engaged in by women in traditional modest garb as well as others in Western dress.

Then it’s on to the Museum of Islamic Art, with its tapestries, textiles, swords and other objects exemplifying one of the world’s great decorative traditions. We’ll continue to the Gayer-Anderson House, a serene and classic domestic oasis, right down to its central fountain and exquisite furnishings. Our visit is also a journey into a vanished way of life—the residence is actually two traditional medieval Cairo houses restored by an English physician to a former king. We’ll stop for lunch at a restaurant where Cairenes go, then visit the Bab an-Nasr, the Gate of Victory in Cairo’s old walls. You’ll even see graffiti that survives from soldiers of Napoleon and of the British Empire, among the many who passed this way.

DAY 21 - Cairo - On Desert Safari for the Day - Fayoum Oases - And you thought the Pyramids were old , Saturday (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 22 - Cairo / Tel Aviv - Sunday- (B)
Air fare ( economy class ) is included , ticket is issued & delivered in Cairo .
Breakfast is included at the hotel. Our local rep will escort you to Cairo Airport for your flight to Tel Aviv ,where you'll be met and escorted to your hotel in Tel Aviv l and overnight. Please make sure that you have your passport in order and with visa ( if needed for Israel)

Day 23 - MONDAY - Tel Aviv - Beersheva - Arad - Massada - Jerusalem (B)
Leave Tel Aviv - via Ashdod - Ashkelon - Beersheba. A short visit to the Negev capital. Continue via Arad to Massada. Ascend by cable car to the fortress, which was the last stronghold of the Jewish Zealots in their war against the Romans. Visit the excavations, Herod’s palaces, the synagogue, bathhouse, etc. Enjoy the breathtaking view of the Roman camps and the Dead Sea. Descend for a possible “float” in the in the salty water of the world’s lowest place. Via Ein Gedi & Kalya, proceed to Jerusalem for overnight.

Day 24 - TUESDAY - Jerusalem - sightseeing of the new city (B)
Drive to Mt’ Scopus for a panoramic view of Jerusalem. On to the Garden of Gethsemane and Church of the Agony. Drive to Mt’ Zion for a visit to the tomb of King David, the Room of the Last Supper and Dormition Abbey. Sightseeing in the new city including the Israel Museum’s Shrine of the Book with the famous Dead Sea scrolls, new Supreme Court bldg. Mt’ Herzl and Yad Vashem (the memorial to the six million Jews who were killed in the Holocaust). Then visit the model of the Herodian city of Jerusalem dating back to the time of the Second Temple. Afternoon visit of the Hadassah medical center in the synagogue with Marc Chagall stained glass windows, then via Ein Karem (the birth place of John the Baptist). Return to Hotel.

Day 25 - WEDNESDAY - Jerusalem - (Old City) – Bethlehem (B)
Walk through one of the Gates to the walled Old City: the renewed Jewish Quarter; the Western Wall, the Temple area; the colorful bazaars; Via Dolorosa, and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Continue to Bethlehem* to visit Rachel’s Tomb and the Church of the Nativity and return to your hotel in Jerusalem for the night.

Day 26 - THURSDAY - Jericho* - Tiberias - Galilee (B)
Leave Jerusalem, driving via Bethany to Jericho*, the oldest city in the world. Visit the excavations and then continue northward via Jordan Valley and the new settlements to Beit Shean. After a short visit proceed to Tiberias . Drive along the shores of the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum to visit the ruins of the ancient synagogue. Drive back to Jerusalem and overnight. For your tours : Private air-conditioned vehicle, private chauffeur, and private guide .

Day 27 - FRIDAY - MEGIDDO, NAZARETH, TIBERIAS (B)
We drive north from Jerusalem to Nazareth to see the Church of the Annunciation, then continue to cross the Sea of Galilee by boat to Tabgha. Traveling overland again, we'll stop at Cana, and stroll through lively waterside Tiberias. At Capernaum, we'll see the ruins of the synagogue and Church of St. Peter. We'll return to Jerusalem via the baptismal site on the Jordan River.

DAY 28 - DEPARTURE- Sunday (B)
Transfer to the International Airport and assistance with departure formalities.

Ultra Deluxe - Private Guide and Private air-conditioned vehicle for your
Flying Business class within Egypt
Nile Cruise portion- RATES per person in US$ From JFK

• Cairo : Club Level Room - Nile View at the Grand Hyatt
  
  
• Amman : Deluxe room Hyatt Amman or Sheraton Al-Nabil
  
  
• Petra : JR. Suite at Movenpick Petra
  
  
• Nile Cruise : Mozart Suite on Sonesta Star Goddess Nile Cruise , With private balcony, or similar

RATES per person in US$ From JFK in economy class

• Air Fare Supplement Notes :
  
  Our airline partners for departures from New York are : Lufthansa , British Airways, Air France, or similar
  
  From San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Seattle-Tacoma, Phoenix, Denver and Dallas-Fort Worth please add an additional $350
  
  From Chicago or Washington, DC's Dulles International Airport, please ad an additional $300.

• Air Fare High Season: ( doesn't apply to Business class passengers)
  In addition, for any departures from May 1 through Sep 30 , Dec 20 - Jan 2 , please add $450 high-season airfare surcharge to the rates shown above. This doesn't apply when you handle your own air fare.
  
  If you choose to make your own arrangements for international airfare, please deduct $500 per person from the rates.

Land Arrangements High Season and Departure Notes:

For departures during Easter ( 2 weeks season ) , or : Dec 20 - Jan 2: Christmas, New Year's , please add 10 % to the listed rates .

YOUR TOUR INCLUDES :

• International airfare from New York, US departure tax.
  
• Tips to drivers, porters, guides and crew on board your cruise.
  
• Egyptian domestic airfares as well as between Cairo Tel aviv and Amman air fare as described in the itinerary, in economy class .
  
• All airport transfers and taxes in Egypt and Jordan .
  
• Hotel accommodations (including taxes).
  
• Set-menu (table d'hote) meals as indicated in the itinerary above.
  
• A Nile cruise with all shore excursions and meals.
  
• Guided sightseeing by air-conditioned motor coach, including all admissions fees.
  
• Visa fee is included & will be issued upon arrival for : American, Canadian, EU, Singaporean & Japanese citizens.
  
• Jordanian departure taxes included.

Not included:

• Expenses of personal nature, such as phone calls, laundry , beverages, etc
• Travel Insurance

• The Best of Jordan , Syria and Egypt : A true 21 Grand Tour of the Near East
  For Guests who want the BEST when touring the Middle East

• The King's Chamber in the Great Pyramid was not meant to be visited:
  Getting to it is challenging, and once you enter, it is very difficult to turn back. The stone passage is only wide enough for one person. You must be in good physical condition, able to climb several flights of stairs, bend double, crouch and duck-walk for short distances. The King's Chamber itself is the world's most claustrophobic place, with dim light and heavy, hot, oxygen-poor air. There is no ventilation. If you are at all sensitive to claustrophobia or confinement, or if you have any sort of respiratory condition, for your own safety and the safety of others, you must not enter the pyramid because it is impossible to remove a person or to bring aid to them quickly