See the top sites in these two ancient/modern countries
on this locally escorted tour with guaranteed weekly departures ,year round

Click here for a 15 day edition including a Nile cruise
Handling your own air fare ? Please click here

DAY 1 - Sat. USA / CAIRO
Your wide-body jet departs JFK bound for Cairo. Turkish Airlines or British Airways. We maintain the right to use any IATAN accredited international air carrier.

DAY 2 - Sun. CAIRO
Our staff meets you at the airport and escorts you to your hotel. Vise fee is included & issued upon arrival. Your passport must be valid for at least 6 month beyond the date of arrival. Valid only for American, Canadian, British & Japanese citizens. Welcome Fruit basket/Hotel room.

DAY 3 - Mon. CAIRO (BL)
We start with the best of Cairo: the Egyptian Museum, Citadel of Saladin and its Alabaster Mosque. After lunch at El Pacha Restaurant, we walk the narrow streets of Old Cairo, once a Roman fort, later the Jewish Quarter, then the Coptic Christian Quarter. We visit the Coptic churches of Abu Serghius and Al Molaka, the Coptic Museum, and Ben Ezra synagogue. Finally, we wander through the alleys of Khan el-Khalili bazaar in search of souvenirs. In the evening we enjoy a Sound & Light show at Giza by the Pyramids

DAY 4 - Tue. CAIRO (BLD)
In the morning, we visit the majestic pyramids of Giza, the Valley Temple and the timeless Sphinx. After lunch we drive to Dahshour, the newly opened pyramid field south of Cairo. We visit several ancient structures, including the great pyramid built by Senfru, father of Cheops. In the evening, we board our first-class sleeper train. Dinner is served in our private compartments as we speed southward along the banks of the Nile.

DAY 5 - Wed. LUXOR (BL)
We leave our train for breakfast at your hotel, after which we cross the Nile to visit the Valley of the Kings , including King Tut's Tomb, and the Colossi of Memnon.
Return to your hotel for lunch . In the afternoon we tour the Great Temple of Amon at Karnak, and visit the Sacred Lake and red granite quarries with their unfinished obelisk. As well as the great Luxor temple of Amon Ra .

DAY 6 - Thu. CAIRO (B)
Morning visit to the small yet charming Luxor museum. Later in the day head for the airport for our flight back to Cairo, and our hotel

DAY 7 - Fri. ISTANBUL (B)
After breakfast, our staff escorts you to the airport for your flight to Istanbul . You're met at the airport by our representative, who sees you to your hotel, and answers any questions you may have about getting to know the city. As you ride into the great metropolis from the airport, two thousand years of history are revealed: towering Roman walls, ancient Byzantine churches, slender minarets framing the bulbous domes of graceful mosques. These ancient monuments float on the skyline of a bustling modern metropolis of ten million people.

DAY 8 - Sat. ISTANBUL, BELLE EPOQUE (BL)
"Imperial Constantinople in the Belle Epoque"
(late 19th century), the exotic romance of the "Paris of the East:"

Morning walking tour : We start with our guide in Karaköy where the foreign bankers and shipping companies had their headquarters, then take the Tünel up to istiklal Caddesi; stop in the whirling dervish tekke, and walk past the various old embassy buildings (now consulates), and point out the architecture. Stop for tea (included) at the famous Pera Palace Hotel.
Walk at least as far as Galatasaray Square, and have lunch in the Çicek Pasaji (Flower Passage); then walk up to Taksim Square and be picked up for the afternoon tour.

In the afternoon the tour visit Yildiz Palace Park and the Ihlamur Kasri, a mini-palace south of Yildiz, and finish up with a visit to the Military History Museum in Harbiye in time to hear the "Mehter," or Ottoman military band (mid-afternoon).

DAY 9 - Sun, ANKARA / CAPPADOCIA (BLD)
Morning flight to Ankara, on to visit the Museum of Ancient Anatolian Civilization. & Ataturk mausoleum continue to Sultanhani the Seljuk Turkish Caravanserai before making the drive to biblical Cappadocia and our Hotel. Lunch is included enroute , dinner is included at the hotel.

Day 10 - Mon. CAPPADOCIA (BD)
We explore the "moonscape" of Cappadocia, visiting the painted churches in the Göreme and Zelve Valleys, the rockhewn dwellings in Ortahisar, the pottery-making center of Avanos, and the incredible underground city of Kaymakl (or Derinkuyu).

Day 11 - Tue. IZMIR, EPHESUS (B)
Fly to Izmir, upon arrival we proceed to time capsule & the gem of ancient cities of the Greco Roman world: Ephesus, the capital of Roman Asia Minor, we spend most of the day in Ephesus & a tour the Basilica of St. John, said to mark his tomb. Then drive to Izmir for the night. Kaya Prestige Hotel or similar.

DAY 12 - Wed. ISTANBUL (B)
Fly back to Istanbul & our hotel, one last chance for shopping spree in the legendary covered Bazaar. Istanbul is all yours, any way you like it. Grab your Lonely Planet guidebook and stroll along the restored 19th-century thoroughfare of Istiklal Caddesi, once known as the Grand Rue, DE Péra. Search for spices and folk remedies in the Egyptian Bazaar. Admire the medieval mosaics in the city's many Byzantine churches. Shop in the chic boutiques around Taksim Square. Climb the Galata Tower, built by the Genoese six centuries ago, for a panoramic view of Old Istanbul.

DAY 13 - Thu. ISTANBUL (BL)
The center of ancient Constantinople and Istanbul was on Seraglio Point, framed by the Golden Horn, the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara. We visit the Blue Mosque, built by Sultan Ahmet III to challenge the architectural primacy of neighboring Sancta Sophia. We then walk next door to compare achievements in Justinian's great Sancta Sophia. Right behind Sancta Sophia is our next stop, sumptuous Topkapi Palace, the sultans' seraglio for centuries, filled with breathtaking exhibits of priceless jewels, golden thrones, delicate colored tiles, and lavish court costumes. We finish up in the bustling Grand Bazaar, where you can find jewelry, carpets, goat-hair rugs, hand-painted ceramics, copper and brass in labyrinthine streets holding nearly 4000 shops.

DAY 14 - Fri. Departure / USA (B)
Our representative escorts you to the airport for your homeward flight.

Bon Voyage.

Rates per person in US $ : From JFK

• For departures from: Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego or Seattle, please add US$ 350 per person to the rates. D.C. Chicago , Detroit, Miami , Ft. Lauderdale , Houston : $ 300.00
  
• For May thru end of Sep departures, please add a summer airline surcharge of $350 per person to the rates. This doesn't apply when you handle your own airfare.
  
• Christmas, New Year's & Easter weeks : %10 supplement will apply .

INCLUSIONS:

• Round-trip airfare JFK/CAIRO/ISTANBUL JFK, including tax , If you wish to have land rate without international air, please deduct $500 from any of the above listed rates.
  
  
• Domestic airfare within Turkey & Egypt, in economy class, tax included
  
• Meals, as listed: B = Continental breakfast, L/D = Preset men lunch/dinner. * Guided sightseeing, all transfers in Turkey & Egypt, as per itinerary, including all entrance fees.
  
• Hotel accommodations, including tax and service charges.
  
• Locally hosted guide will escort the group at all times during sightseeing.
  
• Visa fee for Egypt. Visa issued upon arrival at Cairo Airport. Valid only for EU, American, Canadian , Japanese, Australian & NZ passports. Passports must be valid for at least 6 month beyond date of arrival.

Not included:

• Personal expenses and beverages * Gratuities. * Additional meals and services

• Trip interruption and cancellation insurance (please see our insurance brochure)

• Visa fee for Turkey : payable in cash upon arrival, or contact the nearest Turkish consulate.

Sample 4 Stars / First Class Hotels in Turkey :

- Istanbul: Accura Hotel www.accurahotelistanbul.com
- Cappadocia: Perissia Hotel www.perissiahotels.com.tr
- Izmir: Best Western Hotel Konak www.bestwesternturkey.com/konakhotel.htm

Sample 5 Stars Hotels in Egypt:

- Cairo : Hilton . Sheraton. Sofitel
- Luxor : Nile Palace . Sonesta St. George or similar
- Aswan : New Cataract . Movenpick or similar

Departure Dates: Weekly, year round, on Sat.
Children rate : 10 years or younger, sharing with parents in same room : 10% discount

Grand Tour ATHENS,ISTANBUL & NILE CRUISE

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