The Grand Maghreb and the Near East
Tour Jerusalem , Marrakech and the Nile - All
in 16 Days : Tour Starts Daily . Year Round
This is a private tour . Choose your own travel date
Explore
the two gems of North Africa--Morocco and Egypt-- then on to explore
the splendors of Israel and Palestine , on this 16-day, Casablanca,
Marrakech, Cairo , Jerusalem and Luxor!
DAY
1 - MARRAKECH - Daily Arrival - This is
a private tour - Choose your own date
Our staff escorts you to the airport for your flight to Marrakech.
Air fare Paris Marrakech is included in our rates. Our
international flight arrives in Casablanca. After completing customs
and immigration formalities, we connect with our flight which takes
us south to mystical Marrakech. Our staff escorts us to our hotel
. Welcome mint tea & Moroccan sweets .
DAY
2 - MARRAKECH (BLD)
We board a horse-drawn
carriage for a clip-clop tour of this ancient royal capital, including
the Kotoubia, a former royal palace, and of course the labyrinthine
souks (bazaars). Lunch
is included at a charming local restaurant.
A
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 Marrakech 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. Of course, you may enjoy a quiet evening with
your travel companions, by letting us know your preferences.
DAY
3 - OURIKA VALLEY, THE POTTERS VILLAGE OF TAFZA (BLD)
This morning, we'll head 30 kilometers outside of Marrakech to the
lush valley of the Ourika River, which winds down from the peaks of
the High Atlas, through clusters of mud-walled houses. Our visit coincides
with one of the regular market days, and we'll walk among the stands
of butchers and vegetable-sellers, merchants of cereals and olive oil,
itinerant blacksmiths and sellers of patent medicines and herbal remedies.
A barber sets up shop with nothing more than a scissors, hand clipper,
and stiff wooden chair, an open-air eatery offers hot food freshly prepared
on a brazier. We'll continue to Tafza to see how vases and lamp bases
are made in home workshops, and to view quartz and amethyst and other
minerals of the region. We'll be received for tea in the customary local
manner. We'll meet up with local villagers at a well, help to draw water,
and join in preparing a Berber meal of soup, tanurt (bread), and tajine
(meat and vegetables cooked in a clay pot). Our hosts are modest local
persons who will appreciate offerings of useful small items, such as
pencils or notebooks, or even small treats, such as candy. We'll return
to Marrakech through the stunning scenery of the valley. Dinner is included
at a local Moroccan dinner with folk show
Henna
party ( For ladies only ) :
One of the "insiders" excursions into Moroccan culture, a chance to
attend a henna party, the painting of hands and body r with this natural
red dye is a symbol of joy at weddings and regarded as a way to enhance
one's beauty , if interested in attending a Henna party , please let's
know in advance.
One
of the lounges at Dar Donab Riad
Day
4 - BY TRAIN TO CASABLANCA (BLD)
"Getting there is half the fun!" We board the train for our return to
Casablanca, cruising through the lovely countryside past green
fields, fruit-laden orchards, traditional villages and modern towns,
with the lofty Atlas Mountains soaring in the distance. Our tour
escort points out interesting features, and fills us in on Moroccan
life and culture. After arriving in Casablanca, we visit the majestic
new Grand Mosque of King Hassan II, second only to the Great
Mosque at Mecca in size. We continue on a panoramic tour of the city
and its souks. After dinner, we drive to the airport for our Royal Air
Maroc night flight across North Africa to Egypt, air fare is included
in our rate.
Day
5 - CAIRO (BD)
We
arrive in Cairo with the dawn,Complimentary
visa issued upon arrival at Cairo Airport, valid only for American,
Canadian, Australian, NZ, EU & Japanese citizens. Passports must
be valid for 6 month at least at time of arrival.
We
drive through the awakening city to our hotel for breakfast and a bracing
cup of coffee or tea. Refreshed, we visit the Citadel of Saladin
and its Alabaster Mosque, enjoying spectacular views of the city below.
We descend from the Citadel into Khan el-Khalili, the bazaar
district, in search of Egyptian treasures. The rest of the day is yours:
find a little local restaurant for lunch, go museum-hopping, take a
nap, or stroll along the Nile, as you like. Dinner at the hotel.
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
6 - CAIRO (BLD)
Today we visit Cairo's most famous monuments: the awesome pyramids of
Giza, the Valley Temple and the timeless Sphinx.
After lunch at the Mena House we drive to Dahshour, the newly
opened pyramid field south of Cairo, where we visit several ancient
structures, including the great pyramid built by Senfru, father of Cheops.
Camel ride is included , it is more of a photo opp with the Pyramids
in the background, as you have a very full day . Dinner cruise on board
the Hyatt Yacht .
DAY
7 - LUXOR (BL)
Very early morning flight to Luxor , upon arrival
: proceed to cross the Nile and explore the city that was the Pharaohs
capital for more than 20 centuries : Start with the Ramesseum , Medinet
Habu and 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.
Of course there is more : We visit the Valley of the Kings (
including King Tut's Tomb ) , Valley of the Queens including Queen Hatshepsut
Deir El Bahari Temple and the Colossi of Memnon.
Lunch
is included at Al-Moudira , or return to your hotel for lunch
.
Afternoon horse drawn carriage ride through the local village and souks,
stop for a tour at the small yet charming Luxor Museum.
For your tours : Private air-conditioned vehicle . Private Egyptologist.
DAY
8 - LUXOR/ Cairo (B)
This morning tour the stupendous Great Temple of Amon at Karnak,
and visit the Sacred Lake and red granite quarry with its huge
unfinished obelisk. We tour as well the great temple of Amon Ra , on
our way to the airport for our flight back to Cairo and your hotel,
all tours and transfers are on a private basis. Private air-conditioned
vehicle, private chauffeur , private guide for the tours.
DAY
9 - CAIRO - Home Hosted Dinner -(BL)
The world-famous Egyptian Museum, which holds the treasures of
Tutankhamon, is our first stop today, after which we wander the narrow
streets of Old Cairo (once a Roman fort). We go on to the Jewish
Quarter, then the Coptic Christian Quarter, stopping at the
churches of Abu Serghius and Al Molaka, the Coptic Museum, and the Ben
Ezra synagogue. Lunch is included at Hadaik Al-Azhar or similar .
Meet the local : Complimentary Family dinner : This evening we'll venture
where few ordinary visitors ever tread . . . right into the homes of
some of the people of Cairo and Egypt , of course, you may enjoy a quiet
evening with your travel companions, by letting us know your preferences.
DAY
10 - 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
11 - TEL AVIV - JERUSALEM (B)
Air fare is included Cairo to Tel Aviv in economy class, tax included
.
Our local rep. meets you at Ben-Gurion airport, assists with arrival
formalities, and escorts you to your Jerusalem hotel. When you choose
your own date, we may have to change tours / sites visits around to
accommodate religious holidays and Sabbath. Private
air-conditioned vehicle, private chauffeur , private guide for the tours.
DAY
12 - JERUSALEM ( tours are subject to change in Jerusalem subject
to the weekend and religious holidays (B)
We start our explorations of Jerusalem, holy city to Christians,
Jews and Muslims, with a drive to the Mount of Olives, which offers
panoramic views. We visit the Church of Pater Noster and the Chapel
of the Ascension on our way to the Garden of Gethsemane. From the Garden,
we enter Jerusalem's walls to the Old City for a visit to the Western
Wall and the Dome of the Rock. We follow in Jesus' footsteps along
the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
Private
air-conditioned vehicle, private chauffeur , private guide for the tours.
DAY
13 - JERUSALEM (B)
Now that you've had a tour of the city, set out on your own to discover
its charms: the narrow bazaar streets of the Old City, the cheerful
cafés of New Jerusalem, and the broad boulevards surrounding
the modern city.
DAY
14 - JERUSALEM & BETHLEHEM (B)
We start our tour at the scale model of Jerusalem as it appeared in
Herod's time, then go on to the Shrine of the Book to see the sacred
Dead Sea Scrolls. Then it's on to Ein Kerem and Bethlehem for a visit
to the Church of the Nativity, stopping at the Shepherds' Field on the
way back to Jerusalem. Private
air-conditioned vehicle, private chauffeur , private guide for the tours.
DAY
15 - BETHANY, DEAD SEA & MASADA (B)
We drive to Bethany and the site of the Good Samaritan's inn,
then continue through the Judean Hills down to the Dead Sea,
below sea level. At Qumran, we see the caves where the Dead Sea
Scrolls were discovered. We go on to the verdant oasis of Ein Gedi,
and return to Jerusalem passing by fabled Jericho, the
oldest city in the world. Private
air-conditioned vehicle, private chauffeur , private guide for the tours.
Day
16 - DEPARTURE (B)
After breakfast, our staff escorts you to the airport . Bon Voyage .
This
tour starts in Marrakech weekly , year round, add
Paris ? please click here .
RATES per
person in USD
|
Deluxe
Hotels |
First
Class |
| Triple |
US$
8410.00 |
US$
7412.00 |
| Double |
US$
8580.00 |
US$
7590.00 |
| Single |
US$
9801.00 |
US$
9186.00 |
Your
tour includes:
- Regional
airfare from Casablanca / Cairo / Tel Aviv , including tax in economy
class with tax .
-
Domestic airfares within Egypt and Morocco as well as Cairo Tel Aviv,
all in economy class , including tax
-
First-class day train Marrakech-Casablanca and sleeper train Cairo-Luxor,
including tax and service
- All
airport and train station transfers in Morocco and Egypt as described
in the tour itinerary, always on a private basis
-
Your hotel room at a carefully-selected deluxe, first class l, whichever
you prefer, including tax & service. Egypt
: we use Hilton/ Sheraton/Meridien/ Sonesta
for Deluxe or for First Class : Shepheard's or similar
- B
= Breakfast, (or aB, American Buffet Breakfast),
L = Lunch, D = Dinner
and all Egyptian airport taxes.
- Private
guided sightseeing as listed in the itinerary including all entrance
fees. US
, Australian, EU , Canadian , NZ, and Japanese passport holders need
a visa to enter Egypt. You will obtain a visa at the airport upon
arrival in Cairo With our compliments, as long as you have an American
or Japanese passport that is valid for at least 6 month . Visas are
not required of US and Canadian passport holders for entry into Morocco.
What's
not included:
- Insurance
of any kind.
- Tips.
- International
air fare from/ to your home country
VERY
IMPORTANT NOTE ON LUGGAGE: When flying between North Africa cities
and Tel Aviv you will be allowed only one piece of luggage to be checked
in plus one for the carry on
Sample
Hotels ( or similar ) : Jerusalem
Jerusalem Hotel
Quiet
European elegance, comfort, and affordability meet in the Jerusalem
Gold Hotel
to create a hidden sanctuary amid the overwhelming blaze of history,
diversity, and faith that is Jerusalem.
The
Jerusalem Gold Hotel along with a world renowned architect has designed
a haven of tranquility and warmth set into the very hub of local and
national transportation in Jerusalem, thus allowing
guests to enjoy the seemingly impossible combination of calm and serenity,
with the ultimate accessibility.
Jerusalem is one of the most popular and cherished cities in the world.
The Jerusalem Gold hotel is an up scale hotel, situated a mere 25 minutes
from the Israel's International- Ben Gurion Airport. The Jerusalem Gold
Hotel is located at the gateway to Jerusalem, the capital city of Israel,
touching the heart of the city center, at 234 Jaffa Street. The 11 story,
hotel stands across from "Binyaney Hauma", Israel's International
Convention Center, and is adjoining the new modern Egged Central Bus
station with its contemporary shopping mall.
The
Jerusalem Gold Hotel is walking distance from the city center and right
near the central bus station, from which you can find transportation
to every city in Israel.
Pray
at the West Wall, visit the Old City of Jerusalem, the City of David,
the Israel National Museum, the Knesset- Israeli Parliament, the famous
Mahane Yehuda Shuk, the Rose Gardens, and so much more.
Whether
you are a tourist, or on a business trip rest assured that the staff
at the Jerusalem Gold Hotel will offer you a unique lodging experience
with genuine hospitality.
Guest Rooms
The hotel has 196 elegant rooms, rooms for handicapped, (Brail numbers
on all doors) including 24 Jr. Suites. Every room has sound-proof window
frames, equipped with, television, internet, E-mail, video games, mini
fridge, safety deposit boxes (laptop size), telephone with international
line, bathroom with a bath, Air-conditioning, elegant Mahogany furniture,
etc.
General
Hotel Listing
| |
Deluxe
Hotel & Cruise |
First
Class Hotels
First Class Nile Cruise |
| Ashkelon |
Dan
Gardens Hotel |
Dan
Gardens Hotel |
| Athens |
Divani
Palace
(Upgrade to King George or Grand Bretagne Supplement applies) |
Electra
Palace / Stanley |
| Cairo
|
Hilton
/ Sheraton/ Hyatt
Movenpick |
Shepheard's
/ Oases
Novotel |
| Istanbul
|
Hyatt
, Conrad , Divan |
Aygun
Plaza , Richmond, Arena |
| Aswan |
Mövenpick Aswan
(upgrade to Old Cataract closed now for renovation : $150 per
per person night Nile View ) |
Basma
|
| Jerusalem
|
American
Colony Hotel |
Notre
Dame Hotel |
| Luxor
|
Sonesta
/ Hilton
Sheraton / Sofitel
(upgrade to Old Winter : $150
P. Person P. Night ) |
Novotel
|
| Nile
Cruise |
Monaco
/ Monte Carlo / TiYi / Nile Vision / Mojito |
Nile
Dream / Ruby /
Presidential Nile Cruise |
| Tel
Aviv |
Dan
Panorama . King David ( Supplement applies |
Metropolitan
Hotel |
| Tiberias |
|
Nof
Ginnosar Kibbutz |
-
-
What others say about our service in Morocco
Lebes (Berber greeting) or sbah ikheer (Arabic for good morning)!
Spring break is about over and it's back to work tomorrow. It
will be a shorter week at CAS for me because on Thursday I'll
be leaving for the Optimal Match Conference (SPED and Technology)
in Rabat. Last year I
attended the conference in Madrid, Spain. I'm eager to see if
the teachers from Rome, Paris, and Barcelona who I met last year
will be attending this year. It is great to network with other
teachers and find out about their programs plus hear about new
and innovative strategies. The presenters are from the US.
Paul is currently enroute between Casablanca and Amsterdam with
arrival due in the US at about 5:30 tonight and then back to work
for him tomorrow. We had a fantastic week of touring and seeing
more of
Morocco - a truly remarkable country with beaches, mountains,
deserts, and everything in between in a relatively small area.
Paul will send from his email account a number of pictures which
might give you an idea of
our experiences this past week.
Trekking in the Amizimiz area while seeing the Atlas Mountains
with its picturesque landscapes and Berber villages was quite
remarkable. Our guide Said served us Moroccan tea and a lamb tagine
for lunch in his
home. As you can see from the photo they also decided to dress
us up in the typical Berber attire for lunch.
We continued on with the drive through the High Atlas Mountains
crossing through the Tizi N' Tichka Pass and descended down through
the Draa Valley stopping to see ancient Kasbahs (fortified palaces)
and to the
caravan-town of Ouarzazate (movie site of The Mummy, Black Hawk
Down, Babel, Syriana, Lawrence of Arabia, etc.). Enroute we stopped
to hike up Ait Benhaddou and up the sandstone hill which has been
the site for
a variety of movies including Gladiator. People still live in
this UNESCO World Heritage village including Uemna and her husband.
She invited us in to see her cave dwelling in the side of the
hill and shared delicious
home-grown almonds.
Our next two nights were spent in the desert. The first night
was at Zagora and in the middle of a sandstorm. Paul thinks that
I probably have never been so grouchy upon awaking in the morning
after a night spent trying to breathe while attempting to sleep
in our nomad Berber tent amongst a haze of blowing sand. I think
that the sand is all out of our ears by now. The next night after
some fun camel riding we enjoyed a night on the Merzouga Desert
in a deluxe tent under the stars.
Both nights we had our own private concert with talented musicians
and dancers entertaining us with traditional Gnaouan music and
delicious Moroccan cuisine.
It was interesting to study the information displayed on Paul's
GPS in the mountains, deserts, etc. In the photo you can see our
Moroccan friend and Paul discussing the merits of such equipment.
We read in one
of the tour books that it is difficult for tourists to locate
their reserved auberges (lodging accommodations) or tent sites
and that they are encouraged to call ahead for the GPS coordinates
in order to locate the correct place in the Sahara Desert.
Riding out into the golden dunes near Merzouga on camels to see
the sunset was so much fun while watching four-wheel-drive vehicles
zipping up and down the sand dunes (some in preparation for the
Dakar Rally).
All too soon it was time to start the travel back to Casablanca
via Fez.
On one of our stops we fed peanuts to the Barbary apes near Ifrane.
Staying in the Riad Dar Al Andalous was an experience of seeing
more of the history and culture of Fez. Here we had one more example
of the challenges of communication in a foreign country. Paul
asked if he should pay for a Coca Cola and before he knew it he
was being enthusiastically escorted into the kitchen to meet the
'cook' (Coke).
Living and visiting in an international setting
is truly an exciting and stimulating experience.
A week after leaving Casablanca via train we arrived back in Casa
with our very informative and helpful driver Hamid. Now, we have
the memories and the pictures (and a few souvenirs) to enjoy of
this
adventure in another area of incredible Morocco.
Our time in Morocco is fast approaching an end with one last trip
before returning home to Minnesota. At this point we are thinking
of exploring more of Spain and the Moroccan coast of the Mediterranean.
M'a ssalama (goodbye - Arabic)
Paul and Dixie
What
others say about our services in Egypt ..
-------- Original Message --------
From: "Adrian"
Sent: Monday, September 24, 2007 2:04 PM
To: omar@travelinstyle.com>, > Subject: We're Back!
We just wanted to let you know we made it back home after our weeklong
detour through Italy. Athens was fantastic. The tours were very good,
and short of heading out to the islands, I can't think of a single
thing
we would have rather done while there.
Although we had an excellent time in Athens, Egypt was by far the
highlight of our entire trip, including Italy. We just can't say enough
about Ahmed, Isis, Ashraf, and all our drivers. We simply could not
have done the trip without their help. Ahmed was very professional,
courteous, and helpful, and always went out of his way to make sure
we were where we needed to be at the right time. Our Egyptologist
guides, Isis and Ashraf, were both very knowledgeable and made our
visit so much better with their endless supply of information. We
wore out both days long before they did. We will definitely try to
come back to Egypt when
we have more time to spend.
Thank you so much for arranging the trip, allowing us to customize
what we needed to, and putting us in touch with such good people.
And please find attached pictures of us enjoying a camel ride. :-)
Adrian & Melina Barnes
|
