A 11 Day Tour of Egypt , Jordan and Israel

Cairo, Luxor, Petra, Amman, Jerusalem, and the Red Sea at Sharm el Sheik
all in 11 days. Weekly year round

Compare with the 14-day Edition
or the Egypt Greece and Israel / Palestine version

DAY 1 - CAIRO- Saturday - Weekly - Year Round
Our staff meets you at the airport and escorts you to your hotel, after which you'll have some time to plunge into fascinating Cairo.

DAY 2 - CAIRO - Sunday (BL)
We introduce you to the wonders of Cairo with a visit to the great Egyptian Museum. After lunch at Felfela, and old-time favorite Cairo restaurant, we fulfill your dream of a visit to the fabled Pyramids of Giza and the timeless Sphinx.

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DAY 3 - LUXOR - Monday (BL)
An early morning flight takes us to Luxor. Crossing the Nile, we tour ancient Thebes: Valley of the Kings, the tomb-temple of Queen Hatshepsut in the Valley of the Queens, and the towering Colossi of Memnon. Returning to Luxor, we visit the stupendous Great Temple of Amon at Karnak before returning to Cairo by plane.

DAY 4 - Cairo Fayoum- 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

DAY 5 -Cairo - SHARM EL-SHEIK - Wed (B)
Take a short flight to Sharm El Sheikh : get active today: swimming, snorkeling and many other water sports are available.

DAY 6 - NUWEIBA & AQABA / PETRA - Thu (BLD)
We drive north along the Red Sea coast to Nuweiba and board a ferryboat for the short cruise to Aqaba in Jordan. Our staff greets you, assists with border formalities, follow in the footsteps of Lawrence of Arabia and Indiana Jones as you travel north to the "lost city" of Petra . Dinner at the hotel.

DAY 7 - PETRA & AMMAN, MEET With THE LOCALS- Fri (BLD)
Petra ,carved from the rose-red desert sandstone over 2000 years ago. We visit the Treasury, High Palace, Monastery and Roman-style Palace Tomb before driving to Amman and our hotel. Dinner with a local family, you may wish to bring small gifts from your home town (T shirts etc.) to present to the host family.

DAY 8 - AMMAN & JERUSALEM - Sat (B)
We drive down into the Jordan River Valley and cross from Jordan into Israel. Climbing the tawny Judean Hills, we come to the golden city of Jerusalem, and to our hotel. After settling in, you may start to explore the world's most famous city as you like. Local dates & pastries in your room.

Estimated times and general info on the crossing : From the border to Jerusalem is about 45 minutes to an hour drive . Always air conditioned vehicle ; Sedan / Minivan You change cars/drivers at the borders

DAY 9 - JERUSALEM - Sunday - Private Tour (BL)
Set out, in a private air-conditioned vehicle , with your private chauffeur and private guide , to see the wonders of Jerusalem: the Old City, Temple Mount, the ancient Western Wall, and the splendid Dome of the Rock, the Garden of Gethsemane, Via Dolorosa and Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Lunch is included at a charming local restaurant .

DAY 10 - JERUSALEM - Mon (BL)
Today again, Jerusalem is ours to explore, in a private air-conditioned vehicle , with your private chauffeur and private guide ,we concentrate on the modern city and visit the famed Israel Museum with its Shrine of the Book (repository of the Dead Sea Scrolls), the Knesset? and probe the labyrinthine alleys of the Arab Quarter, rich with the scents of spices and the vision of exotic pastries and sweets. Lunch is included at a charming local restaurant .

DAY 11 - DEPARTURE- Tue (B)
Our staff transfers you to Ben Gurion International Airport for your flight.

Rates per person in US$

Rates include

• All airfares, train fares and motorcoach transport in Egypt, Jordan and Israel, but do not include international airfares from and to your home country
• Hotel accommodation (room with private bathroom), including all tax and service charges.
• Meals are as given in the itinerary (B = continental breakfast, L = set-menu lunch, D = set-menu dinner).
• All transfers in these listed countries.
• Ferry ticket between Egypt & Jordan.
• Guided sightseeing as per itinerary , including all entrance fees
• All departure taxes.

• Tips.
• Travel Insurance ( We'll be glad to mail you the flyer upon request)
• Beverages
• Laundry , phone calls etc.

Sample Charming Boutique Hotels in Syria :

Talisman Hotel: Damascus
Talisman is more than an hotel: it is more like a home. We will provide you all the services and luxury of a five stars residence. Two wide opened courtyards with outdoor swimming
pool. Private and exclusive Turkish Hammam.
The Talisman is a luxury «charm» hotel situated in the old town of Damascus, twenty minutes from the airport, a hundred yards from the old Roman straight way (Medhat Pacha) and the historical Bab Sharqi, famous now for its souks and street markets. This old Jewish palace, built in a quiet side street and easily accessible by car, has been restored in the most authentic tradition of an Arab house.

Each of the 16 rooms and suites at Talisman is unique with its personalized lay-out and decoration. All the rooms are equipped with the latest commodities:king size bed, mini bar, central heating, individual air-conditioning, plasma television set with decoder so that you may choose any channel you please, DVD reader, wi-fi internet connection, telephone. Executive suites are larger and have a desk corner. The bathrooms are spacious and planned for your rest and well-being: finely worked wooden basins with their matching mirrors, old cement tiled or beige marble floors, bath tub or shower cabin, or both, hair-drier and comfortable bathrobes.

Zenobia hotel: Palmyra
built in 1920 … Agatha Christy was one of the welcomed guests , the Zenobia Hotel is ideally located in the middle of Palmyra archeological site; rooms offers a wonderful view of the traces of past civilizations, which you can explore at your ease.

The 26-room hotel offers a wonderful view of the traces of past civilizations, which you can explore at your ease. The hotel is a masterpiece of elegance and warm hospitality that is part of our commitment to tradition particularly amidst this historical surrounding. You are welcome to the world of Zenobia hotel where you relive the past and feel the glorious days of Palmyra.
The hotel rooms; all are air-conditioned, with central heating and a telephone. The Countess suite is a duplex room, with two double beds and a private bathroom on each deck. ( Supplement applies, and you must really book in advance to get this suite)

The Oasis restaurant offers a wide variety of delicious cuisine whether it is indoors or in the open air with a direct view on the ruins.

Palmyra was known as the bride of the desert, where once stood as one of the greatest Roman oasis cities of all times. The extensive roman ruins, only a three-minute walk from the hotel; stand gracefully to remind us of the glory of Palmyra's past

Beit Wakil Hotel: Aleppo
A true example of the distinguished 16th century Aleppine architecture,is a charming palace situated just outside the old city walls.This perfectly preserved structure which has stubbornly defied the destructive elements of time,ranks among the most elegant and
beautiful palaces in the region.

The Hotel is in " Jadidah" which is a particularly picturesque quarter. Next to the main Maronite church is Sissi Street, which is full of old Arab residences. Most have now been converted into small boutique hotels and restaurants serving the delicious local Arab-Syrian cuisine for which Aleppo is famous. Beit Wakil is one of the loveliest examples. Simple on the outside, but you enter a beautiful courtyard with a fountain, a majestic arch, coloured marble flooring and arabesque glass windows. You can descend past an underground bar into stone-built cellars with a labyrinth of tunnels, said to lead all the way to the Aleppo Citadel.

Beit Wakil,a true example of the distinguished 16th. century Aleppine architecture,is a charming palace situated just outside the old city walls.This perfectly preserved structure which has stubbornly defied the destructive elements of time,ranks among the most elegant and beautiful palaces in the region. Faithful to the old Aleppine tradition the exterior is castle like,simple and void of any decoration,but as soon one enters inside a magical oriental story like world comes into existence

The beautiful courtyards with breathtaking relief and tracery work of their walls, the marble fountains among the jasmine and lemon trees, the unique iwan with its majestic arch and colors marble flooring,the elegant arabesque woodwork of the wall cupboards,the hand drawn wooden ceilings with corniche, the famous central Qa'a (large room: Lobby ) with its suspended dome and coloured arabesque glass windows,the stone built cellars and the lime stone caves below with a labyrinth of tunnels , one of which , links the palace to the Citadel of Aleppo , are just few of the many elements which distinguishes the Aleppine masonry art and Arabian architectural genius

Today, Beit Wakil welcomes its guests as a four star hotel with all the modern comfort facilities. Beit Wakil rooms and suits are centrally air conditioned, with traditional comfortable Aleppine furniture, minibar, music, T. V and satellite services, phone and private bathrooms. Both our summer and winter restaurants offer a wide verity of delicious Aleppine mezes and specialties together with an oriental entertainment program of classical Arabic music and dancing.

Aleppo includes a virile population, a splendid architecture,and a fine Arab tradition. Aleppo AL-Chahba, 355 Kilometers from Damascus, has been a prosperous city since the 3rd millennium B.C. and has maintained its status through town development and an increasing population. It has played a vital role in the history of the area from the time of the Akkadian and Amorite Kingdoms. Until recently it has always been the center of the junction of the ancient trade routs. The old city was surrounded by a wall incorporating defense towers and fortified gates built during the Islamic period. A large part of the wall still standing, for example Bab Qinisrin, Bab Al-Nasser, Bab Al-Hadid, Bab Antakia. Aleppo is also known for its mosques and churches and is considered the third city in the Islamic world because of the number of its mosques and schools. The Archaeological Museum contains exhibits from the stone age to modern times. It has particularly interesting collection of antiquities from some of the most ancient site in Syria (Mari, Ugarit, Ebla) , objects found in the Euphrates Basin, Hama, Tell Halaf and Ein Dara, in addition to remains from Greek, Roman, Arab and Islamic periods. Most famous of Aleppo's sights is the citadel, from where all of the city can be seen.

Tour Syria , Jordan , Palestine , Israel . All in 11 Days

We'll show you the wonders of fabled Syria, the biblical sites
of Jerusalem and Jordan and the Lost City of Petra, in 11 days

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