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Mediterranean
Magic
Athens , Istanbul and the Nile
15 days edition - Private touring available
for honeymooners
Start any day of the week , subject to the availability of flights
& Nile Cruise
Including air fare from JFK-The following is sample Sat itinerary

Add
Syria
Departures
are daily year round
. Add
Alexandria
Cruise the Nile in the Privacy of your own
boat, click for details.
Felucca
on the Nile Edition
DAY 1 - Saturday - USA
Departures are weekly year round
Board your comfortable wide body jet at JFK International Airport.
Overnight across the Atlantic. (International air fare is included in
our listed rates ). For Boston & Chicago please add $250. For Miami
& Houston , please add $ 300 . For most of West Coast cities please
add $350.
Our partners are Turkish Airlines, Egyptair , British Airways, Lufthansa,
KLM, Swiss or other IATA accredited airlines. You may start in Egypt
subject to availability.
DAY
2 - Sun . ISTANBUL (B)
Upon arrival at 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
3- Mon . 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.
Evening overnight train to Ankara.
DAY
4- Tue . ISTANBUL (B)
Full day on your own in Istanbul , 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 5- Wed . ISTANBUL, CAIRO (B)
After breakfast our local representative will take you to the airport
to catch your flight for Cairo, where our local staff whisks you through
the excitement and hubbub of the terminal, and onward through the desert
to your hotel .
Visa fee is included, issued upon arrival for EU , American, Japanese
, Australian , NZ , Mexican & Singaporean citizens, passports must
be valid for at least 6 month beyond the date of arrival. You are responsible
for your passport being valid & in order.
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 - Thu . CAIRO (BL)
Today, you'll explore the wonders of the Egyptian Museum, with its
treasures of the ancient pharaohs: mummies, statuary, precious stones
and metals. Travellers have long come to Cairo just to gaze on these
sights, but your day has just started. You'll also see the Citadel of
Saladin and the alabaster mosque of Mohammed Ali. In Giza, on the edge
of the desert, you'll gaze in awe at the mysterious Sphinx and the Pyramids.
Evening
Sound & Light show as well at Giza by the Pyramids is included.
DAY
7 - Fri . CAMEL CARAVAN/NUBIAN VILLAGE / ASWAN (BLD)
Enjoy an breakfast before you fly to Aswan in Upper Egypt. You'll
arrive in time to take lunch aboard your Nile cruiser. We'll have the
opportunity to experience Egypt at its most authentic, as we sail the
Nile in a graceful felucca. If you wish, try your hand at camel riding!
We'll take a traditional caravan to enjoy tea with Nubian villagers.
DAY
8 - Sat . ASWAN, KOM OMBO (BLD)
After breakfast on board, we'll visit the dams at Aswan,
including the High Dam, a modern wonder in this ancient land. At the
ancient granite quarry, we'll see an obelisk left unfinished, then board
a launch on Lake Nasser to visit the Temples of Philae, rescued from
rising waters. Back aboard our cruiser, we'll sail northward down the
Nile at a stately pace, disembarking for a visit to Kom Ombo, the twin
temple dedicated to the crocodile river god, Sobek.
DAY
9 - Sun . EDFU, ESNA (BLD)
Horse-drawn carriages or vans meet us at riverside to take us through
Edfu to the Temple of Horus, best-preserved in all of Egypt. Later,
we'll cruise to Esna, and by evening, we'll be in fabled Luxor.
DAY
10 - Mon . LUXOR (BLD)
We'll cross the Nile to view an array of ancient splendors: the
tomb chambers of the Valley of the Kings; the imposing tomb-temple of
Queen Hatshepsut in the Valley of the Queens; and, the Colossi of Memnon.
Evening Karnak Sound & Light Show.
DAY
11 - Tue . LUXOR, Home Hosted Dinner , CAIRO (BD)
We'll visit the imposing Great Temple of Amon at Karnak and the
great Temple of Luxor before heading to the airport to catch our flight
to Cairo. After we settle you into your hotel, you'll have your last
opportunity to experience the excitement of this great city and, of
course, do some last-minute shopping. This evening
we'll venture where few ordinary visitors ever tread . . . right into
the homes of some of the people of Cairo ! 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 dinner at the hotel , by letting us know your preferences.
DAY
12 - Wed . CAIRO ATHENS (B)
Air
ticket is included in our rate for the flight Cairo Athens, economy
class
Our local personnel meets you at hotel and escort you to Cairo Airport
for your flight, and in Athens airport we'll meet you again and escorts
you to your hotel.
DAY
13 - Thursday- ATHENS (B)
On your first morning in Athens we show you the top sights: the Acropolis
and its museum, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, Hadrian's Arch, the Theater
of Dionysus. You'll visit Syntagma Square, at the very heart of the
city, and see the Parliament, and guards in colorful traditional outfits.
In the afternoon, plunge into the city as you like for sightseeing and
shopping.
In
the evening: A ride to the Marina of Mikrolimano for an ouzo drink and
appetizers then back to the charm of the Plaka and dinner with traditional
Greek entertainment.
DAY
14 - Friday- CAPE SOUNION(B)
This morning Athens is yours and you may wish to
cover on your own the high points of the city.
Then an afternoon visit to Cape Sounion and the Temple
of Poseidon, with spectacular sunset view.
DAY 15 -SAT - RETURN HOME (B)
Our Cairo-based staff escorts you to
the airport for your flight home.
Departures
are weekly, year round.
Rates per person in double occupancy in US$:
All cabins on the Nile cruise are outside cabins with two lower beds,
all with panoramic windows.
Rates
per person in US: From JFK:
| |
Deluxe |
First
Class |
|
Triple |
$
6450.00 |
$
5939.00 |
| Double |
$
6580.00 |
$
6060.00 |
| Single |
$
7629.00 |
$
6950.00 |
Sample
Deluxe Nile Cruise:
The All suites : Monaco or Monte
Carlo Nile Cruise,
Or the new M/S Queen TI-YI ( Nov 2003)
For
Ultra Deluxe Cruise All Suites : Moon
Goddess , Amarco , please
add 10% , per person in double or triple
For
Dec 20 - Jan 5 , Easter : Please add 10 % supplement to any of the rates

Suite on board the Ultra Deluxe M/S Amarco
Rate
includes:
- Lonely
Planet travel guides to Turkey and Egypt
-
International airfares from/to NYC including tax.
For May - Aug please add $300 air fare supplement. For Boston,
DC & Chicago please add $250. For Miami & Houston , please
add $ 300 .
For most of West Coast cities please add $350. This doesn't apply
when you handle your own air fare .
Please deduct $ 600 from any of the above listed rates , when your
handle your own air fare:
This covers the JFK ISTANBUL & CAIRO JFK segments .
- 5-day
Nile cruise, including all meals and shore excursions with a PRIVATE
guide.
- Guided
tours as listed , including all entrance fees. Private Guide in Cairo,
Istanbul & on board the cruise, for all the shore excursions.
- Private
car/driver for all airport/hotel/cruise transfers.
- Hotel
accommodation as mentioned in Athens,
Turkey and Cairo, including
tax and service charges, and breakfast daily.
- Meals
as indicated, with preset menu (B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner).
-
Airport greeting and assistance. Transportation between airports,
hotels, and port.
-
One-way air transportation Istanbul and Cairo and Cairo Athens.
- Domestic
air flights within Egypt .
- Egyptian
visa fee, available only for American, Australian, NZ, Western European
, Canadian, British & Japanese citizens. Must have a valid passport.
Issued upon arrival at Cairo airport.
- One
large bottled water per person delivered to your cabin daily while
you are on board the Nile Cruise . Plus a small bottle of water with
each & every meal on board the cruise
- Tea
or coffee and water with each & every meal while you are on board
the Nile cruise.
- Complimentary
welcome drink upon arrival on board the Nile Cruise.
- Complimentary
welcome fruit basket on board the Nile Cruise.
For
children : 2-10 years of age : 25 % discount will apply when sharing
with parents in a double room
Other
Choices
Compare
with Greece land tour rather than by cruise - 15 day Edition
Grand Tour Athens , Istanbul
& Nile Cruise
Compare with Egypt & Israel
version . Or
Santorini edition.
Not
Included:
- Trip
interruption and cancellation insurance (please see your insurance
agent
- Turkish
Visa fee, you may contact the Turkish Consulate nearest to you to
secure your visa before you travel, or upon arrival at Istanbul ,
cash only
- Additional
personal expenses, beverages, and meals not specifically mentioned
in the itinerary .
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