Upon arrival to Cairo, you will be met, assisted through visa & immigration formalities, to baggage collection, and to the exit. Here you will be met by an Alluring Africa representative for your private road transfer to Mena House, where you will stay for three nights.
Location:
LocationCairo
Accommodation:
Accommodation Marriott Mena House Cairo
Type:
Accommodation Type Hotel
Room Basis:
Room Basis B&B: Bed and Breakfast
After breakfast, you will be collected from your hotel by an Alluring Africa Egyptologist guide for a Private Full Day Sightseeing Tour, including The Pyramids, Memphis, Sakkara and the Step Pyramid of Zoser.
The only present-day survivors of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, they are among the world’s greatest tourist attractions and never lose their ability to inspire and overwhelm visitors. You will be inspired by these fabulous monuments, as you explore the mysteries of its ancient past.
Travel to Memphis, one the glorious Old Kingdom capital of Egypt, which has almost completely vanished. It is believed that the city wasp founded around 3100 BC, probably by King Menés, when Upper and Lower Egypt were first united. It had many splendid palaces and gardens, and was one of the most renowned and populous cities of the ancient world. Like most Egyptians cities with any degrees of importance, Memphis also had it own deity, the all-powerful creator-god Ptah, who formed the world with words from his tongue and heart. Even as late as the 5th century BC, long after Thebes had taken over as capital of Egypt, Memphis was described by the Greek historian Herodotus as a ‘prosperous city and cosmopolitan center’. Its enduring importance, even then, was reflected in the size of its cemetery of the west bank of the Nile, an area replete with royal pyramids, private tombs and sacred animal necropolises. This city of the dead, centered at Saqqara, covers 30 km along the edge of the desert, Dahshur to Giza.
When Memphis was the capital of Egypt, during the Old Kingdom period, Saqqara was its necropolis. Deceased Pharaohs, family members and sacred animals ère ceremoniously transported from Memphis to be permanently enshrined in one of the myriad temples, pyramids and tombs at Saqqara. In the 3000 years between the foundation of Memphis and the end of the Greek rule under the Ptolemies, the necropolis grew till it covered a
seven kilometer stretch of the Western Desert. The Step Pyramid, possibly Egypt’s first and the oldest stone structure of its size in the world, was just one of the many funerary monuments and temples built in the area. In terms of the value of what has been and has yet to be uncovered, there are few archaeological sites in the world that compare with Saqqara; yet apart from the Step Pyramid, the necropolis was virtually ignored by archaeologists until mid-19th century, Wen Auguste Mariette found the Serapeum. Even the massive mortuary complex surrounding Zoser’s Step Pyramid wasn’t discovered and reclaimed from the sand until 1924, and it still being restored.
Location:
LocationCairo
Accommodation:
Accommodation Marriott Mena House Cairo
Type:
Accommodation Type Hotel
Room Basis:
Room Basis B&B: Bed and Breakfast
After breakfast, you will be collected from your hotel by an Alluring Africa Egyptologist guide for your Private Full Day Tour to explore Old Cairo with its architectural beauties and old glory.
The Egyptian Museum is the most important depository of Egyptian antiquities anywhere in the world. It features artifacts from the Pharaonic and Graeco-Roman periods, including the celebrated mummies of ancient Egypt and Tut Ankh Amun treasures.
Head to the Citadel – a complex of three mosques and four museums. Salah al Din began building the Citadel in 1176 to fortify the city against the Crusaders, and over the centuries it has been modified and enlarged with the palaces and buildings of subsequent rulers and governments. Mohammed Ali, one of the last rulers to reside in the Citadel, leveled most of the buildings of the Mameluke period to build his own mosque and palace. And it was in a narrow rock-hewn passage near one of the Citadel’s front gates that he sealed his control over Egypt with the massacre of the Mamelukes.
Also, known as the Alabaster Mosque, the Mohammed Ali Mosque and mausoleum was built by Mohammed Ali between 1830 and 1848. His gilt tomb is on the right as you enter. Although the interior is vast, it is badly decorated. The gingerbread clock in the central court has never worked; it was given to Mohammed Ali by King Louis-Philippe of France in return for a Pharaonic obelisk from Luxor that still stands in the Place de la Concorde in Paris. The most spectacular features of the mosque are outside – its huge dome and half-domes and tall, slim minarets are very impressing.
Proceed to the fascinating Khan El-Khalili Bazaar – reputed to be the largest bazaar in the Middle East. Originally founded as a watering stop for caravanserai in the 14th century, the bazaar has now grown to vast proportions. As you wander through the labyrinth of narrow streets you will find workshops and stalls selling all manner of things from woodwork, glassware and leather goods to perfumes, fabrics and Pharaonic curiosities.
Location:
LocationCairo
Accommodation:
Accommodation Marriott Mena House Cairo
Type:
Accommodation Type Hotel
Room Basis:
Room Basis B&B: Bed and Breakfast
After breakfast, you will be collected from your hotel by an Alluring Africa representative for your private road transfer to the Cairo Airport for the scheduled flight to Luxor. Upon arrival, you will be met by an Alluring Africa representative for your private road transfer to the port to board your Nile Cruise Boat, the Sunboat IV, which will be your home for the next four nights.
You will be welcomed by the reception staff before your Egyptologist will guide you around the strikingly graceful Temple of Luxor, dedicated to the god Amun – and then onwards to the Temple of Karnak.
After lunch, visit the Valley of the Kings. You will have the chance to visit at least one tomb in the Valley of the Queens, and visit the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut. On the way back to the river Nile, you will pass by the famed Colossi of Memnon, known in Ancient Greek times for their haunting voices at dawn.
Return to your luxury Nile Cruise boat where afternoon tea will be served in the lounge. Tonight’s farewell dinner will be a gala dinner, with white-gloved waiters serving gourmet cuisine.
Accommodation:
Accommodation Sanctuary Sun Boat IV
Type:
Accommodation Type Cruise Ship
Room Basis:
Room Basis Full Board – Dinner, Bed, Breakfast and Lunch
This morning, a breakfast buffet will be served on board before exploring the extraordinary Temple of Horus. Once you return to the boat, continue to enjoy your cruise onward to Esna, while enjoying your lunch.
This afternoon, your Egyptologist will guide you round the Greco-Roman Temple of Khnum in Esna. The beautifully preserved Great Hypostyle Hall was built during the reign of the Roman Emperor Claudius; it was excavated from the silt that had accumulated through centuries of annual Nile floods and is about nine meters below present-day street level.
Accommodation:
Accommodation Sanctuary Sun Boat IV
Type:
Accommodation Type Cruise Ship
Room Basis:
Room Basis Full Board – Dinner, Bed, Breakfast and Lunch
This morning, a breakfast buffet will be served on board, followed by a short motorboat ride to visit the romantic and majestic Philae Temple on the Island of Agilika. This will be followed by a visit to the Granite Quarries, which supplied the ancient Egyptians with most of the hard stone used in pyramids and temples, and still hold a huge unfinished obelisk.
Later, an Egyptian cooking lesson will be presented on board. Enjoy lunch, while you cruise to Kom Ombo and visit the magnificent Temple of Kom Ombo – dedicated to the crocodile-god Sobek.
Afternoon tea will be served while you cruise to Edfu.
Tonight will be an “Egyptian Night” costume party for all guests, with a chance to dress up in traditional Egyptian “galabeyya”. Dinner will be a lavish buffet of Egyptian specialties, followed by oriental music and dancing for everyone.
Accommodation:
Accommodation Sanctuary Sun Boat IV
Type:
Accommodation Type Cruise Ship
Room Basis:
Room Basis Full Board – Dinner, Bed, Breakfast and Lunch
This morning, a breakfast buffet will be served on board before you take a ride on a felucca (a typical Egyptian sail boat) around Elephantine Island, Lord Kitchener’s Botanical Gardens, and the Agha Khan Mausoleum (weather permitting, life jackets will be provided).
Enjoy afternoon tea served in the lounge. Tonight, you will be greeted by your Boat Manager as you enjoy a selection of canapés with some complimentary Egyptian wine and local beer.
Tonight’s farewell dinner will be a gala dinner, with white-gloved waiters serving gourmet cuisine.
Accommodation:
Accommodation Sanctuary Sun Boat IV
Type:
Accommodation Type Cruise Ship
Room Basis:
Room Basis Full Board – Dinner, Bed, Breakfast and Lunch
After breakfast, you will be collected from the Awan Port by an Alluring Africa representative for your private road transfer to the Aswan Airport for your scheduled flight to Cairo. On arrival, you will be collected by an Alluring Africa representative for your private road transfer to InterContinental City Star, where you will stay for one night.
Location:
LocationCairo
Accommodation:
Accommodation InterContinental City Star Cairo
Type:
Accommodation Type Hotel
Room Basis:
Room Basis B&B: Bed and Breakfast
At a time determined the night before, you will be collected by an Alluring Africa representative for your private road transfer to the Cairo International Airport for your departure flight.
Return home, taking with you the sights, sounds, and memories of an incredible Egyptian adventure!
Location:
LocationCairo
Accommodation:
Accommodation InterContinental City Star Cairo
Type:
Accommodation Type Hotel
Room Basis:
Room Basis B&B: Bed and Breakfast
From:
4,215.00
Price Includes:
Price Excludes:
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