EGYPT HIGHLIGHTS TOUR ITINERARY. February 20 - February 27, 2020

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1 EGYPT HIGHLIGHTS TOUR ITINERARY February 20 - February 27, 2020 Day 1 We arrive in Cairo, where a host will meet us and transfer our group from the airport to the Ramses Hilton Hotel, overlooking the Nile River. This will be our home for the next 2 nights. There will be a group welcome get- together in the evening. (Dinner is on our own)

2 Day 2 This morning we will meet our expert English- speaking tour guide. Get ready to be amazed, as we begin our day at the Giza pyramids, including the awe- inspiring Great Pyramid (the last of the seven wonders of the ancient world). Our special permission to go inside the pyramid will leave you with an experience of a lifetime! We ll follow that with a trip to see the legendary Sphinx and we ll have the opportunity to take some great photos. After that, we visit the Cairo Museum. We ll have plenty of time to see precious artifacts that give us a look into the lives of ancient Egyptians. This is the home of the priceless solid gold and gemstone Tutankhamun mask and most of the cache that was found in his tomb. We will have a chance to see the Gold Room, containing riches beyond imagination! If we feel like adding a few extra attractions, we may see the Kings Room, containing the famous mummy of King Rasmes II, among others, or the Animal Mummy Room, which exhibits some of Egypt s best- preserved animal mummies and is a treat for those with a fascination for mummification! After we leave the museum, we will eat lunch at the world- famous Abu Tarek restaurant. We re going to wrap up the day with a walk through Egypt s Khan el Khalili Souk, the largest souk in Egypt.

3 There you ll find a little bit of everything. It s a shopping experience you won t forget! Following our long day in Cairo, we will go back to the hotel to relax for the evening. (Dinner is on our own) (B/L) Day 3 We will catch an early- morning flight to Luxor. Transportation will be provided upon arrival to take us to Karnak Temple, the largest ancient religious preservation in the world. It is visited more than any other historical area worldwide, with the exception of the Giza Pyramids. The complex contains many well- preserved monuments and structures, and is unbelievably vast. Upon completion of our Karnak Temple tour, we will board our boat and settle into our rooms. This is the beginning of our 4- night Nile Cruise journey. We ll relax a bit, and then meet for lunch aboard our floating hotel. Following lunch, we ll have the option to visit Luxor Museum. Among items on display are grave goods from the Tomb of Tutankhamun, the royal mummies of Ahmose I and Ramses I, and a major exhibit of the reconstruction of one of the walls of the great pharaoh

4 Akhenaten s temple at Karnak. Finally, on our last stop today, we will experience the splendor of Luxor Temple. This temple was dedicated to the rejuvenation of kingship; it may have been where many of the kings of Egypt were crowned in reality or conceptually. We ll end the day with a group dinner aboard our boat. (B/L/D) Day 4 After breakfast we ll set out for an adventurous afternoon at the Valley of the Kings. It is here that English archaeologist Howard Carter discovered Tutankhamun s Tomb in The valley is famous for its beautifully painted royal tombs, hundreds of which have yet to be excavated. It is the world s most magnificent burial ground. We ll have opportunities to enter some of the most prominent tombs and to marvel at the skill and craftsmanship the ancient tomb builders and artists possessed. Following our valley tour we ll go back to our boat for lunch, as we cruise to Aswan. We ll spend the rest of the

5 afternoon relaxing and watching our boat cross the Esna Lock. We will dock by the city of Edfu for the evening and have dinner aboard our boat. (B/L/D) Day 5 This morning we ll have breakfast, then take a trip to Edfu Temple. After Karnak, it is the second largest temple in Egypt and one of the best preserved. Masts with banners were once mounted in the deep grooves of the entrance pylon. A pair of granite sculptures of the god Horus once flanked the entrance; today the remaining statue is a favorite of tourists. Following our tour of Edfu Temple we ll have go back to our boat for lunch. We continue our afternoon of exploration at the Temple of Kom Ombo. This unusual double temple was constructed during the Ptolemaic Dynasty. The building is unique in that its double design meant there were courts, halls and sanctuaries, duplicated for two sets of gods. The southern half of the temple is dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek. Next, we ll visit the Crocodile Museum and see a few of the three hundred crocodile mummies discovered in the vicinity. We ll head back

6 to our boat, where we have the rest of the day to relax, enjoy cruising, and meet for dinner onboard in the evening. (B/L/D) Day 6 After breakfast, we ll have the option to take a bus to the Abu Simbel temples. The massive rock temples are situated on the western bank of Lake Nasser, about 143 miles southwest of Aswan. The twin temples were originally carved out of the mountainside during the reign of Ramses II as a lasting monument to himself and his queen Nefertari. In 1968, the complex was necessarily relocated high above the Aswan High Dam Reservoir to prevent its being submerged during the creation of Lake Nasser. The monument is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as Nubian Monuments, and the colossal rock relief figures have become iconic. (For those who do not wish participate in the Abu Simbel tour, you may take this time to explore the city of Aswan, or simply relax and

7 enjoy the tranquility of the Nile.) Next we ll go back to our boat for lunch. Following lunch, we will have the option to experience the kind hospitality and traditional life of a local Nubian Village and school. There will be a little time for tea and some shopping. After a long day, we ll head back to our boat. Dinner will be served onboard. (B/L/D) Day 7 In the morning we ll have breakfast and check out of our boat before we tour the Philae Temple. Pilak in ancient Egyptian, or Philae in Greek meaning the end, defined the southern most limit of Egypt. The island of Philae was the center for worship of the goddess Isis and attracted pilgrims from all over the ancient world. This beautiful structure is another ancient site that was nearly lost when the Aswan High Dam was built. Rescued by the Egyptian government and UNESCO, the whole island was surrounded with a dam and the inside pumped dry. Every stone was labeled and removed for reassembly on the higher ground of Agilka Island, where it is today. Next, we will go to the airport for our flight back to Cairo. Transportation will be waiting to take us to the beautiful Le Meridien

8 Heliopolis Hotel where we ll check in for 1 night. (Lunch and dinner are on our own) (B) Day 8 As we say goodbye to Egypt, we ll be transported from our hotel to the Cairo Airport for our journey back home. (B) Price: $1,275 per person (double occupancy) + $425 per person (single supplement) 7 Breakfasts, 5 Lunches, and 4 Dinners included Bottled water (3 per person/day) included All domestic flights included All sight entry fees included (except where noted) Most tips are included (except tour guide and drivers) Drinks are not included International flights are not included