The Majesty of Egypt Tour

Upon arrival, transfer to the 5-star Cairo Marriot Hotel, built around a 19th-century palace on an island in the Nile River, and our home for the next three nights.

Begin our archaeological tour of the Pyramids at the Giza Plateau. The pyramid complex was the necropolis for the Old Kingdom royal families, and is dominated by the three magnificent pyramids. The Great Pyramid was built for Khufu (Cheops)in 2528 BC. His son Khafre (Chephren) created the second pyramid and the Great Sphinx and the valley temple next to it. The third and smallest of the pyramids was built for Khafre’s son Menkaure (Mycerinus) and was once covered with costly pink Aswan granite. In the late afternoon, we return to the Great Pyramid for private entry into the tombs. Gather this evening for our welcome dinner party. (B/L/D)

Spend today at Saqqara, site of the famous Step Pyramid of Djoser, forerunner of the great Giza pyramids, and location of many recent archaeological discoveries. Here we will visit the brilliantly painted mastaba tombs of Meriruka, Ptah-hetep and Ti, portraying lively daily life scenes, and then descend into the pyramid of Unas, whose interior walls record the world’s first religious texts. In the afternoon, drive to Dahshur to see the stunning Red and Bent pyramids of Sneferu, father of Khufu. Dinner is on our own this evening. (B/L)

Today will be spent at the newly-opened Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), the largest archaeological museum in the world, housing 50,000 artifacts from ancient Egypt including the first exhibition of the full tomb collection of King Tutankhamun. Many items on display have been relocated from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, the Solar Boat Museum, and from storages and museums in Luxor, Minya, Sohag, Assiut, Beni Suef, Fayoum, the Delta, and Alexandria. In the late afternoon we fly to Aswan and transfer to the Elephantine Island Movenpick Resort, our home for the next three nights. (NOTE: If the GEM is not open to visitors by the time of our visit, our group will instead visit the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Cairo.) (B/L/D)

Begin by driving to the 342-foot high Aswan High Dam, a great rock-fill construction designed to control irrigation and increase Egypt’s agricultural land. The granite quarries of ancient Aswan lay beside the Nile, thus providing easy access to boats for transporting this prized building stone to sites downstream. A crack in the granite stopped the cutting of what would have been an enormous obelisk, estimated at more than 120 feet high, now known as the Unfinished Obelisk. The island of Philae was the center of the cult of the goddess Isis and her connection with Osiris, Horus, and the Kingship during the Ptolemaic period of Egyptian History. For over 50 years the island and its monuments lay half-submerged in water built up by the Aswan Dam, until the UNESCO rescue operations completely dismantled and rebuilt the temples and moved them to the nearby island of Agilika. In the afternoon, board a private felucca to travel further down the Nile along Elephantine Island, the largest of the Aswan area islands, and one of the most ancient sites in Egypt with artifacts dating to pre-dynastic periods. The island is a beautiful place to visit, with wonderful gardens and some truly noteworthy artifacts. It was considered to be home of the important Egyptian god, Khnum, and while the still visible structure dates back to the Queen Hatshepsut of the 18th Dynasty, there are references to an earlier temple to this god on the island as early as the 3rd Dynasty. View the Temple of Khnum, originally erected during the Old Kingdom, a Greco-Roman Necropolis and the Temple of Satet, built by Queen Hatshepsut. After visiting the two nearby museums we return to the hotel. Dinner is on our own this evening. (B/L)

The morning is free to relax at the hotel or join the optional excursion to Abu Simbel in the morning. Lunch is on our own. In the late afternoon we visit the nearby Nubian Museum. The recipient of the Aga Khan award for its stunning architecture, this museum highlights Nubia, historically Egypt’s gateway to the rest of Africa. Today, Nubia’s lands lie under Lake Nasser, submerged in 1971 when the Aswan High Dam was opened. (B/D)

Abu Simbel Extension

Early morning transfer to the airport for our flight to Abu Simbel. Upon arrival, continue to the two imposing and colossal rock-cut temples of Ramses II and his cherished wife Nefertari, which were saved in the late 1960s through a worldwide effort when UNESCO moved them to higher ground. Return to the airport in the afternoon for the flight back to Aswan.

This morning we begin our drive to Luxor, stopping along the way to explore two remarkable Ptolemaic sites: The Temple of Kom Ombo, dedicated to the crocodile-god Sobek, and the Temple of Horus, the falcon-headed god, at Edfu. Kom Ombo is notable for its two sanctuaries. One is dedicated to the crocodile-god, Sobek, and the other to the falcon-god, Horus the Elder. There are clear depictions of ancient medical instruments on one wall.  In ancient times, sacred crocodiles basked in the sun on the riverbank near here, and hundreds of mummified crocodiles were found in the vicinity. The Temple of Horus is the best-preserved ancient temple in Egypt and the second largest after Karnak. Built from sandstone blocks, the huge Ptolemaic temple has a massive entrance pylon covered with traditional scenes of the king smiting his enemies before Horus. Upon arrival to Luxor, transfer to the Hilton Luxor Resort and Spa, our home for the next four nights. (B/L/D)

The celebrated Egyptian city of Thebes, modern Luxor, was described by Homer as “the city of a hundred gates” because so many of its temples had the monumental entrances favored by contemporary Greek architecture. Thebes was twice the capital of ancient Egypt. It was from Thebes that Ahmose restored the unity of Egypt and inaugurated the New Kingdom. Today we visit spectacular Karnak and the Temple of Amun. Arguably the most remarkable religious complex ever built, it contains 250 acres of temples, chapels, obelisks, columns and statues built over a period of 2,000 years and incorporating the finest aspects of Egyptian art and architecture. As many as thirty pharaohs are believed to have contributed to this complex, enabling it to reach a size, complexity, and diversity rarely seen. Today’s tour visits the magnificent Temple of Luxor. This has always been a sacred site and was the power base of the living divine king and the foremost national shrine of the king’s cult. The temple’s southern end was the dwelling place of the holy of holies, the principal god, Amun. Continue on to the Luxor Museum, housing the remarkable artifacts found in nearby excavations. The Chicago House is the Oriental Institute headquarters in Egypt and a major center of Egyptological studies. Here, we join the Director and his staff as they host us for cocktails and a specially arranged private viewing of the library, among the finest in Egypt. (B/L/D)

Begin today on Luxor’s west bank, the royal necropolis of the Kings on the west bank of the Nile. Beginning with the 18th Dynasty and ending with the 20th, the pharaohs of ancient Egypt abandoned the Memphis area and built their tombs in Thebes. Most of these tombs were cut into the limestone following a similar pattern – three corridors, an antechamber and a sunken sarcophagus chamber – and stunning decorations by the finest craftsmen cover many of the passages and chambers. Here we will visit one of the smallest tombs in the necropolis, the Tomb of Tutankhamun, undoubtedly the most famous of the Egyptian tombs because of the extraordinary discoveries made here in the early 20^th century.

At lunch, galabeya makers will come to take measurements and orders for the typical Egyptian robe for those who want to purchase one. Deir El Medina was the village home of the workmen who were responsible for the construction and embellishment of the royal tombs from the New Kingdom. The master masons, artists and sculptors who worked on the crypts were born, trained, lived, died, and buried here. Within two of their tombs, we gaze upon dazzling paintings that speak of the status of the individuals. Continue to the Ramesseum. Ramesses II built his fabulous mortuary temple on the site of Seti I’s ruined temple, where he identified himself with the local form of the God, Amun.

The main building, where the funerary cult of the king was celebrated, has pylons decorated with scenes from the Battle of Kadesh. These scenes show Ramesses fighting the Hittites in a heroic counterattack, standing in his chariot firing arrows with deadly precision. (B/L/D)

There are many temples to Hathor, the cow-goddess who presided over love, music, dance and enjoyment, but the temple in Denderah is the best preserved. The building is richly decorated with 18 Hathor-headed columns supporting the roof of the hypostyle hall and a series of reliefs linking the traditions of Hathor with her husband, Horus.  We spend the morning here and return to Luxor in the afternoon for some free time to relax or explore the city. (B/L/D)

Begin today on Luxor’s west bank in the Valley of Queens, the burial place of the royal wives, concubines and daughters of the pharaohs, and the princes who died at an early age. The most renowned of these tombs was that of the favorite wife of Ramses II. Normally closed to the public, we have special permission to enter the interior of the burial chamber of Nefertari’s tomb, covered with scenes of exceptional quality and beauty. Ramesses III chose the sacred site of Medinet Habu to build his funeral temple. Surrounded by a fortified enclosure wall and covering more than twenty acres, the complex contains funerary chapels, shops, and the gigantic Great Temple with it intact pylon decorated with scenes of the king’s victories. Here, we join Dr. Ray Johnson for a private, behind the scenes tour of the building. And finally, see the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, the female pharaoh, certainly the most beautiful architecture within the Valley of the Kings. In the late afternoon, fly to Cairo and overnight for two nights at the Hilton Heliopolis Hotel. Dinner tonight will be on our own. (B/L/)

Spend the morning at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization. The rest of the afternoon is at your leisure. Enjoy our farewell dinner at the hotel. (B/L/D)

Transfer to airport to board your flight back home. (B)