“Time & Space in the Temples & Pyramids”

DAY 1 – Sunday, November 3, 2024: Arrivals in Cairo. Welcome meeting, Dashur – Red & Bent Pyramids, Memphis.
Hotel: Giza hotel nIght #1. Meal: BB, L.

On November 3, 2024, those flying nonstop from JFK, NY (MS 986) arrive in Cairo at 5:40am. Those flying nonstop from IAD, Washington-Dulles (MS 982), arrive in Cairo at 5:30am. Welcome to Egypt! A representative will meet you at Cairo airport and bring you to our hotel.

After the early-morning arrivals have joined us and we all have had breakfast together at the hotel at the Cairo Airport, we have a short Welcome Meeting and begin our sightseeing with sites from Ancient Egypt’s Old Kingdom (2,575-2,150 B.C.).  We drive southward through fertile farmlands to the pyramids at Dashur, dated even older than the pyramids at Giza!  It is also a chance to begin savoring the riches of Egypt without huge crowds and souvenir sellers.

We spend time inside the Red Pyramid (nearly as large as Giza’s Great Pyramid) and then have the opportunity for an unforgettable walk across the open desert to the Bent Pyramid.  The desert is rich with inspiration and the vastness is exhilarating.  The Bent Pyramid was a key center of worship during the Middle Kingdom and was much more important than Giza at that time.  The Bent pyramid is the only pyramid to retain most of its original casing stones.  The Black Pyramid (Middle Kingdom mud brick) can also be seen from here.

After lunch in the Sakkara area, we visit the ancient capital city of Memphis. This was constructed of mudbricks so not much remains, but there are some interesting artifacts on display – the Alabaster Sphinx, the huge fallen statue of Ramesses II, and a number of other statues.

Then we are off to the Giza Pyramids where we check into our hotel with its spectacular views of the pyramids and Sphinx!

DAY 2 – Monday, Nov 4, 2024: Giza Plateau – Great Pyramid, Sphinx, Valley Temple, camel ride (not obligatory), Khafre or Menkaure Pyramid. Private Great Pyramid visit in the evening.* 
Hotel: Giza hotel night #2. Meals: BB, L  

Today we spend a full day on the Giza Plateau. You can go inside whichever pyramids are open. Of the three pyramids, two are usually open while one is closed for renovations – dates are not announced in advance. Tickets for entering the individual pyramids are included in your tour package.

We will also see the Great Sphinx & Valley Temple. There are legends of the Sphinx speaking. Does the Sphinx have a message for you? The Valley Temple is built with huge granite blocks that fit together snugly even today, almost 5,000 years later. Some think it is even older than that!

Camel rides for the adventurous (no additional fee).  Camel videos HERE.

For those who like to shop, after lunch there is a visit to a perfumery with Egyptian perfume oils. 

*Note: We are applying for a special government-issued permit which will allow us to have a private visit for our group alone in the Great Pyramid after the other tourists have left for the day or in the early morning before they arrive.  We have every reason to believe that we will receive this permission, as we have on our previous tours.  However, we cannot guarantee this because government policies can change unexpectedly.

Also note that the Solar Boat is no longer on the Giza Plateau but has been moved to the new museum (GEM) for restoration.

DAY 3 – Tuesday, Nov 5, 2024: Saqqara: Step Pyramid, Unas Pyramid, New Kingdom Tombs, Old Kingdom Tombs, Teti Pyramid, Serapeum. Check out of our hotel, flight from Cairo to Luxor.
Hotel: Luxor Steigenberger Hotel or similar, night #1. Meals: BB, L, D.

On our way to Saqqara, we drive through the Black Land where the people have farmed the rich Nile silt for thousands of years.

Our sightseeing will be at the Saqqara Complex (also spelled Sakkara) today. Three treats for our previous travelers are that a passage under the Step Pyramid has been opened, as well as the Southern Tomb (these were never open before). And the famous Pyramid of Unas is now open, too. So, of course, they are all included in our tour!

Before the morning is over, we see some of the New Kingdom Tombs in the Southern Cemetary.

After lunch at a nearby restaurant, we return again to Saqqara, this time visiting the sites on the northern side. Here we find the Teti Pyramid and some Old Kingdom tombs with fascinating scenes of the daily life in Ancient Egypt’s Old Kingdom (the ones which are open varies). We will also visit the Serapeum, a place shrouded in mystery.

Our final visit is to the newly reopened Imhotep Museum.  This is a small site-museum (artifacts were found here at Saqqara) that has a number of interesting pieces to see.

We may also stop to see some of the local carpet weavers (if people are interested).

Dinner together near Cairo Airport before our departure.

Evening flight to Luxor.

DAY 4 – Wednesday: Luxor Temple, Luxor Museum, Luxor Bazaar.
Hotel: Luxor Steigenberger Hotel or similar, night #2. Meals: BB, L  

Welcome to Luxor! Luxor has been a tourist attraction from long before the New Testament era. The Greeks looked to Egypt as the place of great wisdom and were enthralled by the temple ruins they found there. We begin our visits here with the Luxor Temple. Both gently beautiful and full of awesome grandness, this temple was the “Bride of Karnak” during the annual Apet festival.  There is an Avenue of Sphinxes that connects Luxor Temple with Karnak Temple and it is one of the newly opened attractions! You may have seen the extravagant ceremony that was broadcast recently when it opened. Youtube video.

Afterwards, we visit the Luxor Museum. There is a special exhibit room for a cache of statues found in near-perfect condition. They were buried under a courtyard at the Luxor Temple and found only recently during renovations.  There is also a new wing to the museum with an excellent mummy exhibit and a number of splendid artifacts. 

In the afternoon we visit a shop that sells jewelry with Egyptian motifs and a papyrus shop. We will also visit a local grocery store where we will get snacks and lunches to eat for our day-long bus trip to Abydos and Dendera tomorrow. If you enjoy bargaining and shopping, or just plain people-watching, you might enjoy a late-afternoon/evening visit to the Luxor Bazaar. Souvenirs, scarves, dresses, and more. You can even try smoking the shisha (flavored tobacco) in a water pipe.

DAY 11 – Wednesday: Edfu Temple, sailing to Silsila. Mountain
Hotel: Dahabiya Nile Cruise Boat or similar., night #3. Meals: BB, L, D.

The Edfu Temple is one of the best-preserved temples in Egypt. Built during the Ptolemaic era on an older site, it is dedicated to the god Horus. Horus was the original superhero. Even the word hero is derived from Heru, his name in the Ancient Egyptian language. He is the savior and redeemer, the one who fights for what is right. He is represented as a falcon (a type of hawk).

We continue sailing on to Silsila Mountain.

DAY 12 – Thursday: Silsila Quarries with Horemheb Temple, Kom Ombo Temple.
Hotel: Dahabiya Nile Cruise Boat or similar, night #4. Meals: BB, L, D.

Our last day of sailing. We have one more day to let the gentle current of the Nile cleanse our bodies, minds, and souls. Being on the Nile is like time outside of time. Are we in Biblical times? The early 1900’s? Is it really the 21st century? Could that be Agatha Christie I see there writing her next mystery novel? Do memories of earlier times and faces cross your mind?

We make a visit to the Temple of Horemheb at Silsila, a site not easily accessible and certainly impossible to visit with a large cruise boat. Such a visit is more the way it would have been for Egypt travelers in the past. No vendors hawking their wares, no automobiles or buses. This site is also where many of the huge stones used in building the temples we have seen were quarried. The scale of such an operation is quite striking when one sees where the stones originated.

The Kom Ombo Temple sits high on a hill above the Nile. It’s a special feeling when we approach it. This temple has two parallel entrances, one for each of the deities it honors. Sobek was a crocodile god and Haeoris was an aspect of the hawk-god Horus.

DAY 13 – Friday: OPTIONAL: Abu Simbel Temples by road.* 
TOURING: Aswan – Aswan marketplace, spice shop, Nubian Museum, overnight in Aswan.
Hotel: Aswan Obelisk, Basma or similar hotel. Meals: BB, L.

* The cost of the day-long trip to Abu Simbel is not included in your tour. 

OPTIONAL ABU SIMBEL by road, approx. $180 USD (not included): 
Those choosing this option leave our dahabiya in the morning and begin the day-long trip to Abu Simbel. The Abu Simbel Temples were made famous when the high dam was constructed and they were soon to be submerged under the new lake, Lake Nasser. A UNESCO international effort saved the temples by moving them to higher ground. The two large temples of Abu Simbel (constructed by Ramesses II) were carved into the cliff itself. The smaller temple is for the Goddess Hathor and was dedicated to his queen, Nefertari.

THOSE NOT CHOOSING THE ABU SIMBEL OPTION:
Checking out of our dahabiya after breakfast, we journey into Aswan where we have time for some shopping. There is an interesting spice shop and you can try your hand at bargaining in the local street bazaar with its multiple small shops. All during Ancient Egypt, Aswan was the center of trade between Africa to the south and the Mediterranean countries to the north.You might also like to visit the Nubian Museum (optional).

Our hotel tonight is near the center of Aswan. We arrive in the late afternoon and you may decide to enjoy the sunset from the terrace with a glass of wine or beer.

DAY 14 – Saturday: Hatshepsut’s Unfinished Obelisk, Philae Isis Temple, flight from Aswan to Cairo.
Hotel: Novotel Cairo Airport Hotel or similar, night #1, or similar. Hotel night #1. Meals: BB, L, D.

After checking out of our hotel, we begin our day with the Unfinished Obelisk of Hatshepsut. Although the fact that it cracked before it could be removed and brought to Luxor was a disaster in ancient times, it is a wonderful opportunity for us in modern times to see how the obelisks were created.

Next, we have a beautiful treat. The Philae Isis Temple is on an island near Aswan. This temple was partially submerged when the Low Dam was constructed (1899-1902) by the British. With the construction of the High Dam (1959-1970), it would have been underwater completely. Thankfully, it was moved to higher ground on a neighboring island and its beauty continues to shine.

We fly back to Cairo this evening and check into our hotel, conveniently located right at the Cairo airport for easy arrival this evening and for our departures home on Monday.

DAY 15 – Sunday, Nov 17, 2024: Museum Day in Cairo, Farewell Dinner. 
Hotel: Novotel Cairo Airport Hotel or similar, night #2. Meals: BB, L, D.

We have high hopes that the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) will be open at the time of these tours. Just as the name implies, this will be a world-renowned museum. It is the largest museum in Africa and will also house the largest collection of Egyptian antiquities.

If for some reason the GEM is not open yet, we will visit the Cairo Egyptian Museum and the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) where the royal mummies are now housed.

It’s hard to believe our time has reached an end. We have a final meeting and dinner together before preparing to go our separate ways. Most people will fly home tomorrow morning, but there may be some who have flights leaving during the night tonight.

Farewell Egypt! You will continue to live in our hearts!

Those who are flying nonstop Cairo/JFK, NY, leave late tonight. Their flight (MS 985), leaves Cairo at 3:10am tomorrow morning.  The hotel is right within the airport perimeter and there is a shuttle that will take you to whichever terminal you need to leave from. People flying nonstop Cairo/Washington Dulles leave tomorrow evening at 11:55pm.