Egypt
and Jordan Combination Tour ( 17 Nights / 18 Day )
Day 01: Arrive
Cairo where you will be met by our representative who will help you with your
immigration and customs formalities. Later you will be transferred
to your hotel, the luxurious.
Day 02: After breakfast, drive to Memphis on the edge of the Western Desert,
the capital of the ancient kingdom, and one of the most important
cities throughout the history of ancient Egypt. From here we drive
to Sakkara, the vast necropolis of ancient Memphis. PM Drive to
the Pyramids of Giza. Cheop's Pyramids, the largest of the three,
was built in the 3rd Dynasty about 2690 BC, and is one of the seven
wonders of the ancient world. In front of the Pyramids of Chephren,
we find the Sphinx carved from a single piece of stone. It is a
lion with a pharaoh's head thought to be a portrait of the Pharaoh
Chephren. Visit the Solar Boat Museum. Later transfer back to your
hotel for an overnight.
Day 03: Breakfast, then you will be met and transferred to Cairo
Airport for your flight to Aswan. Upon arrival at Aswan Airport,
you will be met and transferred to embark your cruise ship. Later
you will visit by "felucca" the
Elephantine Island, the Mausoleum of Agha Khan and the Botanical
Gardens. Lunch. You will be met by our tour guide and a private
tour of the newly opened Nubian Museum in Aswan, where you can
see the Nubian civilization from the start until present time.
Later transfer back to your cruise ship for dinner and overnight
on board ship.
Day 04: Breakfast, then visit the Unfinished Obelisk
in the ancient granite quarries, and the High Dam. Lunch, then cruise
to Kom-Ombo. Visit the Ptolemaic Temple of Kom-Ombo, which was dedicated
to two gods: the Crocodile God Sobek and the Falcon-Headed god Haroeris.
Sail to Edfu. Dinner and overnight on board.
Day 05: Breakfast, then visit the Temples of Horus
(237 BC), the best preserved Egyptian temple in existence. Lunch.
Sail to Esna and visit the Temple of Khnum. Continue to Luxor. Dinner
and overnight on board ship.
Day 06: Breakfast, then cross the Nile to visit the necropolis
of ancient Thebes. Explore the Valleys of the Kings and Queens
where tombs of 64 Pharaohs and 57 Queens have been discovered,
and enter some of the most important burials. Visit the temple
of Queen Hatshipsut and the Colossi of Memnon. Lunch. Afternoon
visit the Temple of Karnak, which took over 1500 years to build
and is considered the world's largest religious complex. Then visit
to the Temple of Luxor, which was started by Amenhotep III, and
completed by Ramses II. Dinner on board ship.
Day 07: Breakfast, then disembark your cruise
ship, where you will be met and transferred to the Old Winter Palace
Hotel. Later you will be met by our guide and start your tour visiting
the Tomb of the Nobles, the King Tut Tomb, the Seti First Tomb and
Madinet Habut. Transfer back to your hotel. Later transfer to attend
the magnificent Sound and Light Show at the Karnak Temple. Return
to your hotel for an overnight.
Day 08: Breakfast, then visit the newly opened Tomb of "Nefertari".
It consists of 25 chambers and it houses the sons of Ramses II.
It's a breathtaking exhibit. Later visit the Luxor Museum. PM You
will be met and transferred to Luxor Airport for your flight back
to Cairo. Upon arrival at Cairo Airport, you will be met and transferred
to your hotel.
Day 09: Breakfast, then start your tour visiting the Egyptian Museum
famous for its antiquities from Egypt's Pharaonic Period, which
dates back some 50 centuries and includes the fabulous treasures
of King Tut-Ankh-Amon. Afternoon excusion to Old Cairo, visiting
the very old Coptic Churches and the Oldest Jewish Synagogue of
Beni Ezra. Continue your visit to a mosque and the Medieval bazaars
of Khan-el-Khalili. Where you can bargain for your jewelry and
hand-tooled leather items. Return to your hotel for an overnight.
Day 10: Breakfast, then drive to visit the Pyramid of Maidum was
originally a seven-stepped pyramid. It was enlarged to an eight-stepped
pyramid. Eventually the steps were filled in and a smooth outer
facing turned it into a true pyramid. It is a huge structure that
is surrounded by the debris from the casing that collapsed. The
Maidum Pyramid is thought to have been started by Huni, the last
ruler of the 3rd Dynasty and then completed by his son Sneferu.
Sneferu was the first 4th Dynasty Pharaoh. (2613 - 2494 BC). A
little north from the Maidum Pyramid is the remains of the Seila
Step Pyramid, it is made of the limestone and is thought to be
from the 2nd Dynasty. From there we drive to Dahshur to visit the
Red Pyramid and the Bent Pyramid. The constructor of these pyramids
is thought to have been Sneferu. Sneferu is thought as well
to have built the Pyramid of Maidum. His son was Cheops, who continued
his constructive tendencies. Return to your hotel. Overnight.
Day 11: Breakfast, then visit Fayoum, Egypt's
largest oasis, overlooking Lake Qarun which is a popular spot for
hunting and fishing. You can visit the remains of the Temple and
Pyramid of Amenhat III and Qasr Qarun, a well preserved temple from
the Greco-Roman Era. PM Return back to Cairo. Overnight at your
hotel.
Day 12: Breakfast and morning at leisure for last
minute shopping. Overnight at your hotel. (B)
Day 13: Breakfast, then you will be met by our
representative and transferred to Cairo Airport, where you will
be helped with your check-in and immigration formalities for your
flight to Amman. Arrive Amman Queen Alia Airport where you will
be met by our representative, assisted and transferred to your hotel.
Day 14: Breakfast, then drive north for a full
day tour to three of Jordan's most historical sites: Jerash, Ajlun
and Umm Qeis. You will start in the biblical land of Gilead (Jerash).
This is one of the finest preserved Greco-Roman cities, which the
Hellenistic forces of Alexander the Great called Antioch on the
Chrisorhoas. It is one of the best preserved cities of the decapolis.
Within its intact towered city walls, are colonnaded streets, three
theaters, several baths, two temples, plazas, fountains and many
other public spaces that formed the typical wealthy provincial Roman
town. From the Byzantine period, Jerash has at least 15 churches
with sparkling mosaics. Back to the hotel for an overnight.
Day 15: After an early breakfast, drive south,
via the King's Highway, on your way to what is rightly called "The 8th Wonder of the Ancient World": Petra. As you pass south of Amman through the Old Ammonite Kingdom, we reach
Madaba, with one of the best preserved collections of early Christian
Byzantine mosaics from the 4th to the 7th centuries AD. Ten minutes
east of Madaba, is Mt. Nebo, with its commanding view of the Dead
Sea and the Jordan Valley. It is the same spot where Moses is thought
to have looked out over the Holy Land. Continue to the massive crusader
fortress of Kerak, with its labyrinth of underground galleries,
rooms and secret passages. Its thick defensive walls are pierced
by narrow slits, where the crusader's archers held out in vain for
over 1000 years. Continue to Petra.
Day 16: After breakfast, start your full day tour
is the rose red city of Petra, the wondrous, rock-carved Nabatean
capital. From that same well-secured spot, the Nabatean Arab kingdom
controlled one of the greatest international trade routes of the
ancient world, the fabled "Spice and Incense Route", which linked China, India and Southern Arabia with rich markets of Greece,
Rome and the Mediterranean world. For approximately 500 years, between
the 3rd century BC and the 2nd century AD, the Nabateans carved
a fabulous city out of the rose red rock, of which over 800 individual
monuments and tombs can still be appreciated today. Overnight at
your hotel. (B,L)
Day 17: Breakfast, and a day at leisure. Overnight
at your hotel. (B,L)
Day 18: Breakfast, then you will bemet by our
representative and transferred to Amman Airport, where you will
be helped with your check-in and immigration formalities for your
flight back home. (B)