Itinerary

Day 1 - Fly overnight to Egypt

• Relax as you fly across the Atlantic.

Day 2 - Arrival in Cairo

• Touch down in Cairo, Africa’s largest city. After clearing customs, you are greeted by your EF Tour Director, who will remain with you throughout your stay. A private motorcoach then takes you to your comfortable hotel for check-in.

Day 3 - Cairo
Take a guided tour of Memphis
Visit Sakkara: Step Pyramid
Take a guided tour of Giza: Great Pyramid of Cheops, Sphinx

Guided excursion to Memphis, Sakkara and Giza • Your full-day guided excursion begins where Egyptian history begins: in the ancient city of Memphis, dating back to 3100 B.C. Memphis was the first capital of a united Egypt. Next stop is Sakkara, site of the oldest Egyptian pyramids, including the Step Pyramid built by Zoser during the 3rd Dynasty (c. 2980–2900 B.C.). Continue on to Giza to view the Great Pyramid of Cheops, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Narrow passageways lead to the king’s chamber, deep in the heart of the 6-million-ton mausoleum—which still remains one of the world’s largest architectural structures. Depending on restoration work in progress, you will visit either the second or third pyramid of Giza. You’ll also see the beguiling 4,500-year-old limestone Sphinx. Some believe that the man-headed lion portrays the face of Pharaoh Cheops himself.

Day 4 - Luxor • Cruise
Fly to Luxor (or Aswan)
Board your Nile cruise
Visit the West Bank: Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, Temple of Hatshepsut
Visit the East Bank: Karnak and Luxor temples

Morning flight • Board your morning flightbound for Luxor. (Please note that the cruise may also run in the reverse direction from Aswan to Luxor. Depending on when and where you board your cruise, the order of sites is subject to change. Also, your boat’s passage through the lock of Esna may affect the timingof your visits.)

Board your Nile cruise • Arrive in Luxor, where you’ll embark on a four-night cruise along Egypt’s legendary Nile River.

Visit to the Valley of the Kings • Visit the necropolis of Thebes, located on the western bank of the Nile. Then journey along an ancient road to the Valley of the Kings, the spectacular burial site used by Egyptian rulers of the New Kingdom period (1570–1070 B.C.). Sixty-four Egyptian tombs have been discovered at this site, beginning with that of Seti I, found by Italian explorer Giovanni Battista Belzoni in

1817. Most of the tombs were carved deep into solid bedrock and were intended to preserve the royal mummies for eternity. They contain numerous rooms with carved and painted hieroglyphic texts and scenes. The last tomb discovered (1922), that of Tutankhamen of the 18th Dynasty, contained more than 5,000 items buried with the young king. To help protect the tombs from the effects of tourism, only a small number of tombs are ever open at any one time. You’ll also view the Colossi of Memnon and Queen Hatshepsut’s uniquely terraced tombs at Deir el-Bahari.

Visit to the Temple of Luxor • The mysterious mile-and-a-half-long Avenue of the Sphinxes

connects the Temple of Karnak with the aweinspiring and sun-soaked Temple of Luxor. Located on the eastern bank of the Nile in the heart of the city, Luxor was built as a mere chapel to complement the Great Temple of Karnak but comprises royal courts, ram-headed sphinxes, pillared gates and porticoes. You’ll also see the famous pink granite obelisk, whose mate was taken to Paris in Napoleonic times. In 1799, French soldiers were so awed by the sight of the temple that they immediately—and spontaneously—fell into rank and saluted it!

Visit to the Temple of Karnak • Experience unparalleled grandeur as you visit Karnak, a vast and monumental city of temples. The sacred barks of the divinities were once brought up the Nile to be delivered here during religious ceremonies. The enormous complex consists of royal courts, papyrus columns, gigantic pylons, pillared sanctuaries, festival halls, temples, chapels and colossal statues of kings. Try to decipher a hieroglyph or two!

Day 5 - Esna • Edfu • Cruise
Sail to Esna and continue on to Edfu
Visit the Temple of Horus

Sail to Edfu • Pass the Esna locks as you sail to Edfu, located on the banks of the Nile River,

between Esna and Aswan. The Temple of Horus, located here, is one of the best-preserved

examples of a Ptolemaic temple. Near the temple, see the remains of the ancient settlement, Tell Edfu.

Temple of Horus • See the Greek-built Temple of Horus in Edfu, situated on the western banks of the Nile. Dedicated to the Sky god and Protector god, Horus, the 2,000-yearold temple is the second largest in Egypt and certainly the best-preserved. The fact that the temple is so intact has helped researchers fill in many gaps in knowledge about the Pharaonic architecture it imitates. Marvel at its majestic statue, wall paintings, sacrificial scenes and historical inscriptions.

Day 6 - Kom Ombo • Aswan • Cruise
Sail to Kom Ombo

Sail to Kom Ombo • Sail to Kom Ombo, noted for its twin sandstone temple dedicated to both the crocodile-headed god Sobek and the falcon-headed god Haroeris. Ptolemy VI began building the temple around 180 B.C., but most of the work was completed under Neos Dionysos (80–51 B.C.).

Sail to Aswan • Then sail to Aswan. View Elephantine Island, the oldest inhabited area in Aswan. The island takes its name from the dark granite rocks that resemble a herd of elephants bathing in a river.

Visit the temple of Sobek and Haroires
Continue on to Aswan

Day 7 - Aswan • Cruise

Optional visit to Abu Simbel • Pay tribute to the ancient Pharoahs, immortalized in stone outside the entrance of the temples of Abu Simbel. On this optional excursion, you’ll learn how, in 1965, this majestic sanctuary was carefully relocated from its original position along the banks of the Nile to save it from rising floods. Inside the Great Temple of Ramses II, the walls highlight the lives of Ramses, the Pharoah who reigned over Egypt from 1290 to 1224 B.C., and his wife, Nefertari, telling vivid stories of battles won and lost in 1300 B.C.

Small Temple

Day 8 - Aswan • Night train
Disembark in Aswan
Visit the High Dam
See the Unfinished Obelisk
Board an overnight train to Cairo

Aswan High Dam and granite quarries • See the 3,800-meter-long Aswan High Dam, built to tame the Nile. This is one of the greatest engineering feats of the 20th century. You’ll also see the granite quarries of Aswan, from which ancient Egyptians obtained the materials needed for their temples and sarcophagi. See the Unfinished Obelisk, carved directly within

the quarry bedrock.

Overnight train to Cairo • Board an overnight

train bound for Cairo.

Egyptian Railways - air-conditioned express train as used Cairo-Alexandria

Day 9 - Cairo
Arrive in Cairo
Take a guided tour of Cairo: Citadel
Visit the Egyptian Museum

Arrival in Cairo • Return to Cairo.

Guided sightseeing of Cairo • Your guided tour of Cairo takes you to the spectacular mosques, monuments and minarets of Sultan Hassan, Rifai and Mohammed Ali as you journey to the 12th-century Citadel (entrance fee to Mohammed Ali mosque is included). On a clear day, you’ll have a panoramic view of the Nile and the Pyramids. Join your tour director for a treasure hunt at Khalili market.

Visit to the Egyptian Museum • You’ll also visit the Egyptian Museum, containing the largest and most comprehensive collection of Pharaonic art in the world. Here, you can view the extraordinary treasures discovered in King Tutankhamen’s tomb—including his gold mask.