Egypt Deluxe Vacations 12 Days 11 Nights

Day 1: Cairo -Arrival

Your Egypt Tours tour leader will meet & assist you at Cairo International Airport, and handle all your procedures through passport control, luggage area & customs formalities. Then you will be transferred to your hotel

Day 2: Giza pyramids and Sphinx

Visit the Great Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu). It is certainly one of the most important monuments of ancient Egypt. A masterpiece of fabricated structure and architecture, you will be overwhelmed by the huge size of its blocks, the height, and the age that exceeded 4600 years.

Your guide will explain fully the history of all the area including the other pyramids, of Chephren and Mycerinus, answer all your questions and you will have the chance to take pictures of the whole area.

You will spend more than two hours in the area so that you can enter one of the pyramid's chambers or visit the Sun boat museum. You may like to have a camel ride around the area.

Moving to the Sphinx area where you will spend some time exploring this monolith statue, which symbolizes the power and wisdom of the pharaoh. Next to the Sphinx area, you will visit the valley temple where you will learn about mummification in ancient Egypt.

Day 3: Egyptian museum -Coptic Cairo

The Egyptian Museum in Cairo is one of the largest museums in the world. Your Egypt tours will take you on a 4 hours tour to explore the museum's treasures (opened in 1901). Look at the amazing monuments and artifacts in its different halls in a guided tour. Although the museum has tens of thousands of artifacts in this short tour, your Egyptologist guide will focus on the highlights and masterpieces of the museum

Visit the Tut Ankh Amun Wing on the first floor and see his wonderful collection of historically important artwork. The treasures are mainly golden and they cover a quite large section of the museum. This area of the museum includes significant statues, furniture, and gold sculptures. After enjoying the guided part of the tour, take some free time to browse the museum with the option of visiting the royal mummy room.

Visit the Hanging church, one of the most beautiful churches that were built in the 5th century. Consecrated to Virgin Mary, The church was built above one of the towers of the fort of Babylon. It has 110 beautiful icons and once was the seat of the Patriarch. Your guide will explain to you all about the church before moving to the Cavern church or the church of St Sergius and Bacchus. Thousands of visitors come annually to this church to visit the cave where Jesus the baby and the Virgin Mary were hiding for 3 months during the journey of escape in Egypt. The religious tolerance in Egypt is embodied by your visit to the oldest Jewish temple in Cairo. This temple is one among other synagogues in Egypt and is named after a merchant from Jerusalem called Ben Ezra. You will be given the full history of the synagogue and the position of the Jewish community in Egypt.

Day 4: Fly to Aswan- Aswan main attractions

The magnificent Temple was dedicated to the Cult of the Goddess Isis, but it became submerged after the first Aswan dam was built in 1902, and it was not until the sixties that many countries attempted to save the Temple. All these countries, together with UNESCO moved the temple to the Agilika Island. The Egyptians built the temple during the Greek, Roman, and Byzantine eras; every ruler was keen on adding and expanding the temple to show his reverence to the Egyptian deities. Your Egyptologist guide will explain all the different reliefs, courts, and pylons of the temple

Stare at the huge obelisk in Aswan. In the granite quarry of the city, lying the giant obelisk. It is called the Unfinished Obelisk because it was never erected. It would have measured about 137 feet (42 meters) if completed and is estimated to weigh around 1164 tons. It is believed that the female pharaoh Hatshepsut ordered carving it during the 18th dynasty.

The High Dam of Aswan is one of the most important and great achievements of Egypt during the 20thCentuy. For many years, the dam represented the period of modernism in the country. It provided Egypt with Hydroelectric power and safeguarded the country from the dangers of the flood. Your guide will accompany you to explain the history of the Dam, its advantages and disadvantages.

Day 5: Kom Ombo -Edfu temples

This is one of the unique temples of Egypt. The temple was dedicated to two Egyptian Deities: Horus with the falcon head and Sobek with the crocodile head. The temple has two entrances, one for each of the two gods. The temple is beautifully located on a high mound. This location gives the visitor the chance to enjoy the view of the Nile.

The temple was dedicated to Horus, the falcon-headed. The temple of Edfu is the most well-preserved among ancient temples. Your private guide will give you a detailed history of the temple and its reliefs,

Day 6: Luxor -East and West

At the beginning of your tour, you will cross the Nile to the West bank where you will visit the Valley of the Kings. The Pharaohs were hiding their mummies and treasures in this barren desert area. Many of these treasures were found in these beautiful colored tombs. You can visit three tombs to enjoy the colors and murals on the walls. The tombs were carved deep in the mountain rock; you have the option to visit other royal tombs such as Tut Ankh Amun

Then continue your tour on the west bank and drive to the mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut. She is the first female pharaoh in ancient Egypt who ruled the kingdom for 20 prosperous years. This temple is called El Deir el Bahari as the early Christians used the Northern monastery, as it was a Coptic monastery. Unlike the other temples, this one was built of limestone and partly hewn in the mother bedrock. It has three terraces and its focal point is to tell the story of the Divine birth of the Queen.

The final stop will be at the colossi of Memnon. The Colossi of Memnon are two monumental statues representing king Amenhotep III of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt. They are located west of the modern city of Luxor and face east looking toward the Nile River. The statues depict the seated king on a throne with some other carvings of his mother, his wife, the god Hapi, the Nile god, and other symbolic engravings. Both are carved from single blocks of sandstone and the name refers to the Greek hero Memnon who fell in the Trojan War

Karnak temple is a complex of temples. The temple is dedicated to Amun Ra, the chief god in Egyptian mythology. Enjoy the Great Hypostyle court and the reliefs and murals that were added through the generations. Feel astonished at the tall obelisks 70 feet high and cut from a single piece of granite. Look at the statues of the different pharaohs who want to show their loyalty to RA. Keep an eye on the magnificent tall columns and their papyrus and Lotus capitals while their shafts are loaded with hieroglyphics.

Following this, you will go for a short drive to Luxor temple. Originally, Luxor temple and Karnak were connected with the Ram-Headed Sphinxes Avenue. The connection was to celebrate the annual visit of Ra from Karnak to his wife Mut in Luxor. The temple of Luxor witnessed many historical eras and has its extensions and additions along the ages. Different structures and murals show the Greek, Roman, Islamic, and Coptic influences.

Stare at the statues and obelisks of Ramses II. There should be two obelisks at the entrance of the temple but one of them was sent to Paris

Day 7: A drive from Luxor to Hurghada

Disembarkation after breakfast at Luxor, Drive via A/C modern vehicle to Hurghada, check into your hotel,

Day 8: Hurghada -Free day at leisure

After breakfast, Day at leisure in Hurghada, enjoy marvelous sandy and sunny beaches, enjoy swimming, snorkeling and different water sports are available on request

Day 9: Hurghada optional activities

Enjoy excellent diving and snorkeling among the Red Sea coral reefs and see some amazing rare fish. Or, choose one of the many other activities such as windsurfing, sailing, and deep-sea fishing. (Optional tour ) for diving and snorkeling on Giftun Island, or take the Sindbad submarine to discover the amazing underwater world of the Red Sea,

Day 10: Hurghada optional activities

Enjoy excellent diving and snorkeling among the Red Sea coral reefs and see some amazing rare fish. Or, choose one of the many other activities such as windsurfing, sailing, and deep-sea fishing. (Optional tour ) for diving and snorkeling on Giftun Island, or take the Sindbad submarine to discover the amazing underwater world of the Red Sea

Day 11: Back to Cairo -Optional tour to Sakkara and Memphis

You will visit Sakkara, home of Egypt's oldest pyramid, built-in 2800 B.C. Your guide will provide a brief history of the famous Step Pyramid and you will have free time to walk around and visit the painted tombs of the nobles

Memphis is the oldest capital of Egypt after the unity in 3100 B.C. You will visit the open-air museum in the city. In Memphis, you will see the second-largest Sphinx in Egypt, the lying colossus of Ramses II, and many more monuments dug in this great city.

Day 12: Departure

After breakfast, transfer to Cairo airport for final departure