EGYPT - NILE 2
"Notable Incredible Luxurious Egypt"
Custom luxury tour arranged by Brown and Keene Travel and Ker & Downey
Escorted by Ken Hutyra and Ngaire Keene Hutyra

March  09, 2012 to March 20, 2012

 

The Egyptian tour at a glance

Highlights of Cairo: Memphis, Sakkara, Giza Pyramids, Old Cairo, Citadel,  
 After hours Egyptian Museum and Mummy Room viewing. Sunset at the Giza Pyramids and Sound and Light Show private for our group.  Reception and dinner in the elegant home of Antoine Riad, Chairman of South Sinai Travel,  
Cruise includes: Luxor Temple, Karnak Temple and Karnak Sound and Light Show, Valley of the Kings with visits to special entrance tombs -  King Tut and Ramses VI  PLUS the Valley of the Queens, Abu Simbel by air with our own Egyptologists as guides - Philae Temple, Unfinished Obelisk, Aswan High Dam, Felucca Sail, Edfu Temple and Kom Ombo
Included but optional are the Nubian and Luxor Museums, the Aswan Bazaar and other attractions
Schedule for these optional attractions is flexible with two vehicles to adjust to the groups wishes
 

Date	Itinerary	Accommodation	Meals Included
3/09/12	Arrive in Cairo/ Private Sound & Light Show	Cairo First Residence
3/10/12	Tours/ Special Egyptian Museum Opening	Cairo First Residence	B,L
3/11/12	Tours/ Reception & Dinner Private Home	Cairo First Residence	B,L,D
3/12/12	Arrive in Luxor/ Luxor Temple	Sonesta Star Goddess	B,L,D
3/13/12	Valley of the Kings/Queens	Sonesta Star Goddess	B,L,D
3/14/12	Cruise the Nile/Edfu Temple	Sonesta Star Goddess	B,L,D
3/15/12	Aswan/High Dam/ Philae Temple	Sonesta Star Goddess	B,L,D
3/16/12	Aswan/ Abu Simbel/Felucca Sail	Sonesta Star Goddess	B,L,D
3/17/12	Cruise the Nile/Komombo Temple	Sonesta Star Goddess	B,L,D
3/18/12	Luxor visit Karnak Temple + Sound and Light Show	Sonesta Star Goddess	B,L,D
3/19/12	Debark and Fly Luxor to Cairo	Intercontinental City Stars Airport Hotel	B
3/20/12	Fly home

   
ITINERARY - EGYPT PORTION ONLY
 

Want to come into Cairo Early?
Special Rate: The Four Seasons First Residence with breakfast and the 23% taxes and fees included
 $300 pp double occupancy or $515 single occupancy with the VIP arrival process at the Cairo airport.
 

 

 

Friday March 09, 2012

Arrive Cairo

 

Four Seasons First Residence

 

            Welcome to Egypt!  On arrival you are met with VIP Services. Lounge on arrival and while your immigration and visa process is handled for you. Transfer to the Four Seasons First Residence Hotel. Arriving on Friday when the traffic is lighter will significantly speed up your trip to the hotel after the flight.

 

            Cairo: Cairo has at various times been called Memphis, Babylon-in-Egypt, Heliopolis, El-Fustat and most recently, Al-Qahira (the Conqueror). With a population of 16 million, Cairo is the largest city in the Middle East and Africa, and is the center of all routes leading to and from three continents: Asia, Africa and Europe. Here, past and present meet in a glorious diversity of cultures.

               

            Modern Cairo is an architectural fusion of old and new, where skyscrapers and ancient monuments stand side by side. The Pyramids of the Pharaohs, early Christian monasteries and churches, Salah El-Din's Citadel and mosques of the Mamluke and Ottoman sultans form a historical mosaic. Greater Cairo encompasses both historic towns and modern districts, resulting in one of the world's largest metropolises. To the north is Alexandria, founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BC as a gateway to Greece; to the northeast, on the Mediterranean Sea, lie Port Said and the Suez Canal.

 Four Seasons First Residence: A gracious sanctuary of Four Seasons hospitality and service, with impressive views of the Great Pyramids over the old-growth canopy of Cairo’s ancient Zoological and Botanical Gardens. The Hotel is at the center of the First Residence apartments and shops on the west bank of the Nile.

After a day at leisure this evening enjoy a special event: Sunset at the Giza Pyramids with a private Sound and Light show exclusive to the Brown and Keene group.

Dinner at your own expense after the show in one of the many restaurants at the Four Seasons or the attached Mall.

 

           Accommodations at Four Seasons First Residence – Superior Room

 

Saturday, March 10, Cairo

 

Four Seasons First Residence

            Tour to Memphis and the Giza Pyramids

 

            Little remains of Memphis, the first capital of the united Lower & Upper Egypt, as the stones were plundered to build Cairo.  On the plateau above lies Sakkara, a cemetery for Memphis used continuously for 3,000 years. 

 

            The Pyramids of Giza are dominated by the Great Pyramid, constructed for King Cheops around 2650 B.C. Close to the eastern flank of the Pyramid of Cheops are three small pyramids dedicated to either his wives or family members. The second pyramid, built for Kephren, son of Cheops, southwest of his father's pyramid, has a simple interior with two entrances on the north side. The third one was built for Mycerinus (Menkaure), Cheops' grandson, lies southwest of the others and is the smallest of the three.

 

            Lunch is included at a local restaurant specializing in wonderful barbeque chicken

 

            On the way to the pyramid of Kephren sits the statue of the Great Sphinx of Giza, one of the most famous monuments in the world, a legendary figure with the body of a lion and the face of a man.

Early dinner at your own expense one of the many restaurants at the Four Seasons or the attached Mall.

This evening after dinner enjoy an after hours viewing at the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities.

 

            Egyptian Museum of Antiquities is considered one of the most prominent museums in the world. It was built during the reign of Khedive Abbass Helmi II in 1897, and opened on November 15, 1902. It has 107 halls divided into seven sections, each section devoted to one era in Egypt's history. The museum's most significant showpiece is the Tutankhamun collection. View the images of Akhenaten (the heretic king), Queen Hetepheres jewelry and solid silver coffins of the 21^st dynasty kings.

 

            Accommodations at Four Seasons First Residence – Superior Room

 

Sunday, March 11, 2012
Cairo

 

Four Seasons First Residence

            After breakfast embark on a city tour of Cairo.

 

            Sightseeing begins with a visit to the Citadel, a medieval fortress in the time of Saladin built with blocks from the Queens Pyramids at Giza. Visit the Alabaster Mosque built for Mohammed Ali, modeled after the one in Istanbul.

 

             Lunch is included at a local restaurant in the Khan El Khalili Bazaar

 

            Khan El Khalili Bazaar is a highlight for local shopping and cultural flavor! Dating back to the 14th century, this market is renowned for its magnificent examples of fine gold and silver work, embroidered clothing, leather goods and hand-carved woodwork.

Late this afternoon leave for a private reception and dinner in the elegant home of Antoine Riad, Chairman of South Sinai Travel,  
 

            Accommodations at Four Seasons First Residence – Superior Room

 
 

Monday, March 12, 2012

Cairo/Luxor 

 

Monday , March 12, 2012  - Monday, March 19, 2012

 

            Accommodations on the Sonesta Star Goddess – Luxurious 430 sq ft balcony BEETHOVEN SUITES Full Board - all meals inclusive of soft drinks, local wines,  local spirits, laundry and one log in for free wireless internet in your suite.

 

            Sailing the Nile at leisure. For those who enjoy lectures our Egyptologists with cover many subjects of interest and also have Question and Answer sessions during the free time on the cruise.

As we have our own private Egyptologists our schedule will be more flexible and not necessarily the same as you see on the itinerary for the Sonesta Star Goddess.  We will be visiting the following highlights during the cruise at the optimum time for the best experiences. 

 

 Visit the Temple of Luxor built by Amenophis III for his wife and son.  This is a well-preserved non-funerary cult temple from 1400 b.c.

 

 

Kom Ombo  visit the twin sanctuaries of crocodile-headed Sobek and hawk-headed Haroeris, uniquely set, side-by-side in a single picturesque Ptolemaic temple on a hill overlooking the Nile.  Of special interest here, are the surgical instruments depicted in the reliefs on the temple walls.  

 

The Temple of Philae, the Aswan High Dam and the ancient granite quarries, in use since the first dynasty to see the unfinished obelisk - Egypt's tallest had it ever been disengaged - which clearly demonstrates how stone was extracted in ancient times.

            

 Abu Simbel. 

            The magnificent rock-hewn temples at Abu Simbel feature Ramesses II and that of his Queen, Nefertari. They were moved about 40 years ago, 200 feet above their original site now inundated by Lake Nasser and re-housed in an artificial mountain which successfully recreates their original setting.
 

Edfu Temple

            Visit the almost perfectly preserved Ptolemaic temple of Horus, protector of the sun god, whose exploits and cult are detailed on the corridor walls surrounding the building.  The ever-dark rooms, their walls crowded with dumpy figures and clumsy late hieroglyphs, are unchanged since ancient times.  Interestingly, some of the cartouches for the royal name are empty; indicating how swiftly the throne could change hands.

              

The Temple of Karnak where a massive mud brick wall encloses a sacred lake and temples of Ptah, Osiris, Opet and Khonsu. In the evening return to Karnak for the sound and light show.

.

 

 

Luxor - West Bank - Valley of the King and Valley of the Queens

          Cross the Nile to the West Bank visiting the and then to the Valley of the Kings, with visits to the special entrance tombs, King Tut and Ramses Vl tombs, also visit the Valley of the Queens, the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, before returning to the ship via the Colossi of Memnon. 

 

Other included attractions - Luxor Museum and shopping in Luxor.  Felucca sail around the Botanical Gardens and Nubian Museum in Aswan, shopping in the Aswan Bazaar.
                               

            

March 19, 2012

Luxor/Cairo

 

Intercontinental CITY STARS Hotel

            Disembark after breakfast and fly to Cairo or onto Amman if you are doing the Jordan extension.  

March 20, 2012

Cairo/Depart for the USA

 

            Transfer to the airport for departure.

            End of Services