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DAY 01: BEGINNING OF OUR EXPLORING TOUR Leave New York via EgyptAir jet service to Cairo. Meals will be served on board.
DAY 02: INTO THE LAND OF THE PHARAOHS Arrival in Cairo. You will be met and transferred to you hotel.
DAY 03: MEMPHIS / SAKKARA / GIZA Morning tour to Memphis and Sakkara. Located 20 miles southwest of Cairo, Memphis was one of the most important cities through the history of Egypt and was once the ancient capital of Egypt. Sakkara's Step Pyramids are the oldest in existence and are the world's first stone tombs. Proceed to Giza to visit one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Cheops, Chephren, Mycernius Pyramids and the Sphinx. Return to the hotel.
DAY 04: THE EGYPTIAN MUSEUM / OLD CAIRO This morning visit the Egyptian Museum with its renowned collection of well-preserved pharaonic antiquities. The Museum contains the world's most important collection of Egyptian antiquities, dating from the earliest times to about 6th century AD. The collection includes some of the artistic masterpieces of the world, including the treasures of Tut-Ankh-Amon. This afternoon, tour Old Cairo. Continue to the Mosques of Sultan Hassan built in the 14th century, the Citadel of Salah-El Din and the Alabaster Mosque.
DAY 05: CAIRO / LUXOR / KARNAK AND LUXOR TEMPLES Early morning transfer to the airport for your flight to Luxor. Upon your arrival you will be met and transferred to your cruise ship. Afternoon visit the Avenue of the Sphinxes at Karnak Temple. View the gorgeous Hypostyle Hall, the Obelisks of Queen Hatshepsut and the Sacred Lake. Continue to the Temple of Luxor. Visit the Temple of Khonsu and Mout, the Temple of Amon. Sail to Quina. Overnight in Quina.
DAY 06: DENDERA / ABYDOS / LUXOR Visit Dendera (the Temple of Hathor). Continue to Abydos to visit the Seti First Temple. Sail to Luxor for overnight.
DAY 07: THEBES / VALLEY OF THE KINGS, QUEENS AND NOBLES / MEDINET HABU / COLOSSI OF MEMNON Morning visit the Necropolis of Thebes on the West Bank. Drive to the Valley of the Kings, visit the Valley of the Kings, visit the tombs of Tut-Ankh-Amon, Seti I, and Ramses VI. Continue to the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut and continue to Medinet Habu and return to the ship via the Colossi of Memnon. Sail to Esna. Afternoon at leisure. Overnight in Esna.
DAY 08: ESNA / EDFU (The Temple of Horus) / KOM OMBO Sail from Esna and pass the lock. Disembark the ship for sightseeing of the Temple of Khnum, the Ram-headed god. Ptolemies and Roman emperors added to the building and enriched it with reliefs and inscriptions. On the ceiling are astronomical signs, on the walls, pictures of Khnum accepting the sacrifice of the Emperor. Return to your ship and sail to Edfu. Visit the Temple of Horus. This temple was excavated by Mariette, and is one of the best preserved in Egypt. After visiting Edfu, resume the journey to Kom Ombo for overnight.
DAY 09: KOM OMBO / ASWAN Visit the Temple of Kom Ombo. This unique temple is dedicated to Sobek, the crocodile-god and Haroeris, the sun god. The temple is unique in that it is a twin temple, divided into two halves, each identical to the other so that neither god would be angered. Sail to Aswan. Afternoon at leisure for your personal exploration or shopping.
DAY 10: ASWAN Morning departure for sightseeing of the High Dam. Some 4 ½ miles south of the earlier dam, the High Dam rises up on a colossal scale. The crown of the dam is over three miles long, 164
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feet thick, and towers more than 360 ft. above the river bed. The inland lake created by the Dam is more than 375 miles long, penetrating 155 miles into the territory of Sudan. When the Aswan dam was opened from July to November, the resulting drop in water level was such that the Isis Temple on the Island of Philae rose up out of the waters. During the remaining months of the year, only pylons and the upper sections of the building could be seen. Visit the Island of Agikia where the monuments from Philae have been rebuilt. Visit the ancient granite quarries where the ancients obtained the reddish Aswan granite for their temples and monuments. See the unfinished obelisk, had it been completed, it would have been the largest ever hewn from a single stone. It was left unfinished after a flaw was found in the stone. Return to the ship for lunch. In the afternoon, visit the famous Botanical Gardens on Kitchner's Island. Kitchner was awarded the island and he indulged his passion for plants, ordering them from India and the Middle and Far East. Visit the Mausoleum of Agha Khan, located on the top of a hill with a breathtaking view over his villa. The mausoleum is built of ochre colored granite and sandstone. The tomb within is of white Carrera marble. Return to your ship.
DAY 11: ASWAN/ABU SIMBEL/CAIRO Breakfast on board and check out of the ship. Transfer to the airport for your flight to Abu Simbel. Abu Simbel is situated on the west bank of the Nile 180 miles south of Aswan. There lies the great Temple, hewn in the rock, with the four colossal seated statues of the King in front of the entrance. It was dedicated to Amun-Ra, the Horakhti, and Ramses II. The figures are 65 ½ feet high, and wear the double crown. Nearby to the north, is a second temple, also built by Ramses II, and dedicated to the Goddess Het Heru (Hathor) and to Nefertari, the King's wife. The temples which were threatened by the waters on the completion of the Aswan High Dam have been preserved by international action organized by UNESCO. The most important parts of the temples (statues, inscribed slabs, etc.) have been rebuilt on a plateau above the former site. You will fly from Abu Simbel to Cairo, where you will be met and transferred to your hotel.
DAY 12: CAIRO Full day at leisure for your personal exploration or shopping.
DAY 13: ALEXANDRIA Depart Cairo this morning enroute to Alexandria, Egypt's largest city and principal port which lies at the western extremity of the Nile Delta on the sandy strip of land which separates Lake Mareotis from the Mediteranean. It is the most western town in Egypt, a city of thoroughly European aspect. Alexandria was founded in 331 BC by Alexander the Great, whose object was to link the land of the pharaohs, both materially and culturally with the Greek world empire which it was his great ambition to establish. Visit Montazah Palace, formerly a royal summer residence, now partly a musuem. Visit the Graeco-Roman Museum whose collection comes from Alexandria itself, mainly from tombs. Among its collection are Christian antiquities, Coptic art, Alexandrian coins, Greek and Latin papyri and inscriptions, as well as Egyptian antiquities, including a colossal statue of Ramses II in reddish granite. Continue to view the Roman Amphitheater and Baths, drive past Pompey's Pillar, rising from the ruins of the famous Serapeion (Temple of Serapis). Visit Fort Qaitbay which was built in 1480 at the end of a breakwater by Sultan Qaitbay on the site of the Pharos Lighthouse, one of the wonders of the ancient world. Return to Cairo for overnight.
DAY 14: CAIRO/NORTH AMERICA Full day at leisure. Check out of your hotel at 1:00pm. After dinner, transfer to the airport for your flight to New York.
DAY 15: NORTH AMERICA Arrive in New York in the early morning local time.
NOTE: Cruise may be operated in reverse.
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