Overview
Day 1: Arrival to Cairo.
Day 2: Grand Egyptian museum and Giza Pyramids
Day 3: Saqqara and Islamic Cairo
Day 4: Fly to Luxor, check in your Nile cruise, visit Karnak and Luxor temples.
Day 5: Visit the West Bank of Luxor including the Valley of Kings, and Hatshepsut Temple.
Day 6: Sailing to the two temples of Edfu and Kom Ombo.
Day 7: Fly to Abu Simbel
Day 8: Visit Philae Temple at Aswan, back to Cairo.
Day 9: Departure
Itinerary
Arrive at Cairo Airport. Meet our representative who will provide you a smooth assist to go through the security area, luggage claim and customs. Then, he will escort you to your hotel and giving a brief about the next day.
Meet your Mariano Travel t in the morning to have a brief about you stay in Egypt and then he will escort you to start your visit to the Grand Egyptian Museum, the dream which came true for the travelers from all over the world. You will be astonished by the amount of artifacts and treasures the museum houses.
After you enjoy having lunch in a restaurant overlooking the Pyramids, start turning your lifetime dream to reality with the visit to the Giza Pyramids, the only still surviving wonder of the Old Seven Wonders of the World. Enjoy your Camel Ride in the desert to have an amazing view for the pyramids from a distance. Then, stand in front of the Sphinx, combines a body of a lion and the head of human. (B,L)
Meet your Mariano Travel at your hotel to start your remarkable tour to Saqqara. It is around 30 minutes driving south of Giza Pyramids. While driving to the site, enjoy your eyes with countryside life and the green crops on both sides of the road. Saqqara is famous for the oldest pyramid ever built, the Step Pyramid of King Zoser, built 200 years earlier than the Giza Pyramids. Moreover, you will have the chance to have access to some of the non-royal tombs built for the noblemen and enjoy your eyes with the non-repeated scenes of the daily life activities, fishing, fowling, farming, market scenes. Close your eyes and these scenes will take you back to around 2300-2400 BC and imagine the life of the ancient Egyptians back then.
After lunch, pay a visit to Islamic Cairo where you will learn more about when and how Islam entered Egypt, how Muslims pray and fast, what are the Five Pillars of Islam. It will be through visiting the two mosques of Sultan Hassan and Refaei known as the Pyramids of Islamic architecture.
The mosque of Refaei is built by one of the royal family of Mohammed Ali, the founder of modern Egypt. It is marked by its very richly decorated ceiling and by housing tombs for the last King of Iran "The Shah of Iran" and some of the last Royal Family of Egypt members are buried.
Sultan Hassan Mosque and Madrassa was built in 1356 AD and it is marked by its style as it serves as a school for teaching the Four Sects of Sunni Islam. The arched ceiling of the main prayer hall is the most beautiful ever in Islamic architecture.
We come to the end of our day by walking through the old streets of the famous Khan El Khalili market, the main souk in the Islamic Cairo district (B,L)
Be ready early in the morning to fly to the city of Luxor where you start your journey back to the biggest open air museum in the whole world. You start by visiting the Temple of Karnak, which is around 247 acres making it the largest religious complex in the world. It is dedicated to the god Amon-Re, the most famous god during the New Kingdom.
Next, proceed to visit the Luxor Temple built by Amenhotep III and completed by Ramses II.
Check in at your cruise & overnight. (B, L, D)
After breakfast on board, enjoy an early visit to the West Bank of Luxor including the Valley of the Kings, including the tomb of the child king Tutankhamun where you will have the chance to stand in front of his Mummy. Also, your tour will include access to the tomb of Ramses VI and the Highlight of the day Tomb of Seti I, the most colorful tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Visit the temple o fHatshepsut, one of the most famous and powerful women kings in Egyptian history. Enjoy a quick photo stop by the colossi of Memnon. Then, back to your Nile cruise and enjoy lunch on board.
After lunch, start sailing to Edfu. (B, L, D)
After breakfast, start your visit to the temple of the falcon god Horus at Edfu, the most intact temple in ancient Egypt, built between 237-157 BC. Afterwards, sailing to the temple of Kom Ombo, dedicated to the crocodile god-Sobek- and the falcon god, Her Wer. In your way out of the temple, enjoy a quick visit to the Crocodile Mummification Museum. Back to the Cruise and sailing to Aswan.
(B, L, D)
After breakfast on-board, take an early flight to the two temples of Abu Simbel temple on the southern borders of Egypt. You will be dazzled by these rock-cut temples which were saved by the UNESCO after being under water for a long time. Both temples are dedicated to the Royal Couple, Ramses II and his wife Nefertari. After finishing your tour, return back to Aswan, have lunch on-board and end up your day on a felucca sailboat ride down the Nile. (B, L, D)
After breakfast on-board, check out from your Nile cruise and enjoy a motor-boat ride to the new site of the temple of Isis, one of the temples which were saved by the UNESCO after being under water for a long time. The temple marks both the end of the Ancient Egyptian Religion and the last Ancient Egyptian Text carved the year 394 AD. Afterwards, fly back to back Cairo and enjoy your last night at your hotel near the Cairo Airport. (B)
After breakfast, it is a walking distance to the Cairo Airport Terminal to travel back home missing every single sightseeing in Egypt and filled with all good memories about the land of the pharaohs. (B)
