1001 Egyptian Nights (Aswan)

Boarding Aswan – A Grand 12-Day Tour

Vishal and Tin on their Honeymoon on a
Travel In Style Custom Tailored Honeymoon Vacation

This exceptional package includes Egypt in all its variety from the wonders of the Great Pyramids to a Nile cruise and even the unspoiled beaches of the Red Sea.

Your 1001 Egyptian Nights Tour includes the mighty temples at Abu Simbel, Denderah Temples, the opportunity to dive or snorkel, and a CAMEL CARAVAN to a Nubian Village in Nubia.

DAY 1 – CAIRO- Monday Weekly – Year Round
On arrival, our local representative will greet you at the airport and whisk you to your hotel. Visa may be issued upon arrival at Cairo Airport.

VIP Meet & Greet Upon arrival at Cairo Airport
Visa issued locally in Cairo (for a limited number of nationalities) no photos required. Our representative greets you at the airport and whisks you to your hotel. Visa will be issued upon arrival at Cairo Airport for a limited number of citizens such as: American, Australian, NZ, EU, Canadian, EU Singaporean and Japanese citizens. You are responsible for having your passport in order valid at least for 6 month beyond the date of your arrival in Cairo. Our local rep. will meet you with a sign that carries your name, and will be waiting for you with the prepaid visa stamps to proceed to the passports control to stamp your passports and then you claim your luggage. After you clear the passport and customs formalities and exit the terminal, our local representative will escort you by private vehicle to the hotel. Welcome fruit basket & Egyptian pastry awaits you in your room with our compliments.

DAY 2 – CAIRO- Sailing on the Nile – Tuesday (BLD)
Today we see Cairo’s major sights: the Egyptian Museum, including the Mummies Room. We’ll continue to Royal Abdeen Palace of Egypt’s former Royal Family, on to the Church of Abu Sergha, and the Beni Ezra Synagogue. We’ll see where, according to the legend, Moses was found along the banks of the Nile. We’ll take our lunch at a local restaurant. Enjoy a 30 minute felucca sailing on the Nile to see Cairo from a different angle before we head back to your hotel. Evening dinner at Abu El Sid restaurant or similar. or La Bodega restaurant.

DAY 3 – DAHSOUR – Wednesday (BLD)
After breakfast, we’ll motor to the edge of Cairo, to the mysterious Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza. The museum of the personal Royal Barge of the Mighty Pharaoh Cheops is built over the rectangular pit that housed the Royal Barge for thousands of years, the wooden boat readied for the king’s daily journey with the sun god, Ra. Discovered in 1954, in a completely dismantled state, the 43-metre (140-foot) cedar boat is a rare window on the Royal boats used by the kings of Ancient Egypt. Those who are fit and adventurous enough may wish to penetrate into the heart of the Great Pyramid, to the King’s Chamber. Your ticket is included with our compliments (or the interior of Kephren Pyramid). Taking a camel ride (included) is entirely your own choice!

Continue to Dahshour, the newly-opened pyramid field south of Cairo. We visit the great pyramid of Senfru, father of Cheops, and other structures.

The “Discovery” of Dahshour: For almost half a century, the great field of huge pyramids near the desert village of Dahshour, 25 miles south of Cairo, has been off limits to the public. Confined within the perimeter of a military base were many pyramids, including the great 4500-year-old pyramid built by Senfru, father of Cheops. Senfru’s pyramid, the largest in Egypt until his son built Giza’s Great Pyramid, is rhomboidal in shape: it tapers more distinctly on its upper half. All the pyramids were coated in thick plaster at one time. Most have lost these protective, decorative sheaths, but Senfru’s–miraculously–is still in place. Lunch is included at the Mena House. Evening dinner at Abu La Bodega restaurant or similar.

Bent Pyramid

DAY 4 – Aswan – Abu Simbel – Thursday (BLD)
An early morning flight to Aswan (or Luxor) and continue on to Abu Simbel, where your private guide, private air-conditioned vehicle await you. We’ll marvel at the temples dedicated to Ramses the Great and Queen Neferatri, saved from rising waters of the Nile when the High Dam was built. In the larger temple, colossal figures of Ramses are seated with the gods and attended by his queen and daughters. The smaller temple is dedicated to Queen Nefertari, who appears as Hathor, the goddess of love, joy and fertility, symbolized by the benevolent cow. Lunch is included in Abu Simbel or Aswan. Fly back to Aswan and your hotel, overnight in Aswan. In the evening your guide will call on you for a horse-drawn carriage ride throughout Aswan souks and water front.

DAY 5 – ASWAN / NILE CRUISE – Friday – Board your cruise from Luxor or Aswan (BLD)
Breakfast at the hotel. Morning tour of the Nubian Museum and on to the Nile Cruise in time for lunch. Today we tour the mighty Aswan dams, old and new, then board a motor launch to visit the Temples of Philae, moved to an island and saved from the rising waters of the Nile after building the High Dam, this Island temple of Philae was dedicated to the Ancient Goddess ISIS.

The Mystery of Isis: Two millennia ago the Mediterranean world was enthralled by the mystery of Isis: “I, Isis, am all that has been, that is or shall be; no mortal man hath ever seen me unveiled.”

Called Aset by the ancient Egyptians, the goddess was a Madonna in the Mediterranean tradition that stretches far, far back to the primitive Mother Goddess from Anatolia, home to some of the oldest human communities on earth. Isis was the powerful and quick-witted protector of her son Horus, the Sun God. Ancient peoples throughout the Mediterranean regarded Isis and Horus as the perfect Madonna and Child. Another legend says she was also the mother of the fertility god Min who, judging from the depiction of him on temple walls, needed no help from Viagra!

Because of her wisdom and skill at protection, she was admired as a good magician capable of healing the sick and protecting the dead in their journey to the Underworld. Isis is portrayed regally, as a queen seated on a throne (which may be the meaning of her name), often holding her son Horus as a baby. Other images show her with broad, magnificent gilded wings able to protect the world.

Isis, the great Mother Goddess. Come explore her mystery in timeless Egypt when you Travel in Style!

In the evening we head out back to Philae for an evening Sound and Light show.

DAY 6 – KOM OMBO- On Board your Nile Cruise -Saturday (BLD)
Our Nile vessel cruises serenely down the Nile for a visit to the great twin-temple at Kom Ombo, dedicated to Sobek, the crocodile river god, and Haroeris, the solar disk.

DAY 7 – EDFU – Esna Temple Tour is Included – on Board Your Nile Cruise – LUXOR – Sunday (BLD)
We board horse-drawn carriages (or coaches) for the short ride through Edfu to the Temple of Horus, the best-preserved in Egypt. Our rate does include a private tour of Esna Temple, then on to Luxor where we dock for the night.

DAY 8 – On Board Your Nile Cruise LUXOR – Monday (BLD)
Today’s tour include a visit to the Valley of the Kings including Tut-Ank-Amon’s tomb. For guests who are interested: Please be our guests for a 10-15 minutes camel ride from the Valley of the Kings, you you’ll then change your mode of transportation and continue in your deluxe air-conditioned vehicle and on to the temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Deir el Bahari and Colossi of Memnon.

Afterward, we’ll continue on Luxor’s west bank to get a totally different perspective on ancient Egyptian life, at the ancient workers’ settlement of Deir el-Medinah. While most of the imposing stone monuments and sites of Egypt honor the lives and after-lives of royalty, Deir el-Medinah gives us unique and surprising insights into the ordinary citizens who constructed and decorated the tombs.

Here we’ll see the excavated homes shared by laborers with their domestic animals. These quarters were surprisingly large, with three good-sized rooms, courtyard, kitchen, and even storage cellars. While ancient Egypt might not have been a workers’ paradise, we’ll see that artisans and builders were highly regarded in their community. We are proud to be the only operator to offer regular visits to this singular ancient settlement in its tour and cruise programs. Followed by the Colossi of Memnon, before returning to Luxor, we tour the gigantic Great Temple of Amon at Karnak.

DAY 9 – Disembarkation – Denderah Temple – Luxor – Tuesday (BL)
After breakfast, check out, then proceed to Denderah in a day excursion or by car, to visit the best preserved temple in Egypt. This temple as a sight to hold. Indiana Jones would have felt at home, with the massive stones and underground passages. We tour as well Abydos before we head back to Luxor (lunch box included).

DENDERAH IN A DAY: We’ll travel to Denderah to visit the Temple of Hathor, one of the best-preserved in all of Egypt, and also one of the most important. In the ancient beliefs, Hathor was the consort of the god of daylight, ruler of the west, and protector or the underworld. In the manner of wise desert wayfarers, we’ll leave before dawn to take advantage of cool temperatures. Our air-conditioned vehicle will take us through timeless Nile side villages, where life revolves around the irrigation and harvest of crops. Finally, we’ll reach the temple precincts. We’ll take note of the unusually deep tombs, and pass under the celebrated Zodiac, in a chapel dedicated to Osiris. (Denderah is the traditional site of his rebirth.) Our full day will also include a visit to Abydos, traditional home of Osiris, god of the underworld, and a stopping point on the journey of wayfaring souls. We’ll enjoy a box lunch with bottled water included, then its back to Luxor and your hotel. By sunset get ready for the transfer to Karnak for a spectacular sound & light show at Karnak temple.

DAY 10- Luxor – Cairo – Wednesday (B)
Transfers are always on a private basis, private air-conditioned vehicle, private chauffeur. Fly back to Cairo, air fare is always included within Egypt, tax included. In Cairo, of course our local rep. will be waiting for your and escort you back to your hotel. The remainder of the day at leisure.

Complimentary Dinner is included at a local home:
Meet the locals: This evening we’ll venture where few ordinary visitors ever tread… right into the homes of some of the people of Cairo! You’ll be invited to a family dinner, and while you enjoy wholesome home-cooked specialties, you’ll learn about and appreciate the outlook, aspirations, and way of life of your hosts. Be assured, as curious as you may be about your new friends, they’re sure to have questions about your own background. Once the ice is broken, you’ll enjoy a lively evening, and find that you have more in common than you ever suspected. Of course, if you prefer, you may enjoy a quiet evening with your travel companions by letting us know your preferences. You may wish to bring token gifts to exchange with the host family (T shirt, small souvenirs of your home town).

DAY 11 – CAIRO – Thursday (cBLD)
The Culture of Cairo. Today we’ll explore deep into the heart of Cairo, and get to know its daily rhythms, its spirituality, its history, and its modern diversions. We’ll start early, with a visit to a local market, with an immense variety of seasonal fruits and vegetables on offer, both familiar and exotic.

You’ll see that shopping in Cairo goes far beyond a supermarket experience. Be prepared for whispers, gestures, shouting, and controlled chaos. It’s all part of the bargaining process, engaged in by women in traditional modest garb as well as others in Western dress.

Then it’s on to the Museum of Islamic Art, with its tapestries, textiles, swords and other objects exemplifying one of the world’s great decorative traditions. We’ll continue to the Gayer-Anderson House, a serene and classic domestic oasis, right down to its central fountain and exquisite furnishings. Our visit is also a journey into a vanished way of life—the residence is actually two traditional medieval Cairo houses restored by an English physician to a former king. We’ll stop for lunch at a restaurant where Cairenes go, then visit the Bab an-Nasr, the Gate of Victory in Cairo’s old walls. You’ll even see graffiti that survives from soldiers of Napoleon and of the British Empire, among the many who passed this way. Dinner at a local restaurant.

DAY 12 – Departure -Friday (cB)
Our staff escorts you to the airport for your flight home. Bon Voyage!

DEPARTURE NOTES:

• For departures during Christmas, New Year’s or Easter weeks, please add 20 % to the rates above.
• Please note that the Nile vessels and cruise itineraries are subject to change.

YOUR TOUR INCLUDES:

• VIP Arrival Hall At Cairo Airport
  Our representative greets you at the airport and whisks you to your hotel. Visa will be issued upon arrival at Cairo Airport (photos are not required) Visa will be issued for a limited number of citizens such as: American, Australian, NZ, EU, Canadian, EU Singaporean and Japanese citizens,You are responsible for having your passport in order valid at least for 6 month beyond the date of your arrival in Cairo. Our local rep. meets with a sign that carries your name, and will be waiting for you with the prepaid visa stamps to proceed to the passports control to stamp your passports, then you claim your luggage, after you clear the passport and customs formalities and exiting the terminal, our local representative will escort you (private vehicle) to the hotel. Welcome fruit basket & Egyptian pastry awaits you in your room in Cairo upon arrival with our compliments
• Egyptian domestic airfares as described in the itinerary, economy class
• All airport transfers (private basis – private air-conditioned vehicle and private chauffeur).
• Hotel accommodations (including taxes).
• And set-menu (table d’hôte) meals as indicated in the itinerary above.
• Nile cruise with all shore excursions and meals.
• Complimentary welcome drink upon arrival on board the Nile Cruise.
• Complimentary welcome fruit basket on board the Nile Cruise.
• Large bottle of water (per person) delivered to you cabin daily while you are on board the Nile Cruise.
• Tea or coffee an bottled water with each / every meal while you are on board the Nile Cruise.
• Guided sightseeing by air-conditioned motor coach, including all admissions fees

Not included:

• Airport taxes
• Trip interruption and cancellation insurance
• Personal expenses, including excess baggage or shipping charges, beverages, and personal charges in hotels for laundry, telephone, or other services
• Tips
• International airfare from /to your home country