Nile Adventure with a Tour of the Mighty Pharaoh Seti’s Restored Grand Tomb

A Private Grand 10-day Tour of Egypt

With a once in a lifetime experience:
Add a private tour and private opening of
Seti I – The Mighty Pharaoh’s Tomb
(not open to the general public)

The Book of Gates in the tomb of Seti I.
By Jean-Pierre Dalbéra [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Day 1: CAIRO – Daily Arrival – Choose your own date – Subject to cruise and air space availability
This is a private tour:
Cairo Airport: upon 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  (BL)
On your first full day in Egypt we show you the Egyptian Museum including the “Mummies Room” and King Tut’s Gold Treasure Pavillion. Lunch is included at Naguib Mahfouz or Hadaik El Azhar restaurant, on to Al-Azhar Park and El Darb El-Ahmar, then the Citadel of Saladin, and Mohammed Ali Mosque, made of alabaster, then wander through the alleys of the charming Khan El-Khalili Bazaar district. The Agha Khan Development Network The Azhar Park Project in old Islamic Cairo and the Conservation and Revitalization of Darb al-Ahmar historical treasures.

DAY 3: CAIRO – (BL)
After breakfast, drive to the edge of Cairo. We are now in Giza – stand in awe in front of the Sphinx, and the mighty Pyramids of Giza. Complimentary short camel ride is included to allow you a photo with the Pyramids in the background Time is limited, so please do not go for what the camel driver tries to convince you, i.e. go for a long ride around the Pyramids. Lunch is included at the Mena House. After lunch we head for Memphis & Sakkara, visiting some of the Mastabas and Zoser Step-Pyramid as well as the Serapeum Stop at Haraniya before we head back to your hotel.

DAY 4: ASWAN – Board Your Nile Cruise (BLD)
We fly to Aswan (or Luxor) and board our Nile cruiser in time for a morning tour of the Nubia Museum followed by a delicious lunch on board. In the afternoon we transfer to a graceful felucca, the traditional Nile sailboat, for a cruise amidst the rocky islands beneath the Aswan High Dam. If you wish, join us on a mini-camel caravan ride to a nearby Nubian village for tea with the locals. In the evening, we take a short ride by motor launch to the Temples of Philae, on an island in the Nile, for a sound-and-light show which explains the Nile’s endless history.

DAY 5: ASWAN – KOM OMBO – Nile Cruise (BLD)
Today we inspect the Aswan High Dam and the older Victorian-era dam below it, then visit an ancient red granite quarry. An unfinished obelisk here, in excellent condition, testifies to the workmanship of ancient Egypt’s artisans. Boarding a motor launch, we return to the Philae temples to inspect in daylight the impressive structures 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!

Back on our Nile cruiser, we cast off and cruise downstream to Kom Ombo to visit its twin temples dedicated to Sobek, the Nile crocodile god, and Haroeris, the solar disc.

DAY 6: EDFU – ESNA – On Board Your Nile Cruise (BLD)
Our riverboat ties up at Edfu, and we climb aboard horse-drawn carriages for a short clip-clop ride through the town to the Temple of Horus, Egypt’s best-preserved. After our visit, we re-embark and cruise to Esna, where we pass through the Nile locks. By evening, we reach Luxor.

DAY 7: LUXOR – On Board Your Nile Cruise (BLD)
Today we tour some of Egypt’s greatest wonders: the tombs of the pharaohs in the Valley of the Kings at Thebes, and, in the nearby Valley of the Queens, the great funerary temple of Queen Hatshepsut. We also stop at the Colossi of Memnon, mammoth seated statues now standing alone in a farmer’s field.

Cairo and Luxor. Video by Stephen Joos.

Tour: Medinet Habu, the Ramesseum and Deir El Medinah, the first known “Workers Village” these were the true creative heroes who built the temples & tombs for the mighty Pharaohs of the Nile Kingdom.

Deir El Medinah is on Luxor’s west bank where you 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. In the evening, we attend the sound-and-light show at the gigantic Great Temple of Amon at Karnak.

DAY 8: LUXOR – CAIRO (BL)
We return to the Great Temple of Amon at Karnak to inspect it in the daylight, then move on to the smaller but still huge Temple of Luxor. Followed by Luxor Museum.

Then head back to the West Bank for a true very special experience:

Tomb of Seti I: The Mighty Pharaoh:
For preservation purposes, the tomb is closed to the general public and visiting requires special permits. Please book at least 60 days in advance to allow us to secure the permit in time.

Our tour includes special and private access to Seti I’s tomb, the largest and most exquisitely decorated of the 62 sepulchers in the Valley of the Kings. Although famous for being the father of Ramses II, Seti I was considered a great leader during his 11 year rein, known for his military achievements and cultivation of the arts. Despite Seti I’s short life, his tomb is the most completely decorated, preserved and finished in the valley. Every inch of the passageways and chambers in the 446 foot long tomb are not just painted, but are also fully decorated with highly refined bas-relief. The quality and extensiveness of the design set the standard for all the Pharaohs that came after.

The discovery of this spectacularly preserved tomb in 1817 by the circus strongman-turned-Egyptologist, Giovanni Battista Belzoni, made headlines that ignited Egypt-mania throughout Europe. Excitement for Seti I’s tomb struck again in 2007 when further excavation by Egyptian antiquities chief at the time, Dr. Zahi Hawass found a 570 foot passageway descending from the tomb. Entering into Seti I’s tomb, we will capture the spirit of discovery of these archeologists as we explore one of Egypt’s most treasured and rare experiences. Our touring done, we return by air to Cairo, and your hotel.

DAY 9: Full Day – The Culture of Cairo (BL)
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 Blue Mosque, Wekalet El Ghouri Caravan-serai. 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.

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 10: DEPARTURE (B)
Our representative escorts you to the airport for your homeward flight. Bon Voyage! Add an extra day in Cairo or add the Abu Simbel Temples.