Compare with the 14 Day with Alexandria , 12 day edition , or the 8-day without Petra
Add Sharm el Sheikh, Israel& Palestine or Athens, Greece or add London

Day 1 - CAIRO - Daily -year round
Our representative greets you at the airport, Egyptian visa may be issued for a limited number of nationalities such as : for American, Australian , NZ, EU , Canadian, Mexican and Japanese citizens. Passports must be valid for at least 6 month upon arrival). Please pay the visa fee $ 15 upon arrival in cash. After exiting the terminal, our local representative will escort you (private vehicle) to the hotel . After exiting the terminal, our local representative will escort you (private vehicle) to the hotel .

DAY 2 - CAIRO (BLD)
On your first full day in Egypt we show you the Egyptian Museum, including the Mummy Room and the fabulous treasures Tutankhamon, , the Citadel of Saladin,and the Mohammed Ali Mosque, made of alabaster, and Sultan Hassan Madrassa . Lunch is included at Hadaik Al-Azhar Park or similar . In the evening, we'll enjoy a dinner and folk show on board the Hyatt dinner cruise .

DAY 3 - CAIRO- Giza (BL)
We drive to the edge of the Sahara and to Giza to tour the Pyramids of Giza, the Cheops Royal Barge Museum , and the Sphinx . Guests 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 with our compliments ) is entirely your own choice! lunch is included at the Mena House , the afternoon is for Dahshour, the newly-opened pyramid field south of Cairo. We visit the great pyramid of Senfru, father of Cheops, and other structure:

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. In the evening, we return to the pyramids for a memorable sound-and light show.

DAY 4 - Luxor - Private Egyptologist (B)
We fly to Luxor , domestic air ticket is always included, transfers are always on a private basis.
Our local rep escorts you to the Steinberger Nile Palace or similar hotel . The morning at leisure

We tour today l the magnificent tombs in the Valley of the Kings, including Tut-Ankh-Amon's tomb, and the great temple of Queen Hatshepsut, we stop at the Colossi of Memnon before we head for the Ramesseum and Medinet Habu .

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.

In the evening we call you ... enjoy a horse-drawn carriage ride throughout Luxor local souks and bazaars.

DAY 5 - Luxor - (B)
Breakfast is included at your hotel . This morning we tour : Luxor Museum, the great temple of Luxor and the mighty Karnak temple complex . Afternoon sailing on the Nile in a felucca . Remainder of the day at leisure , evening sound & light show at Karnak

DAY 6 - Luxor - Cairo - (B)
Breakfast is included at your hotel . Fly back to Cairo and your hotel . Remainder of the day at leisure ,

DAY 7 - On Desert Safari for the Day - Fayoum Oases - And you thought the Pyramids were old (BL)
We leave Cairo by sunrise ( private air conditioned car/driver/guide): Full day Fayoum Oases including:
Hawara Pyramid, El Lahoun Pyramid, Ruins of Karanis, drive by Lake Qarun, lunch is included at a local restaurant.

The wilds of the desert begin right on the outskirts of Cairo, and continue for hundreds of miles to the east and west, through sands, rock, mountains, oases, and a surprising variety of scenery and inhabitants.

Join us for a day ranging across the desert like modern nomads. In place of camels, we’ll travel in comfortable, reliable four-by-four Toyota Land Cruisers. Your guide and drivers will meet you at your hotel, and soon you’ll leave bustling Cairo behind as you undertake the drive toward the Oasis of El Fayoum, 150 kilometers to the southwest. Hard as it is to believe, a great inland sea once covered these sands. It was a holy reserve of sacred crocodiles, symbolized by the god Sobek.

We’ll visit the temple of Kom Oshim, drive over ancient lake beds, and alongside the waters of today’s Fayoum Lake to reach the fishermen’s village of Chak Chouk. There we’ll stop for a lunch of fish caught fresh that morning. There will be time to wander the village lanes and discreetly watch the everyday activities of baking flatbread, irrigating crops from the lake’s waters, and bringing in the catch. We’ll also include the craft and pottery museum where the best works of local artisans are on display.

Then it’s into our four-by-fours again, for an off-road adventure! We’ll head alongside and across desert washes, between dunes, and over ancient lake beds for 35 kilometers to the Valley of the Whales ( In Arabic : Wadi-El-Hitan) . Incredibly, these great mammals once thrived - almost forty million years ago- in waters surrounded by sands. We’ll stop and gaze in amazement at their fossilized remains alongside smaller sea creatures that remain in stone.
This valley was discovered in 1936 , by the German geologist George Schweinfurth in the northwestern corner of Wadi El-Rayan.

The valley provides evidence of one of the major changes in this mammal evolution has been declared by the UNESCO to be a World Heritage Site. It is believed that these land based whales once had feet that may have helped them somewhat while ashore . A team from the University of Michigan discovered in the late 80's that these Zeuglodon whales did have rudimentary feet , this was a startling discovery , suggesting that whales of Wadi -El-Hitan had recently started living in water as well , these whales were not related to any of the whales we have today , rather a more slender body and may grow up to 75 feet long. Several skeletons of whales are exposed in the sand. George Schweinfurth named this extinct specie the Zeuglodon Isis Whales .

In the evening, you’ll return to your hotel in Cairo. Land transportation in air-conditioned four-wheel-drive Toyota Land Cruiser with the services of driver and English-speaking driver. Lunch is included

DAY 8 - CAIRO/ AMMAN (B)
Our representative escorts you to the airport for your Amman flight . Air fare is included in economy class Cairo Amman , tax included . Complimentary Fruit basket awaits you in your room. Our local rep will meet you upon arrival and help with the transfer to your hotel in Amman .Complimentary visa is issued upon arrival for American , Australian, NZ, Canadian, EU , Singaporean & Japanese passport holders. Passport must be valid at least for 6 month beyond the date of your arrival.

DAY 9 - MADABA, KERAK - PETRA (BL)
We drive south along the King's Highway, an ancient caravan route, to Madaba to visit the church containing the oldest known map of the Holy Land. Continuing to Mount Nebo, we enjoy the panoramic view of the Promised Land the way Moses saw it for the first time. Further on, at Kerak, we tour the ruins of its romantic Crusaders' castle of Renaud de Chatillon, one of a line which stretched from Aqaba to Turkey. Finally, we arrive to PETRA . Lunch included at a local restaurant.

DAY 10 - PETRA (BD)
Today the fabulous Nabatean City of Petra awaits us. Made famous in the Indiana Jones movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark," its ancient temples, tombs and striking Khazneh (Treasury) were hewn right from the pink and violet sandstone. We spend a full day here, and another night.

In the evening we will call on you for a unique experience :
Dine as a local : The Petra Kitchen is a delightful way to round out your Jordan travel experiences. Like any home kitchen, The Petra Kitchen is a relaxed, informal atmosphere where you’ll gather to prepare an evening meal, working alongside local women under the supervision of our chef.

Each evening meal includes soup, cold and hot mezza ( appetizers ) and salads, and a main course—all typical Jordanian dishes. You will have get an inside glimpse of the secrets behind the famous regional cuisine of the Levant.

The Petra Kitchen offers an evening of learning, fun and a very special dining experience, with each dish gaining the special flavor of a reward well-earned. Great care has been taken to make The Petra Kitchen a truly Jordanian experience—right down to the furnishings, all crafted in Jordan, the tableware, all produced by the Iraq al Amir Women’s Co-operative, and the aprons and table linens, all hand-embroidered by the Jordan River Foundation.

Tour experience tonight includes the cuisine course, meal and all non-alcoholic beverages as well as take-home recipes for all dishes prepared that evening.

DAY 11 - Desert Castles - AMMAN (BL)
After an early breakfast we head north for a full day tour to the Desert Castles :
Qasr Amra Bath and its Zodiac Dome, the Fortress like Qasr Karana, and the Roman Fort , turned into residence by the Ummayds : Qasr El Hallabat, and the black basalt Roman/Medieval fort at Azraq. After lunch ,drive back to the Dead Sea , overnight at the Kempinski or Movenpick Dead Sea Resort . Lunch is included today enroute.

DAY 12 - Departure : AMMAN (B)
We escort you to Queen Alia Airport .

For guests going on to Syria with us. You will continue on to The Syrian border, visit Bosra before continuing to Damascus. Or if you are touring Syria on your own, we'll be glad to arrange for the transfer to Bosra in Syria ( Supplement $165 per person, minimum 2 guests, private car/driver to Bosra), Do you Speak THE LANGUAGE OF Jesus in the Land of the Book ? Visit Maaloula in Syria . Jordanian departure tax is included in our rate. Extend to Dubai & the United Arab Emirates

Rates per person in US $

	Deluxe	First Class Hotels
In Triple Occupancy	US$ 3892	US$ 3580
In Double Occupancy	US$ 3945	US$ 3690
In Single Occupancy	US$ 4890	US$ 4580

* For Easter, Christmas and New Year's Weeks, a 20 % holiday surcharge will apply.

Your tour includes:

• All airfares within Egypt, as well as between Cairo and Amman , with taxes in economy class

• All transfers in Egypt & Jordan on a private basis .
  

• Jordanian departure tax.
  

• Complimentary visa for Jordan are issued upon arrival for EU , Australian, NZ, Canadian, American, Singaporean & Japanese passport holders. Passport must be valid at least for 6 month beyond the date of your arrival.

• Hotel accommodations, including tax and service charges.

• Meals as indicated in the tour itinerary: B = continental breakfast; L = set-menu lunch; D = set-menu dinner.

• Guided sightseeing by private air-conditioned motor coach or car as per itinerary, including all entrance fees.

• Complimentary Lonely Planet travel guidebook to Egypt and Jordan

• Egypt and Jordan : The 14-day with Abu Simbel Temples.

• The Gems of the Near East: Tour Egypt, Palestine , Israel and Greece
  The Ultimate Private Adventure Tour of the Near East : Triangle of Ancient Lands .