Your Exclusive Voyage into Antiquity
Day 1 – Welcome to Cairo, Egypt
Check in to the new Kempinski Nile Hotel, where a balcony room awaits. Cairo’s first luxury boutique hotel is set on the banks of the Nile blending European elegance with the exotic charm of the city. This evening, we’ve made arrangements for you to enjoy dinner at Kempinski’s Floor 10, overlooking the romantic, city-lit banks of the Nile. Meals D
Day 2 – Out and around in Cairo
The questions are many. Some answers are theoretical. This morning after breakfast, you can marvel at the Great Pyramids
and the Sphinx for yourself… and reflect upon their mysteries; perhaps you’ll reach your own conclusions! Then visit the 4,600-year-old Solar Boat of King Cheops, the oldest existing river craft in the world. How about a camel ride in the desert? Sure, all visitors do it. You should, too… and we’ve made the arrangements! At remote Dahshur, we’ve made arrangements for you to enter the unique, aptly-named Bent Pyramid. In addition to its unusual silhouette, the Bent Pyramid’s exterior casing is among the best preserved of any pyramid in Egypt.
Back in the city later this afternoon, an expertly guided visit to the famed Egyptian Museum offers background and insight into the world of the Pharaohs; it’s an excellent introduction to the many wonders that will be covered by our upcoming cruise. Meals B
Day 3 – Embark the River Tosca
This morning, you fly to Luxor to explore the great Karnak Temple. With skilled Egyptologists on hand, you’ll stand before its massive pillars and admire the grand Hypostyle Hall, the largest hall of any temple in the world. Then step aboard the ultra-luxurious River Tosca to begin your Nile voyage. Sit down to an elegant dinner as you chart a course for Dendara. Meals B,L,D
Day 4 – The Temple of Hathor
After breakfast onboard, you alight at Dendara and enter into the Temple of Hathor, built in the 1st century B.C. and used by Roman Emperors to honor the Goddess of Maternity, Love & Music. This splendidly preserved temple complex encompasses a great Hypostyle Hall with 24-Hathor headed columns, an impressive gate from the Roman period, a sacred lake, mysterious crypts, stairways, roofs and chapels. Back onboard, your ship will cruise the Nile to Luxor, where you’ll have some free time in the afternoon. Later in the early evening, walk the Avenue of Sphinxes to visit the Luxor Temple, built by Amenhotep in the 14th century BC with later additions by Tutankhamen and even Alexander the Great. The walls of Luxor are embellished with skillful carvings of the gods of Karnak accompanied by a festival procession of priests, musicians, dancers and sacred cows. Meals B,L,D
Day 5 – Into the Valley of Kings
Today reveals renowned sites of antiquity, each more amazing than the one before… The Colossi of Memnon stand like guards along the road to the Valleys of the Kings and Queens; these impressive statues of Amenhotep III tower 75 feet and are virtually all that remain of his funerary temple which stood near by. The Deir El Bahari Funerary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut is spectacular, built in a natural amphitheater set against the mountains and partially hollowed out of the rocks. The temple design appears strikingly modern with three simple and elegant colonnade terraces connected by gracefully proportioned sloping ramps. With our expert Egyptologists shedding light on the history and drama of the Pharaohs, your exploration deep in the Valley of Kings will be unforgettable. This evening, don your Galabya for a festive gathering onboard. Meals B,L,D
Day 6 – From Kom Ombo to Aswan
The upper Nile boasts many fascinating sites. Today you explore the unusual dual-deity Temple of Kom Ombo, built on a picturesque bend in the Nile where crocodiles used to sun themselves. Dating to the Ptolemaic period, this unusual temple is dedicated to two different Egyptian Gods, Sobek the Crocodile God and Horus the Sun God. In contrast to the ancient marvels you’ve explored thus far, the remarkable High Dam at Aswan is an achievement that belongs to modern Egypt. Marvel at this imposing construction and then visit the granite quarries where ancient Egyptians engineered the seemingly impossible – creating towering obelisks. Of note, you’ll see the famous Unfinished Obelisk, still attached to bedrock, and then visit Philae Temple, dedicated to the Goddess Isis. Then step aboard a felucca, ancient craft of the Nile, and sail around Kitchener Island, lush with tropical plantings. Meals B,L,D
Day 7 – The Temples of Ramses II and Back to Cairo
Disembark this morning and fly to Abu Simbel to visit the magnificent Temples of Ramses II. The modern history of Abu Simbel and the temples’ historic rescue from the rising waters of Lake Nasser is a story as amazing as the ancient legends. The completion of the High Dam in 1972 threatened this extraordinary site, but a massive undertaking funded by the USA succeeded in literally transporting the ancient temples to higher ground, 200 feet above their original site. When you stand before the enormous figures of Ramses II, you will begin to fathom this amazing engineering feat. Abu Simbel was not a free-standing temple; the carved figures of the Pharaoh were hewn into the face of a towering cliff. The operation to rescue this ancient monument involved sawing the rock face into more than 1,000 pieces, some weighing close to 15 tons! The move and reconstruction process was completed with such precision that every year on February 22 and October 22 – only one day later than originally planned – the rays of the sun rise above the horizon to penetrate deep into the temple sanctuary to illuminate the interior statues.
Then you fly back to Cairo where you’ll be escorted to the luxurious Kempinski Nile Hotel. Tonight, you are the guests of a prominent Cairo family for a home-cooked dinner and an evening of engaging conversation in their gracious home. Meals B,D
Day 8 – Design your own day in Cairo
We’ve arranged to have a private air-conditioned car, driver and guide at your disposal for the day. Pursue your own passions... ancient culture, contemporary art, museum visits, or even privately guided shopping! Meals B
Day 9 – Cairo Departure
Your voyage through Egypt ends this morning. Meals B
