Egypt – Where History Begins

Upon arrival at Cairo International Airport, you are met by your Tour Coordinator who assists you with immigration and obtaining your luggage. You are then transferred by air-conditioned vehicle to your centrally-located hotel and assisted with check-in.

Overnight: The Four Seasons

After breakfast at your hotel, you are introduced to your Egyptologist and begin your tour with a visit to the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities. Exhibiting over 120,000 objects in its 107 halls, the Museum of Antiquities boasts the world’s greatest collection of Ancient Egyptian artifacts. Venture into the fascinating Mummy Room within the museum, housing eleven royal Kings and Queens of ancient Egypt, including the Great Ramses II; Egypt’s longest ruling pharaoh.

Enjoy lunch at one of Cairo’s finest restaurants and the rest of your day is at leisure.

Overnight: The Four Seasons

After a buffet breakfast at your hotel, transfer by private air-conditioned car to Cairo Airport to take your domestic flight to Luxor. Upon arrival to Luxor Airport you are greeted and transferred to your Sanctuary Nile Cruise.

Check-in to your five-star deluxe Nile cruise boat where you are welcomed by the reception staff. Straight away, you have the opportunity to visit the strikingly graceful Temple of Luxor.

After lunch on board, visit the West Bank of Luxor to explore the Valley of the Kings and the Tomb of the Pharoah Seti I which is very impressive. It was discovered in 1817 and is undoubtedly the best-preserved tombs in the Valley of the Kings. The art that you see here, set the precedent for all the tombs that followed.

You also have the chance to visit at least one tomb in the Valley of the Queens and visit the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut. On the way back to the river Nile, pass by the famed Colossi of Memnon, known in Ancient Greek times for their haunting voices at dawn.

This evening you are greeted by your Boat Manager for a cocktail reception, who reviews your cruise program for the upcoming days. Enjoy Egyptian wine and beer with a selection of freshly-prepared canapés, followed by a gourmet dinner.

Overnight: Sanctuary Nile Cruise

After breakfast on board, begin your day with a visit to the Temple of Karnak.

Lunch is served in the lounge whilst you sail to Esna.

After lunch, your Egyptologist guides you round the Greco-Roman Temple of Khnum at Esna. The beautifully-preserved Great Hypostle Hall was built during the reign of the Roman Emperor Claudius; it was excavated from the silt that had accumulated through centuries of annual Nile floods and is about nine meters lower than present-day street level.

Afternoon tea is served as you cruise to Edfu and, later, enjoy a gourmet dinner.

Overnight: Sanctuary Nile Cruise

Following breakfast, explore the Temple of Edfu.

Lunch is served as you cruise to Kom Ombo and, after, visit the Temple of Kom Ombo, dedicated to the crocodile-god Sobek. The temple stands at a bend in the Nile where in ancient times sacred crocodiles basked in the sun on the riverbank.

Later, afternoon tea is served in the lounge and you have the chance to take part in an Egyptian cooking lesson as you sail to Aswan.

Tonight’s dinner on board is an Egyptian Night costume party for all guests, with a chance to dress up in traditional Egyptian galabeyya. Dinner is a lavish buffet of Egyptian specialities.

Overnight: Sanctuary Nile Cruise

A breakfast buffet is served on board and the morning is yours to enjoy at leisure.

Enjoy lunch on board, followed by a short motorboat ride to visit the majestic Philae Temple on the Island of Agilika. Next proceed to the Granite Quarries, which supplied the ancient Egyptians with most of the hard stone used in pyramids and temples. Here you see the Unfinished Obelisk, located in the northern region of the stone quarries.

Next take a ride on a felucca (a typical Egyptian sail boat) around Elephantine Island, Lord Kitchener’s Botanical Gardens and the Agha Khan Mausoleum (weather permitting, life jackets will be provided).

Afternoon tea is served on board and your farewell dinner is a gala dinner, with white-gloved waiters serving gourmet cuisine. A folkloric show and a Whirling Dervish show follow.

Overnight: Sanctuary Nile Cruise

Start the day with breakfast and check out, before your transfer to Aswan Airport where you take your domestic flight to Abu Simbel. Meet your representative inside the arrival terminal who then escorts you to the Temple of Abu Simbel by private air-conditioned vehicle and introduces you to your resident Egyptologist.

Visit the Temple of Abu Simbel built by the Great Ramses II. This temple is one of the most recognizable images in the country. Two temples, namely the Great Temple of Ra-Harakhte, fronted by the four colossal statues of Ramses II and the Temple of Hathor, dedicated to Ramses’ favorite wife Queen Nefertari. Both were moved to their current location when the creation of Lake Nasser threatened their existence.

Return to the airport for your return flight to Cairo via Aswan.

Transfer to the Four Seasons Hotel and enjoy the rest of day at leisure.

Overnight: The Four Seasons

After breakfast this morning, begin your day at the Citadel, a medieval fortress perched high on limestone hills above Cairo, which was built in 1176 to protect the city from Crusaders. Today, the Citadel complex houses mosques and museums, including the National Military Museum. Next, take a cultural walking tour down Muiz El-Din Allah Street, recalling the time when it was the main thoroughfare through the heart of Old Cairo. Start at Baab El-Fotouh, the massive fortified gate in the north wall of the historic city and walk towards Baab Zuweila, the gate in the south, along the way seeing beautiful Islamic monuments and busy markets where Egyptians buy their everyday items. This street has more listed buildings per meter than any other in the world.

Lunch today is served at Naguib Mahfouz Restaurant in the heart of the Khan El Khalili Bazaar.

Finally, visit the fascinating Khan El-Khalili Bazaar, reputed to be the largest bazaar in the Middle East. Originally founded as a watering stop for caravanserai in the 14th century, the bazaar has now grown to vast proportions.  Wander through the labyrinth of narrow streets to find workshops and stalls selling all manner of things from woodwork and glassware to leather goods and perfumes.  

Overnight: The Four Seasons

After breakfast, your day begins with a visit of the Great Pyramids of Giza which are the only present-day survivors of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, built over 4,500 years ago as giant tombs for the mummies of the pharaohs Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, who were father, son and grandson. The pyramids are truly monumental in scale, with the largest, Khufu’s, constructed from over two million blocks. The pyramids were not built by slaves but by Egyptian peasants, whose labor in building the pyramids paid their taxes to the Pharaoh, who also fed, clothed and housed them.

Nearby sits the enigmatic Sphinx with the body of a lion and the face of a man wearing a royal head cloth, which workers may have based on King Khafre to guard his enormous funerary monument. About a thousand years after the Sphinx was built, it was covered in sand until a young prince had a dream in which the Sphinx told him that if he cleared the sand away, he would become Pharaoh. This story is told on the Dream Stela that was placed between the Sphinx’s paws by King Tuthmose IV.

Lunch is served at a local restaurant.

This afternoon, visit the pyramids of Sakkara. Sakkara is the former necropolis (cemetery) for the ancient Egyptian city of Memphis and the place where the very first pyramids were built as tombs for kings. Instead of the smooth sides featured on other pyramids, the pyramids here feature six steps on the outside, representing the pharaoh’s stepladder to heaven. Discover the famous Step Pyramid of King Zoser, the first pyramid ever built and the world’s oldest freestanding stone structure. Admire the beautiful tomb art at Sakkara, which gives great insight into the lives of the ancient Egyptians.

Overnight: The Four Seasons

Enjoy breakfast at your hotel and then transfer with your Tour Coordinator to Cairo Airport for your departure flight.