EGYPT TOUR:  DIVING THE RED SEA & CRUSING THE NILE

TOUUNDVRSCN - 11 days / 10 nights
Departs SUNDAY - THURSDAY - FRIDAY  - (Check dates)
GALA DINNER at hotel if staying on December 31 in either Cairo or Luxor is COMPULSORY and will be ADDED to the tour cost

Airfare not included 
Minimum: 2 persons 

Visit Cairo's Egyptian Museum( with its world-famous displays of artifacts including Tutankhamen's treasures) and Giza Pyramids, then combine the Red Sea fascinating and exotic natural environment with a spectacular Nile Cruise visiting the most famous ancient sites including the Valley of Kings and Queens. 

Come and enjoy the Red Sea with its fascinating and exotic natural environment and unusually constant water temperatures year round. Surrounded by awe inspiring desert scenery home to some of humans' most ancient and remarkable civilizations, the Red Sea is also situated at the most important commercial cross-road between north and south, east and west, and ancient traders coming by sea from as far as India and China traveled through it on their way to the Nile, to Sinai, and to the Mediterranean. Romans, Christian Monks, Crusaders and Ottomans left their traces along its shores. Today it offers not only remarkable historical, cultural and naturalist interests, but also unique diving, optimal winds for windsurfers, and sandy beaches with palm trees under an ever blue sky for sun seekers.

SHARM-EL-SHEIKH - Sharm el-Sheikh is one of the most accessible and developed tourist resort communities on the Sinai peninsula. All around are Bedouins, colorful tents, mountains and sea. There are small, intimate hotels with modern designs, as well as larger hotel complexes belonging to International chains, plus about all the amenities one could expect of a tourist center, including casinos, discos and nightclubs, golf courses and health facilities. In fact, with diving and snorkeling, windsurfing and other water sports, horses and camel riding, desert safaris, and great nearby antiquities attractions, it is almost impossible for a visitor to ever suffer from boredom. It has been said that this is a must visit for all diving enthusiasts. There are many diving sites along the 10 mile beach between Sharm el-Sheikh and Ras Nusrani. For those who live to shop, the Sharm El-Sheikh mall provides shops with both foreign and local products, including jewelry, leather goods, clothing, pottery and books.

ASWAN
Aswan, Egypt's sunniest southern city and ancient frontier town, has a distinctively African atmosphere. Here the Nile is at its most beautiful, flowing through amber desert and granite rocks, round emerald islands covered in palm groves and tropical plants. Aswan has been a favorite winter resort since the beginning of the nineteenth century and it's still a perfect place
to get away from it all. Aswan is the gateway to the ancient kingdom of Kush, Nubia, the stretch of land next to the Nile from Aswan down to Khartoum in the south. Nubians still have distinct traditions, architecture and languages, even though many migrated either to Aswan and Kom Ombo or south to Sudan after Lake Nasser swamped much of their traditional homeland. Nubia contains dozens of sites of archaeological interest. 24 temples, as well as fortresses and tombs, were menaced by the waters of the High Dam, including Dendour, Ellessiya, Amada and Wadi al-Sebowa. Some have been moved, most notably Philae, Kalabsha and Abu Simbel, and other salvage and restoration operations are still ongoing.

THE NILE
The Nile, longest river in the world, located in northeastern Africa. From its principal source, Lake Victoria, in east central Africa, the Nile flows north through Uganda, Sudan, and Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea, a distance of 5584 km (3470 mi). From its remotest headstream in Burundi, the river is 6,695 km (4,160 mi) long. The river basin covers an area of more than 3,349,000 sq km (more than 1,293,000 sq mi). In pre-historic times, primeval forests covered the river banks when the river was a vast swamp composed of rushes, papyrus, and weeds. However, due to thousands of years of human intervention, the Nile throughout Egypt flows peacefully through green fields—looking much like a rich, well cultivated European plain. The Delta, an area of about 10,000 square miles, is a broad swamp intersected by canals. The Mediterranean Sea influences this region bringing a regular winter rainy season. The Upper Nile valley is one great waterway, with insignificantly small irrigation canals scattered along its length. It is much drier than the Delta, with little to no rain. The lack of seasons makes it much easier to cultivate the land in the Upper Nile. Thus it was cultivated first and is much less swampy than the Delta, which is still being converted into arable land.

NILE CRUISES
A cruise on the Nile, aboard a luxurious cruise ship, is a voyage along the landmarks of civilization. Cruises begin in Aswan or Luxor, covering a distance of 200 km. A highly qualified and knowledgeable Egyptologist travels with you throughout your journey to provide insights and a comprehensive understanding of the ancient kingdoms. At Luxor cross the West Bank to the Necropolis of Thebes and Osiris, God of the underworld. Venture into the tomb of the Boy King Tut-Ankh-Amon. Enroute at Esna, visit the recently excavated temple of god Khnum and then stop over at the Temple of Horus built in commemoration of the battle between Horus and his brother Set. Further down the river the Temple of Kom Ombo is dedicated to the crocodile and healer gods. At Aswan wrap up the journey with a ride in a lateen-sailed felucca and a visit to the Temple of Philae dedicated to the Goddess Isis. The choice of Nile ships offered is excellent, as is the service onboard.

LUXOR
Luxor has been called the world's greatest open air museum, as the number and preservation of the monuments in the area are unparalleled anywhere else in the world. But what most people think of as Luxor is really three different areas: the City of Luxor on the East side of the Nile, the town of Karnak just north of Luxor and Thebes, which the ancient Egyptians called Waset, on the west side of the Nile across from Luxor. Luxor today is a city of some 150,000 people and many government and other buildings appear to be pharaonic constructions. This  Egyptianization of the modern town resulted from the mania inspired by Howard Carter's discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun. In Luxor proper on the East Bank, one of the first stops must be the Temple of Luxor built by Amenophis III and connected to the Karnak Temple via a long stone processional street called a dromos, built by Nectanebo I, and originally lined on either side by sphinxes. The Temple of Karnak is actually three main temples, smaller enclosed temples, and several outer temples. This vast complex was built and enlarged over a thirteen hundred year period.

The West Bank - Most of the temples on the west side of the Nile were royal mortuary temples to maintain the cult of the deceased kings buried in their tombs cut in the cliffs further west. In effect, the west bank at Luxor is one of the most important archaeological sites in the world and the necropolis can be divided into a number of zones and sub-zones, of which the Valley of the Kings is only one. West at the base of the highest of the peaks in the Theban range of hills, quite well separate from the other burials in the West Bank, is the Valley of the Kings, the final resting place of many of the New Kingdom rulers. South of the Valley of the Kings, and closer to the Nile lies the inappropriately named Valley of the Queens. This area really houses family members of the kings, including both males and females, and even some high officials. Just southeast of the Valley of the Queens is Deir el-Medina, the ruins of a village that housed the craftsmen and workers who dug and decorated the tombs and other Theban monuments. This is a very important area to Egyptology, because it has revealed many of the facets of ordinary life in Egypt, and there are some wonderful tombs in its necropolis. The northern sector of the west bank closest to the Nile River is often referred to as the Tombs of the Nobles, but it also can be divided into about five different sub-zones. Farthermost north is an area known as el-Tarif, where large, row tombs were dug during the late Second Intermediate Period and early Middle Kingdom. Along the border between the fertile section of the Valley and the hills we find Temples and one palace. The southern most temple is that of Ramesses III located at Medinet Habu. The palace belonged to Amenhotep III, but was probably also inhabited by a few of his successors. At one time, it was a huge complex. The northernmost temple is that of Seti I, which at one time also probably served as an administrative center on the West Bank. The temples within the Valley, each built by individual kings or queens, were collectively known by the Egyptians as the "Temples of Millions of Years", built for the worship of the deceased kings, and even used for his worship while he lived. Amun was the principle deity worshiped at Thebes, and the Pharaoh was considered his son. Celebrating this union, each year a celebration was held called the Beautiful Feast of the Valley, where the royal power was renewed and strengthened.

Hotels:

Daily Itinerary & Program

Day 1 Cairo 
Arrive Cairo, Egypt. Upon arrival in Cairo, you are greeted by our local assistant and transferred to your hotel. (B)

Day 2 Red Sea
AM: Transfer from the hotel to the airport for flight to Sharm el Sheikh or Hurghada on the Red Sea. Meet and assist and transfer to the hotel. (B)

Day 2 - Day 6 Diving 
Days at the Red Sea diving on different areas depending on weather and program. (B)

Day 7 Luxor (or Aswan) / Nile Cruise
AM: Fly or drive to Luxor or Aswan. Transfer to board the Nile Cruise ship. (B,D)

Day 8 - Day 9 Nile Cruise
On cruise with visits to the Valley of the Kings, the Temples of Queen Hatshepsut (The glory and mysteries of ancient Egypt will speak to us as we tour the most famous archeological sites of the Valley of Kings and Queens. Sixty-four of Egypt's rulers, including Tutankhamen, were buried in ornate tombs here. We also tour the Deir El Bahari funerary temple: after visitors cross the Nile from Luxor, they visit the Valley of the Kings, which includes the tombs of the Theban rulers, Seti I & Tut Ankh Amun. Next they tour the mortuary Temple of Hatchepsut, the only woman Pharaoh to rule ancient Egypt. They then visit the Valley of the Queens & Tombs of the Nobles. This excursion includes also visits to the mortuary Temple of Medinet abu, erected by & for Ramses II.), Karnak, Luxor, Kom Ombo (the ancient site of Ombos, which is from the ancient Egyptian word 'nubt', which means 'City of Gold'. It has been occupied since prehistoric times. In ancient Egypt, the city was important to the caravan routes from Nubia and various gold mines. The local industry is primarily agriculture, including irrigated sugar cane and corn. Besides the native Egyptians, there is a large population of Nubians who were displaced from their land when Lake Nasser was created. The major attraction here is the Temple of Kom Ombo, located on a hill west of the village. There is a wonderful view of the countryside from the Temple, and south of here is the Roman Chapel of Hathor. It was dedicated to the wife of Horus, and is used to store mummified crocodiles from the nearby animal necropolis and a few sarcophagi. Symmetry has always been a key element of Egyptian architecture; here the temple is divided between two separate Egyptian gods - Sobek and Haruar - the local crocodile-god and the falcon-headed sky-god, respectively, and Philac), Felluca ride in Aswan. (B,L,D)

Day 10  Cairo
AM: Transfer from the ship to the airport for flight to Cairo. Transfer from the airport to the hotel. (B)

Day 11 : Depart
Transfer to the airport for final departure. (B)

Included:

ALL TRANSFERS

3 NIGHTS CRUISE FULL BOARD + VISIT OF THE 4 NIGHTS PROGRAM

2 NIGHTS CAIRO BB

5 NIGHTS SHARM BB

Not Included:

Airfare, airport tax, drinks, meals not specified as included, gratuities and personal expenses