Cairo, Giza, Pyramids, Sphinx, Saqqara, Luxor, Karnak, Walleys of King, Aswan, Abu Simbel
(8 Nights / 9 Days )

Day 1 - Arrive Cairo Welcome to Cairo, jewel of the Nile! Transfer to your hotel and enjoy Nile view rooms for your three-night stay.

Day 2 - Cairo/Egyptian Museum Walk across the square from your hotel to visit the Egyptian Museum to see the largest artifact collection from pharaonic times, including the treasures from the "Boy King's"-- Tutankhamon's-- tomb. Your Egyptologist shows you the gold mask, toys, jewelry and throne, all found in the pharaoh's tomb across the Nile from Luxor. Then visit the Old City of Cairo, including the Mohammed Ali Mosque in the Citadel. Enjoy a walk through the bazaar of Khan el Khalili, where stalls and shops overflow with jewelry, copper, brass, carpets, and spices. Finish your day with a special reception and a presentation by an Egyptian archaeologist. (BLD)

Day 3 - Giza Pyramids/Sphinx/Saqqara Experience one the oldest forms of transportation--a camelback ride--to the base of the Giza Pyramids. Examine Cheop's Great Pyramid, which is 4,500 years old and covers 13 acres at its base. The famous Giza plateau also includes Chephren and Mycerinus Pyramids and the Sphinx, protector of the pharaohs. A visit is included to the fascinating Solar Boat Museum before touring Memphis, once the capital of ancient Egypt, and to the necropolis at Saqqara to see Djoser's Step Pyramid, the oldest freestanding stone structure in the world. (BLD)

Day 4 - Luxor/Karnak and Luxor Temples Fly south, up the Nile Valley to Luxor, known as Thebes in pharaonic times. Visit Karnak Temple, built by generations of pharaohs and covering 60 acres, and then follow the partially buried two-mile Avenue of the Ram-head Sphinxes to Luxor Temple, which was covered by desert sand until the 19th century, keeping it well-preserved. Embark on the H.S. Radamis for your four-night cruise up the legendary Nile. Attend the Sound and Light Show this evening back at the Karnak Temple. (BLD)

Day 5 - Luxor/Valleys of the Kings and Queens Ferry across to the west shore of the Nile to the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, the famed necropolis where tombs of 64 pharaohs have been found, including that of Tutankhamon, whose treasures were miraculously intact after 3,000 years. See the unique colonnaded temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon before returning to the cruise. (BLD)

Day 6 - Nile cruise/Edfu/Kom Ombo This morning, your ship sails to Edfu for the visit to the nearly intact Temple of Horus, the falcon god, which was built by Ptolemy III in 230 BC. After lunch, continue cruising up the Nile past small villages, palm trees, and farmers working in fields much the same as they did 2,000 years ago--with donkeys and camels. Dock at Kom Ombo to visit the twin-temple dedicated to Horus and to Sobek, the crocodile god--a classic example of Egyptian symmetry and design. (BLD)

Day 7 - Aswan/Philae Temple The H.S. Radamis arrives in Aswan, location of the largest landfill dam in the world, which was built in the 1960s with the aid of the Russians to control the annual flooding of the Nile and to provide electricity. See Philae Temple, which was relocated to save it from the rising river waters when the dam was built, and the ancient granite quarry where an obelisk lies cracked and unfinished. This afternoon, sail aboard a felucca past Kitchener's Island and the Aga Khan Mausoleum. (BLD)

Day 8 - Abu Simbel/Cairo Disembark this morning and fly to Abu Simbel. The colossal Temple of Abu Simbel was carved from solid rock in 1235 BC by the great Ramses II. Beside it stands the Temple of Hathor, built to honor the pharaoh's wife, Nefertari. In the 1960s, the temples were moved pieceby- piece 200 feet up the hill to preserve them from the rising waters of Lake Nasser. This evening, fly back to Cairo for a special farewell dinner at hotel . (BLD)

Day 9 - Conclude Cairo This morning, transfer to the airport. It's time to return home with your life-long memories and treasures from the land of the pharaohs. Saida, as-salam alaikoom! (B)