EGYPT!

Enrique and I leave for Egypt this Thursday!

Below is our trip itinerary if you'd like to know what we'll be up to from day-to-day. And I hope to be able to post more often than I did from Russia, but as I realized on that trip, the best intentions don't matter if you don't have internet access!

NOV 15: Thu - Departure from USA
Board your international flight to Cairo and begin your journey back in time to this charming, ancient land.

NOV 16: Fri - Cairo
Arrival in the Land of the Pharaohs. At Cairo International Airport you will be welcomed and assisted through immigration and customs by our representative, then escorted to your hotel.

NOV 17: Sat - Cairo, City Tour
Start your day with a guided tour of the Egyptian Museum where you will find artifacts of the Pharaonic era and the treasures of king Tutankhamen’s tomb. Drive to Old Cairo, where early Judaism and Christianity flourished in Egypt. Visit the Ben Ezra Synagogue and Saint Sergius Church. After lunch, Citadel of Saladin, to visit Mohamed Ali Alabaster Mosque. Enjoy a walking tour of the largest 13th century covered oriental market, Khan El Khalili Bazaar, overnight at hotel.

NOV 18: Sun - Cairo, Pyramids Tour
After breakfast, a scenic drive will take you to the Pyramids & Sphinx of Giza, which have stood for the last 5000 years. Complete your visit at Giza with a tour of the Solar Boat Museum. After lunch, continue to the ancient city of Memphis, the first capital of United Upper and Lower Egypt, then visit Sakkara, site of the Step Pyramid of Zoser.

NOV 19: Mon – Cairo, Alexandria Tour
Overday excursion to Alexandria by private car accompanied by an English-speaking Egyptologist: visit the Catacombs of Kom El Shugafa, the Fortress of Qait Bay, the National Museum, Abu El Abbas Mosque and Alexandria Library “Bibliotheca Alexandrina”.

NOV 20: Tue – Aswan, Abu Simbel, Kom Ombo, Edfu
Morning flight to Abu Simbel, via Aswan: visit the colossal Temple of Ramses II and the temple of his beloved Queen Nefertari, both temples carved out of a hillside beside the Nile in the 13th century BC. Flight back to Aswan with
overnight.

NOV 21: Wed - Aswan, Kom Ombo, Edfu
Transfer to your cruise ship where you will spend the next 3 nights / 4 days. You will visit the High Dam, the Granite Quarries with the Unfinished Obelisk and the Temple of Philae. After lunch, sail to Kom Ombo where you will visit the
Ptolemaic Temple of Sobek & Haroeries. Then sail to Edfu and overnight.

NOV 22: Thu - Edfu, Esna, Luxor
Travel by horse-drawn carriage to the Temple of Horus, the falcon-god, (237 B.C.) considered the best-preserved temple in Ancient Egypt and the second largest after the Temple of Karnak. Sail to Esna, passing through the Esna Lock, and continue sailing towards Luxor and overnight.

NOV 23: Fri - Luxor
Visit the West Bank necropolis including the Valley of the Kings, the funerary temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Deir El Bahari and the Colossi of Memnon. Free afternoon at leisure. Overnight in Luxor.

NOV 24: Sat – Luxor, Cairo
After breakfast, visit the east bank of Luxor Karnak and Luxor Temples, a centuries-old city of pylons, hypostyle halls, colossal statues, shrines and obelisks. Disembarkation and transfer to Luxor airport. At Cairo International Airport you will be welcomed and assisted by our
representative, then escorted to your hotel.

NOV 25: Sun - Departure
After breakfast, transfer to Cairo International Airport for your departure flight.