10 Days Nile Cruise and Cairo

For your Egypt Christmas 2020 tour with Nile cruise and Cairo, fly to Luxor today . Upon arrival at Luxor Airport, your guide will meet you and take you to your 5 star boat.

After breakfast on the ship, you will visit today with your guide:

The Karnak Temple
It is the largest temple complex ever built. Here the ancient Egyptians immortalized the holy family of Thebes, Amun-Re , his wife Mut and the son Chonsu. The complete construction time of the temple lasted over 2000 years. One of the most important areas of the temple is the large pillared hall with 134 papyrus columns built by Seteth and completed by Ramses II.

The Luxor Temple
In the heart of the city of Luxor, you will find the Luxor Temple, built by Amemophis III. and Ramses II was built. Even Alexander the Great built a chapel for the ancient Egyptian gods. At that time, the Ancient Egyptians celebrated here the most important festival in Thebes, the Opetfest. In 1989, archaeologists happened to find an underground chamber with very well-preserved statues, which are now exhibited in the Luxor Museum . At the Luxor Temple you can see a part of the Sphinx Avenue, which connected the Luxor Temple with the Karnak Temple at that time.

After lunch, the boat leaves to Edfu via the city of Esna.
(Afternoon is not a program, just enjoy the boat trip from Luxor to Edfu)

After breakfast on board you will visit:

The Edfu Temple
He was built by the Ptolemies for the falcon god Horus Behdeti from 237 to 57 BC. Built. Until 1860 AD, the temple was hidden under the sand and Nile mud, only then it was exposed by the Frenchman Marriette. Every year, the wedding of Horus of Edfu with the Hathor of Dendara, as well as the feast of the victory of Horus over Seth, were celebrated here.

After visiting the Edfu Temple, the boat will depart to Kom Ombo and in the afternoon visit:

The Kom Ombo Temple
It is the only double temple in Egypt dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek and the falcon god Horus. The ruins of the temple were for a long time spilled over half by sand. They were first uncovered and restored in 1893. The temple was built during the Greek period from 304 to 31 BC. And hundreds of mummified crocodiles were found around the temple.

Afterwards you continue by boat to Aswan

In Aswan you visit today with the tour guide:

Philae Temple
The Philae or Isis Temple stood on Philae Island south of Aswan, and after the construction of the high dam, the temple was under water for several months of the year. Therefore, the temple was transferred to the neighboring island of Agilika from 1977 to 1980. In 553 AD, the temple served as a church, so much of the relief in the temple was destroyed.

The High Dam
The construction of the high dam was initiated by President Nasser and lasted from 1960 to 1971, creating one of the largest reservoirs in the world, 500 km long and 32 km wide, at the widest point. The dam is more than 3800 meters long and 111 meters high, at the sole 980 meters and at the crown about 40 meters wide.

Today you have free or you have the opportunity for a private excursion to Abu Simble:

The two temples of Abu Simble were built by Ramses II in 1260 BC. built and were under the sand until 1817, then the Italian Belzoni has freed the two temples from the sand. The Ramses temple extends 60 meters directly into the rock and has a height of 30 m. The temple of Nefertari is 21 m deep and 12 m high. After the construction of the dam, both temples were moved 62 m higher in the years 1964-1968 to protect them from flooding by the reservoir.
You will drive to Abu Simble early in the morning with a private vehicle and your private tour guide. On the way there you can experience the sunrise in the desert and on the way back you can admire the nature view.

Enjoy the return trip by boat from Aswan to Luxor and relax on board.

Today you visit the highlights of Thebes-West:

The Valley of the Kings
Let yourself be enchanted by the more than 3000 years old, wonderful murals in the tombs of the Pharaohs. So far, 64 graves have been found in the Valley of the Kings, of which you can visit three. In the Valley of the Kings are the tombs of the kings of the New Kingdom (about 1550-1069 BC 18 to 20 dynasty) to find. In 1922 Englishman Howard Carter discovered the tomb of TutAnchAmun with its golden treasures.

The Hatshepsut Temple
The mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut dates back to the 18th Dynasty, 1470 BC. She had her impressive terrace temple built by the architect Senenmut. She was always portrayed as a man, which can be clearly seen from the very well preserved statues in the temple. In the Christian era, a temple was built on the temple, which was used until the 11th century, and in the 19th century the ruins of the monastery were demolished.

The Memnon Colossi
The Memnon colossi are two side by side ancient Egyptian colossal statues, about 18 m. high from the 14th century BC Both statues represent Amenhotep III and were located at the entrance of his temple.

Today you disembark the Nile cruise boat, then transfer to Luxor Airport and fly to Cairo. You will be picked up at the airport in Cairo with your private guide to visit:

The Egyptian Museum
The Egyptian Museum in Cairo is the world’s largest museum of ancient Egyptian treasures and houses a unique collection of finds from 5,000 years of Egyptian history. Particularly impressive are the famous golden treasures of Tut-Ankh-Amun. It would open in 1902 for visitors.

The Citadel of Saladin
The Citadel of Saladin is one of the few preserved fortifications in the city of Cairo. The citadel complex was built between 1176 and 1183 AD by Saladin to better defend the city of Cairo from the crusader attacks. From the citadel you have a special view over the capital Cairo.

The Alabaster
Mosque of Mohamed Ali the Alabaster Mosque of Mohamed Ali is one of the largest mosques in Egypt. It was built between 1830 and 1880. The minarets are 82 meters and the dome is 52 meters high. The interior walls are covered with alabaster and the columns are made of solid alabaster.

You will then have lunch, after you will be taken to your 5 star hotel where you will check in.

After breakfast at the hotel, you will be picked up and viewed by your guide:

The Pyramids of Giza
The 3 famous pyramids of Giza are the last surviving wonder of the ancient world. They were about 2600 BC. Built on a large limestone plateau.

The Pyramid of Cheops is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids and is therefore also known as the “Great Pyramid”. It is the highest pyramid in the world, 147 m high and was built as a tomb for the Egyptian king Cheops.

We will admire this biggest pyramid of the world first. This is followed by a visit to the pyramid of Chephren and the Mykerinos pyramid.
Then we drive to a plateau, from which you have a beautiful panoramic view of the three pyramids of Giza.

The Sphinx
The Sphinx has the body of a lion and the head of a man and lies with a length of approx. 73 m and a height of approx. 20 m before the Khafre pyramid.

After visiting the pyramids and the sphinx, fortify yourself with an oriental lunch, then head to:

Sakkara
Sakkara is one of the oldest and largest cemeteries in Egypt. There you can see the first pyramid of Egypt, the stepped pyramid of King Djoser from the 3rd Dynasty around 2650 BC. It consists of 6 steps with a height of 62 m. The first phase of pyramid construction in Egypt began with this structure. However, it was originally planned by Imhotep not as a pyramid, but initially as a square mastaba.

You can also visit the beautiful tombs of the Old Kingdom with their special paintings

You will be transferred from your hotel to Cairo Airport today, then fly home.