USA - Cairo, Egypt

Depart home city, overnight flight to Cairo, Egypt.

Arrive Cairo

Welcome to Egypt!  Upon arrival you will be transferred to the city to your hotel, the Cairo Steigenberger Pyramids for your next three nights. 

Cairo, Memphis, Saqqara, Giza

After breakfast our first visit is to Memphis (capital of the Pyramid Age) and Saqqara (Djoser's famous step pyramid); we'll then transfer to Giza. We begin with the world-famous Pyramids of Giza, classified among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Here we'll stand in awe of their size and magnificent engineering. Then we will come face to face with the 5,000-year-old Sphinx. Some may choose to ride a camel to the Sphinx. Afterwards, we will explore the 30,000 treasures of Egyptian antiquity, including the famous King Tutankhamen (“King Tut”) exhibits at the new Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza (referred to as the GEM). Here also, we will see the Solar Boat (the funerary barge used 4500 years ago by Pharaoh Khufu (also known as Cheops, the second pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Egypt). Our visit to the GEM will help us learn the history and see life as it existed at the time of the pharaonic dynasties. A short distance away is our hotel near the Pyramids and museum.  Evening optional Giza Light and Sound Show [$20/person] 

Cairo to Alexandria

Today our Egyptian exploration takes us on a journey through the Nile Delta to the coastal city of Alexandria. We will discover the wonders of the New Library of Alexandria, a modern marvel paying homage to its ancient predecessor. From here we visit the Graeco-Roman Museum, Pompey’s Pillar, the Catacombs, and the Roman Amphitheater.  We end our day as we explore Quarry Bay Citadel before returning to Cairo via the scenic Desert Road.

Begin Nile Cruise Day—Cairo flight to Aswan

After breakfast we transfer to the Cairo Airport for our flight to Aswan City. Traveling from the airport we will stop at the Aswan High Dam, and the Unfinished Obelisk. Following check-in aboard our Nile Cruise Ship, we will have lunch and then visit the Phylae Temple, In the late afternoon, we will sail on a Felucca (Nile sailboat) to the Nubian Village of Hessa. Our dinner and overnight will be back onboard our cruise ship. Evenings and prior to shore excursions some lectures on ancient Egyptian cultures and temple ceremonies will be provided throughout the cruise.  

Nile Cruise Day – Kom Ombo Temple 

Today we will first visit the Graeco-Roman Temple at Kom Ombo. The temple at Kom Ombo is about 30 miles north of Aswan and was built during the Graeco-Roman period (332 BC-AD 395). The temple is unique because it is a double temple, dedicated to Sobek the crocodile god, and Horus the falcon-headed god. The layout combines two temples in one with each side having its own gateways and chapels. Here we will also learn some of the early Egyptian temple ceremonies and translate some of the significant hieroglyphic symbols associated with those ceremonies.  After lunch, we continue down the Nile River (north) to Edfu and its magnificent temple. Dinner and shipboard entertainment will highlight our evening.

Nile Cruise Day – Temple of Horus at Edfu, Pass Through Locks of Esna

Our first visit this morning is to the Temple of Horus in Edfu, the second largest temple in Egypt.  It is considered the most beautiful and well-preserved of all the Egyptian temples. Returning to our ship, we have lunch as we continue down the Nile to Esna, known anciently as Latapolis (about 485 miles south of Cairo). We will sail down the Nile through the Esna lock and continue to Luxor.

Last Day of Cruise—West Bank of Nile, Valleys of the Kings and Nobles, Hatshepsut’s Funerary Temple, Colossi of Memnon, Karnak Temple, Luxor Temple.

Arriving early in Luxor (some may choose the option to see the sunrise over the Valley of the Kings from high in the air by hot air balloon [$65]) we disembark our cruise ship and visit the fabulous tombs and funerary temples on the West Bank, including the elaborate tombs of Ramses IV, Tutankhamen (King Tut) and others. Crossing the Nile once again we will tour the famous temples of Luxor and Karnak (the largest religious building ever constructed). We will walk the newly opened “Avenue of the Sphinx”.

Temple of Dendera, Life along the Nile, Flight to Cairo

Our stay in upper Egypt is completed with a visit to the Temple of Dendera, where worship of the gods of Egypt is found as early as 3,000 B.C. The Temple of Dendera was one of the last completed temples and has the son of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra VII (famous Cleopatra of Shakespeare) and Pompeii carved on wall reliefs.  Here we will review the ancient temple ceremonies before returning to Luxor for some shopping and our flight to the port city of Alexandria, Egypt.  We will stay near the Mediterranean Sea at a luxury hotel for dinner and overnight. 

Cairo, Egyptian Museum, Old Cairo, Citadel and Alabaster Mosque, Khan Khalili Bazaar, flight to Amman, Jordan or onward to other destinations. 

After breakfast, our first stop today is the famous Cairo Egyptian Museum. Here discoveries from the tombs and cities throughout Egypt are exhibited.  The treasures of Tanis that rival the “King Tut” collections, the Narmer Pallet (earliest unification of Upper and Lower Egypt about 5,000 years ago), as well as many other interesting exhibits from the various periods of ancient Egyptian history, are on display. We will tour Old Cairo Coptic and Jewish communities, the Citadel, and Mohammed Ali Alabaster Mosque, and pay a visit to the world-famous Khan Khalili Bazaar for shopping. After dinner, we enjoy our last night in Cairo.

Cairo - USA Flights home, or onto Amman, Jordan

Today, you will travel home after a life-changing experience in Egypt, with memories to last a lifetime—or pack your bags again to continue your adventures in Amman, Jordan.

** OPTIONAL JORDAN TOUR ** $2449.00pp/double rate

APRIL 21-27, 2025 - (USA and Egypt arrival-departure days included)

Day 1/2 -Monday, April 21-Tueaday, April 22, 2025 - Depart the USA to Amman, Jordan.  Whiter leaving from the USA or Cairo, Tuesday the 22nd will be your arrival day in Amman.  We stay at a hotel near the Airport for convenience. We will enjoy a welcome dinner to gather together for the first time as a group.

Day 3 - Wednesday, April 22 - Arrival to Dead Sea Resort.  -USA departure group arrives to the Queen Alia International Airport outside Amman, Jordan in the evening and transfers to the Dead Sea Resort for dinner and overnight.  The post-Egypt tour group has the day free to relax, do laundry, float in the Dead Sea, or swim in the freshwater pools.  The groups are all together by dinnertime. (B, D for Post-Egypt group; D for USA Jordan Option group)

Day 4 - Thursday, April 24 - Dead Sea, Mount Nebo, Madaba, Petra - This morning, after time to enjoy the Dead Sea, we climb the Pisgah mountains to Mount Nebo, where Moses made his last stopping place before departing the tribes of Israel and entrusting their leadership to Joshua. After taking in the panorama of modern Israel and the Palestinian Territories and reviewing the events on this mountain we head south, stopping in route to tour a mosaic factory before having an early lunch and visiting the Church of St. George in Madaba. Here is found the oldest mosaic map in the world of the Holy Land displayed on the floor of this Byzantine church. After our visit, we journey southeast along the King’s Highway through the biblical lands of Moab and Edom (tribal inheritances of Rueben). Enroute, we stop to view the ruins of Herod Antipas’ fortress-palace overlooking the Dead Sea, Machaerus.  This is the location of Salome’s dance and the beheading of John the Baptist. Traveling further south along the Kings Highway, we will pass many of the biblical cities and locations from the days of the Patriarchs through the Exodus of the Children of Israel. We will continue traveling south to Petra, a marvel long before “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” opened in theaters. After a memorable day, we will arrive at our Old Village Hotel Resort in Wadi Musa for dinner and overnight. The hotel is a unique experience with the true ambience of the Bedouin-Nabatean cultures. (B, D)

Day 5 -Friday, April 25 - Petra, Wadi Rumm, Camel Ride, Bedouin Camping - After an early morning breakfast, we will head to the ancient ruins of Petra by entering through the Siq. Most people recognize Petra for the Treasury, but there is so much more to see. There are two ways into and out of Petra. One is by buggy pulled by a donkey (additional fee). The other method is on foot, which allows for a scenic and memorable experience and is not a difficult walk. After visiting the Petra Museum and a quick lunch, we will head south to Wadi Rumm, where the events of Lawrence of Arabia took place.  Stopping briefly at the Wadi Rumm Visitors Center, we continue across the desert to our Bedouin camp for a camel trek, Sarb (a traditional Bedouin style of cooking where marinated meat and vegetables are buried in  an oven dug in sandy ground) accompanied by a lecture from a local Bedouin about their lifestyles.  Following dinner, we see the magnificent night sky and learn about local star-gazing legends before retiring to our camping facilities. (B, D) 

Day 6 -Saturday, April 26 - Karak Castle, Jesus’ Baptismal Site (Al Mughtas), Amman After breakfast, we depart Wadi Rumm heading north past Shobek Castle to visit al-Karak Castle, one of the largest crusader castles in the Levant. Going west from Karak we move once again into the Dead Sea Valley where we visit areas close to Sodom and Gomorrah, another winter hot-springs palace of Herod the Great, and cross significant canyons that feed the waters of the Dead Sea.  Eventually, we drive past the Dead Sea to the confluence of the Jordan River where the children of Israel crossed with Joshua and Elijah with Elisha crossed before Elijah’s ascension to Heaven.  This crossing is called today Al Mughtas and was known in Jesus’ day as “Bethbara” or “Bethany beyond Jordan” where Jesus would be baptized by John.   Our final Journey this day is back in the eastern mountains to Amman, capitol of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan for dinner and overnight at the Grand Palace Hotel where USA Presidents have stayed. (B, D)

Day 7 -Sunday, April 27 - Amman, Jabbok River, Jerash, Amman Citadel, Jordan Museum, Amman Suk - Today we journey north from the Jordanian capital city of Amman (known in Greco-Roman times as Philadelphia) Jerash, the monumental Graeco-Roman Decapolis city, visiting its magnificent ruins and review Old and New Testament events that occurred along the route. We will cross the Jabbok River near Penuel and recall that the patriarch Jacob was renamed “Israel” at its banks after wrestling with an angel all through the night.   We return to Amman for a visit to the Jordan Museum that houses some of the Dead Sea Scrolls and history from ancient to modern eras of the country. Other visits include the Amman Citadel (location of the Jordan Archaeological Museum  and the Temple of Hercules), the famous downtown Souk (open-air market), and other significant sites. We will also view the Roman Theater and the Odeon before returning the Grand Palace Hotel for dinner and overnight. (B, D)

Day 8 - Monday, April 28 - Amman, Irbid, Umm Qais, Jordan Valley, Pella, Wadi Al Yarbis, Amman - This morning, we take a journey few tours provide throughout the northwestern areas of Jordan.  Our adventure begins with a drive north of Amman through the land of Gilead (tribal territory of Gad) and pass through the provincial capital of northern Jordan, the modern city of Irbid. Traveling a little farther north, we come to the northern borders of Jordan to the site of the New Testament city of Gadara (Umm Qais), where we have a view of the Sea of Galilee. This was also a city of the Decapolis where Jesus and his disciples must have taught. From this vantage point, we can see the borders of Israel, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan.  After our tour we go west through the scenic western hills of Bashan (tribal allotment to half the tribe of Manasseh) to the Jordan River Valley, then following the valley south we arrive at the city of Pella, where the Jewish Christians fled from Jerusalem in 66 AD, following the prophetic instructions of Jesus and his disciples. Finally, leaving Pella we travel east climbing once again through the picturesque mountains of Gilead and will stop along the spring Cherith at a spot called today Wadi Al Yarbis, where Elijah was fed by a raven while hiding from Queen Jezabel.  Here is one of the largest and oldest olive trees and old mills in the country. Finally, we will reminisce those events as we continue southeast through the highlands of Jordan to Amman.  As time permits, we will have a farewell dinner before going to the Queen Alia International Airport and departing the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan ending our journeys through this Holy Land. (B, D)