SOFT SMILE | Cairo - Luxor – Aswan 08 days

SOFT SMILE | Cairo - Luxor – Aswan 08 days

Location

DAY 01: Arrival at Cairo International airport, meets and assists through formalities, then transfer to your hotel for overnight.

DAY 02: After Breakfast, visiting the Egyptian Museum, famous for its antiquities from Egypt’s Pharaonic period, dates back some 50 centuries, and includes the fabulous treasures of King Tut Ankh-Amon. Afternoon excursion to Old Cairo, the old Coptic churches, and the oldest Jewish Synagogue of Ben Ezra. Continue your visit to the Citadel of Salah El-Din and Mohamed Ali alabaster Mosque, followed by a transfer to Giza rail way station to get the sleeping train to Aswan, dinner on board.

"The Egyptian Museum, owes its existence to the Egyptian Antiquities Service, established by the Egyptian government in 1835 to limit the looting of Egypt's priceless artifacts. The museum opened in 1858 with a collection assembled by Auguste Mariette, the French archaeologist retained by Ismail Pasha. It was originally housed in an annex of the palace of Ismail Pasha in Giza, the museum moved to its present location in 1900."

"The Citadel, was constructed by Salah El Din on the Moqattam hills in 1183 AD overlooking the whole city to be his defensive point against the attacks of the Crusaders. Salah El Din appointed to be the governor of Egypt after the death of the Sultan of Damascus, Noor-el-Din."

"The mosque is situated in the Citadel of Cairo in Egypt and commissioned by Muhammad Ali Pasha between 1830 and 1848. Situated on the summit of the citadel, this Ottoman mosque, the largest to be built in the first half of the 19th century, is, with its animated silhouette and twin minarets, the most visible mosque in Cairo. The mosque was built in memory of Tusun Pasha, Muhammad Ali's oldest son, who died in 1816."

DAY 03: Arrival Aswan, After breakfast, enjoy an excursion to the Old Dam and the gigantic Aswan High Dam completed in 1970.Board a motor launch to the island of Philae to visit the temple of Isis. Also stop at the ancient granite quarries to see the famous Unfinished Obelisk. Embarkation on your Nile cruise overnight on the ship. All meals included.

"The High Dam, of Aswan is a great project. In fact it was one of the most important achievements in the last century in Egypt, even for many years it was a symbol of the New Era of the Revolution of 1952. It provided Egypt with water and electricity and secured the country of the risk of the destructive inundation. The Aswan High Dam was a great project! In fact it was one of the most important achievements of the last century in Egypt, for many years symbolizing the New Era of the Revolution of 1952. It provides Egypt with water and electricity, and secures the country from the risk of the destructive inundation of the River Nile."

"Philae Island, was a rocky island in the middle of the River Nile, south of Aswan. It was called in Hieroglyphic “Apo” which means Ivory. It was also known by the Greek “Elephantine”, most probably because it was an important centre of trade, especially for ivory The Ancient Egyptians built a beautiful and magnificent Temple on this island for the Goddess Isis, but the Temple became submerged after the first Aswan dam was built in 1906, and it was not until the seventies that many nations attempted to save the Temple."

"The Unfinished Obelisk, lies in its original location, in a granite quarry in Aswan. It is 42m in length and was most probably abandoned when some cracks appeared in the rock, during its construction had this obelisk been completed, it would have been the heaviest obelisk ever cut in Ancient Egypt, weighing nearly 1100 tons! It is believed that it was constructed and abandoned during the reign of Queen Hatshepsut (18th Dynasty). During the earliest ages, the Ancient Egyptians knew the so-called “Pn-pn”, which was a pyramidal stone with a pointed top and according to their beliefs the “Pn-pn” symbolized the primeval hill from which the world first appeared. Then, in the course of time, this Pn-pn evolved to be an obelisk usually made of granite with a pyramidal shape on top."

DAY 04: Sail to Kom Ombo to visit Sobek temple, then proceed sailing to Edfu Board horse-drawn carriages for a drive through to the temple of Horus with its menacing black stone statue of the Falcon god. Overnight on the ship. All meals included.

Day 05: Arrival at Luxor, Focus on west bank of the Nile to visit the Valley of the Kings and Deir El-Bahari, Queen Hatshepsut’s monumental rock-cut temple. Stop for pictures at the two Clossi of Memnon guarding the valley. Drive back to the ship .Overnight on the ship. All meals include.

"The Valley of the Kings, was the royal cemetery for 62 Pharaohs and is located on the west bank at Luxor. The only entrance to this place was a long narrow winding path. This was a secret place where sentries were placed at the entrance of the Valley as well as along the top of the hills in the hopes of discouraging tomb robbers, who had in the past plundered all royal tombs, including the treasures of the Pyramids. Some thefts were probably carefully planned, but others were spur of the moment, as when an earlier tomb was accidentally discovered while cutting a new one and workmen took advantage of the opportunity."

"Hatshepsut, was one of the most interesting female figures and most capable Pharohs of Egyptian history (1490-1468 BC), so our visit to her 3,500 year old mortual temple in the Valley of Kings (Thebes West) was in many respects a quite special experience."

DAY 06: Visit the stunning monuments of Luxor and Karnak, the greatest cities of Ancient Egypt. Disembarkation at Noon time. Then transfer to Luxor rail way station, to get the sleeping train to Cairo. Dinner on board

"The Temple of Luxor, is among the most beautiful Temples in Egypt. It was known in the New Kingdom period as Ipt-Rsyt, which means the southern shrine. This was to differentiate between this Temple and Karnak Temple, which was the northern house of Amon Ra. Amenhotep III built Luxor Temple. The architect and overseer of the works of construction was the genius Amenhotep, son of Habu. The Temple run close and parallel to the river Nile from north to south. It was constructed on the site of a small Temple of Amon, built by kings of the 12th dynasty. At the time of Amenhotep III the Temple was only 190m in length and 55m in width. Basically, Luxor Temple was consecrated to Amon Ra in his fertility aspect."

"The Temple of Karnak, is the largest Temple in the World! The complex contains a group of Temples such as the Great Temple of Amon Ra, the Temple of Khonso, the Ipt Temple, the Temple of Ptah, the Temple of Montho and the Temple of the God Osiris. A 20m high, mud brick enclosure wall, surrounded all of these buildings."

DAY 07: Breakfast, Arrival at Giza rail way station, drive to Sakkara the vast necropolis of ancient Memphis. Visit the Step Pyramid of Zosar (3rd dynasty, 2668 BC – 2649 BC).In the afternoon, drive to the Pyramids of Giza. Cheops Pyramid, the largest of the three, was built in the 4th dynasty about 2690 BC,One of the seven wonders of the ancient world .In front of the pyramid of Chephren, there stands the Sphinx a lion with a Pharaoh’s head thought to be a portrait of the pharaoh Chephren. Transfer to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

"Pyramids and sphinx, There are no more famous ancient sites within Egypt, or for that matter elsewhere in the world, than the Great Pyramids at Giza. They are, without question, the icon most associated with the Egypt. They have been both the main destination for tourists and a source of imaginative thought to the world for over three thousand years"

DAY 08: Transfer to Cairo airport for final departure.