Cairo, Lake Nasser Nile Cruise, and Alexandria Luxury Tour

Upon waking up, you will enjoy a fresh breakfast at your hotel, then meet your professional tour guide for the first time to begin your exciting tour today. We will take you to the famous Egyptian Museum, which consists of two vast floors. The ground floor is dedicated to heavy and massive antiquities such as stone coffins, statues, paintings, and wall reliefs. The upper floor is dedicated to lighter antiquities such as manuscripts, statues of gods, famous royal mummies, artifacts from daily life, mummy portraits, unfinished sculptures, precious Greco-Roman statues and vessels, and artifacts related to afterlife beliefs, as well as complete collections such as the Tutankhamun treasures.

You will visit the Great Pyramids of Giza, which were built in the shape of a triangle due to the symbolism of this geometric shape in ancient Egyptian culture. The triangle symbolized earth, sky, and water, the basic components of life. Some also believe that the pyramids were built in this shape to represent ascension to heaven and connection with the gods, an important principle in ancient Egyptian pharaonic religion. The construction of the pyramids was linked to sacred solar worship. The creation of the universe in ancient Egypt had several theories, the most famous of which was the Heliopolis theory, which postulated that the universe was composed of water from which the Earth emerged as a triangular peak. The idea of ​​the pyramid was also linked to the sun's rays falling on the Earth, whose light creates a pyramidal shape. This is where the ancient Egyptians derived their distinctive pyramid concept.

You will also see the stunning Great Sphinx, whose original form was carved from rare edematode rock and later restored with layers of limestone. The statue is approximately 73 meters long from paw to tail, 20 meters high from base to the top of the head, and 19 meters wide at its hind feet. You will visit the Temple of Khafre Valley, which was buried beneath the sand until its discovery in 1852. This valley was built of limestone and faced with polished, solid Aswan granite. Facing the eastern side of the temple, it features a T-shaped hall supported by giant arches with wide, square corners. In front of these arches stood diorite statues of King Khafre, including a life-size model, now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, the most important and famous statue in human history.

We will stop for a break and lunch. You will also visit the Church of Abu Serga, distinguished by its unique and beautiful architectural and artistic elements that reflect the spirit of Coptic church architecture in Egypt. These include the altar, the baptistery, the inlaid veils, and the religious decorations that adorn its domes and walls. In addition, you will also visit the Holy Cave, where the Holy Family stayed. You will visit the Hanging Church, which gained widespread fame for several reasons, most notably the fact that the See of St. Mark was transferred to it from Alexandria in the eleventh century AD by Bishop Christodoulos, the sixty-sixth Patriarch, who was the first to hold a Mass there. The See of St. Mark remained there for a long time, until the fourteenth century AD, and several famous clerical councils met there in the twelfth century AD. The construction of this church on top of one of the towers of the Babylonian fortress is considered a symbol of Christianity's victory over tyranny.

You will visit the Ben Ezra Synagogue, which Jews claim is the site where the Prophet Moses prayed after God struck Egypt with a plague. Other stories narrate that the Prophet Elijah appeared to worshippers there more than once and that the synagogue houses the remains of the Prophet Jeremiah. If there is any remaining evidence, you will visit one of the largest and most beautiful markets in the world, the Khan el-Khalili Bazaar, where you will find all the beautiful goods and handicrafts you could be looking for. We will transfer you to your luxury hotel to rest and prepare for your travel to Luxor.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Today, you'll wake up early, be excited to have breakfast, and then pack your bags for your flight to Luxor. Your tour leader will meet you at the hotel lobby and transfer you to Cairo International Airport for your flight to Luxor. Upon arrival at Luxor Airport, you'll meet a Cairo Top Tours representative who will take you to one of the most beautiful and luxurious cruises in Egypt. You'll enjoy a delicious lunch on board the cruise and then meet your expert private tour guide to visit two of Luxor's most famous and grand hotels.

You'll visit the magnificent Karnak Temple, known as "Ipet Sut," meaning "the most distinguished place." It was one of the most famous religious and political monuments of ancient Egypt. It was also home to several important temples and shrines. The Great Temple of Amun was used for rituals dedicated to the god Amun, who held great influence in Egypt as the chief deity of Thebes. This site was a major center of wealth and power, where the priesthood wielded tremendous political power.

You will see the Luxor Temple, which was built by many great kings. The oldest structure was a chapel dating back to the reign of Queen Hatshepsut, while the heart of the temple was built during the reign of Amenhotep III. One of the inner chambers contains a group of monumental scenes known as the Divine Birth Scenes, which tell the story of the king's lineage to the god Amun-Ra himself. The heart of the temple is preceded by a massive hypostyle hall. Amenhotep III also built the enormous Colonnade, which consists of two rows of seven colossal columns. These are decorated with scenes of the famous Opet Festival, completed during the reigns of both Kings Tutankhamun and Horemheb.

After this enjoyable educational tour, we will return you to your cruise for a freshly prepared dinner.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After a delicious breakfast, you'll wake up excited to visit many of Luxor's most famous archaeological sites. You'll meet your tour guide to begin your exciting tour of the Valley of the Kings, the world's most famous and largest open-air museum and cemetery. Its walls are adorned with vibrant colors and dazzling, intricate carvings, thousands of years old, yet they look as if they were completed only yesterday. This area is the burial site of most of the powerful kings of the 18th, 19th, and 20th dynasties of the New Kingdom, such as Kings Thutmose I, Thutmose IV, Amenhotep II, Ramesses I and II, and many other famous kings.

You will visit the famous Deir el-Bahari Temple, which was not dedicated solely to Queen Hatshepsut. The temple also included sections dedicated to her famous father, King Thutmose I, the goddess Hathor, and Anubis, the god of the underworld and the dead. A sky-opening chapel was also dedicated to the sun god, Ra-Horakhty. Inside the temple, you will find a vast, grand place dedicated to Amun. At the end of the upper courtyard, on the temple's main axis, a passageway was cut into the mountain, ending with the majestic Holy of Holies.

You will see the two Colossi of Memnon, built in front of the entrance to an ancient funerary temple commemorating King Amenhotep III, the most famous king of the Eighteenth Dynasty. Only the two colossal statues, each 20 meters tall, remain of this magnificent funerary temple. The temple was used as a huge quarry from which stones were quarried during the Nineteenth Dynasty. These giant statues represent the pharaoh as a hero capable of performing miracles, according to the ancient Egyptian concept of the New Kingdom. This was reflected in the art of royal sculpture during that era, and the king was depicted in statues of enormous heroic proportions.

After you've finished exploring Luxor's most important temples, we'll return you to your cruise for lunch and some rest.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Enjoy a delicious breakfast and meet your professional and friendly tour guide to start your tour today. You will visit the famous Temple of Kom Ombo, whose name consists of two parts: "Kom," meaning hill, and "Ombo," a corruption of "Anpu," meaning gold. This area controlled the routes leading to the valuable and vast gold mines. In ancient Egyptian texts, it was known as "Pa-Sobek," meaning the seat of Sobek, who was worshipped there since predynastic times. This temple was dedicated to the worship of two of the most famous and powerful Egyptian gods: Sobek and Horus.

You will visit the ancient and beautiful Temple of Edfu, which is one of Egypt's most prominent archaeological landmarks. It was built during the famous Ptolemaic period on the banks of the Nile in the city of Edfu. Despite centuries of construction, it still conceals many precious secrets behind its towering walls. Recent archaeological excavations at the temple site have revealed architectural evidence indicating that the temple's construction took an extremely long time, up to 180 years. The temple was dedicated to the sun god Horus Behdeti, who was revered by the ancient Egyptians.

When your private guide has finished narrating the history of these two great temples, we will transfer you back to your private cruise.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Have a delicious breakfast on board the cruise to get ready for your exciting adventure today. You will visit the most famous and important tourist attractions accompanied by your expert tour guide. You will begin by visiting the Temple of Philae, which, despite the devastating floods it suffered, remains one of Egypt's most magnificent sacred sites. All the important columns in the famous Hypostyle Hall have been preserved, and the intricate carvings and musical scenes in the Temple of Hathor retain much of their ancient beauty and magnificence. The unfinished Kiosk of Trajan was a favorite of famous Victorian artists from around the world.

You will visit the unfinished obelisk in Aswan, which is located on the northern edge of the Obelisk Quarry. This quarry is the most important and famous granite quarry in Aswan, and its stones were used to build the massive pyramid complex of King Khufu. Many important obelisks were also cut from this quarry. Historians believe that Queen Hatshepsut ordered the construction of this unfinished obelisk to demonstrate her power and wisdom. Queen Hatshepsut was keen to impress the people with her overwhelming power and control, ensuring that she was in complete control as the first woman to rule Egypt.

Finally, you will visit the High Dam in Egypt, which has been plagued by devastating droughts and famines caused by successive heavy floods. It also protected Egypt from the dangers of drought, as the water level of the Nile River decreased significantly between 1979 and 1987. Approximately 70 billion cubic meters were withdrawn from the reservoir of the High Dam to compensate for the annual deficit in the Nile's natural flow.

After you've finished exploring these stunning sights, we'll take you back to the cruise for dinner and some rest to prepare for the next day.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Early in the morning, you'll have your last breakfast on your first luxury cruise and check out to enjoy one of the most important archaeological sites in the world: the massive temples of Abu Simbel. You'll visit these dazzling temples, which express two essential aspects of the pharaoh's personality. The first is the pharaoh's power and impressive control. The temple walls are covered with pharaonic inscriptions and hieroglyphs, testifying to King Ramses' victories in his great military campaigns, most notably the Battle of Kadesh against the Hittites, which witnessed the first peace treaty known in the history of the ancient world.

You'll also witness the personal side of the pharaoh's life: his romantic side and his love for his beloved wife, Nefertari. He built a huge temple next to his great temple to express his love for her. He sanctified her and referred to her as a goddess in some inscriptions, thereby elevating her status and position in ancient Egyptian society. We'll then transfer you to the second luxury cruise, which will take you on an unparalleled tour of the most important archaeological sites on Lake Nasser. You'll check in on this cruise, have dinner, and rest to get ready for the next day.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

You'll have a delicious breakfast aboard the new luxury cruise, then meet your professional tour guide. At the beginning of the day, you'll visit Qasr Ibrim, which was transformed into an island in the middle of the Nile after the construction of the High Dam in the mid-1970s. This palace was formerly used as a fort during the Roman era, when it was called Bremen Parva. Some ancient Ethiopians fortified it during their revolt against the Romans in 23 BC. Inside Qasr Ibrim are ruins of ancient hilltop dwellings, as well as the ruins of a church that was converted into a mosque. There are also five chapels from the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasties on the rocky beach below the fortress, one of which dates back to the great King Amenhotep II.

You will visit the Amada Temple, which was built during the Eighteenth Dynasty of the New Kingdom. The temple's beautiful reliefs are well preserved because they were covered with a layer of plaster when it was converted into a church. Three generations of great kings built this beautiful temple. Egyptian warrior kings such as Thutmose III and his son Amenhotep II built the main part of the temple, and Thutmose IV added the vast hypostyle hall. Minor modifications and additions were made during the Nineteenth Dynasty.

You will be transferred back to your cruise to enjoy dinner while the cruise sails towards the famous Wadi el-Sebua.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

You will wake up early to enjoy your freshly prepared breakfast and visit many of the most important and famous Egyptian archaeological sites. You will start the day with a visit to the huge temples of Wadi es-Sebua, which have a distinctive architectural design. Its massive front and facade are built of stone, while its interior is carved into the rock. The temple was used as a magnificent church during the famous Roman persecution. Its old statues were destroyed, and its interior walls were covered with a layer of mortar, preserving many of the delicate ancient Egyptian scenes and inscriptions.

The famous Avenue of Sphinxes was a major procession route for the great and powerful Egyptian pharaohs. Various important festivals were celebrated there, including the impressive Opet Festival, the coronation of the king, and various national holidays. In ancient times, it housed a massive stone dam that protected the road from the western side of Luxor, the political capital of the New Kingdom until the 18th Dynasty and the religious capital until the Roman era.

You will visit the beautiful Temple of Dekka, which was built by the powerful Nubian King Arkamani and his friend, the Ptolemaic King Ptolemy IV. King Ptolemy VII and the Roman Emperor Augustus added to the temple's construction. The temple was dedicated to the great god of wisdom and knowledge, Thoth, who bears on the temple walls the title of Lord of Banubis, a word that means the sycamore tree. This temple is also distinguished by being the only temple that includes two big sanctuaries, not just one. One is dedicated to the Nubian King Arkamani and the other to the Roman Emperor Augustus, meaning that the emperor and the king are equal, even though the Roman Empire was at the height of its glory. It is known that Augustus added his sanctuary and left the sanctuary of King Arkamani untouched.

You will visit the Temple of Serapis and Isis, known as the Temple of Maharraqa. This temple was moved after the construction of the High Dam in 1960. It was dedicated to the worship of the gods Serapis and Isis. Although it is an Egyptian-Roman temple, it has not been attributed to any of the Roman kings of Egypt, as its inscriptions and writing are incomplete. However, it was likely built during the reign of the great Emperor Augustus. The only completed part of the temple is a courtyard measuring 15.69 meters long and 13.56 meters wide, surrounded by massive columns on three sides. The original design of the temple included a sanctuary and a facade, but these were never built. The distinctive temple of the burnt offering features a spiral staircase that leads to the roof of the temple, the only spiral staircase found in a Nubian temple.

We will return you to the cruise for a delicious, fresh dinner and some sleep to get ready for your next tour.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

At the beginning of the day, you will enjoy your usual delicious breakfast. You will meet one of the best tour guides from the Cairo Top Tours team. You will visit the distinguished Kalabsha Temple, which was built during the reign of the powerful Emperor Augustus to worship the sun god, Mandulis, who was believed to be the god of the ancient Nubians. The temple walls contain diverse and unique reliefs depicting various deities, including Mandulis, Isis, Osiris, Ptah, and Horus. It also contains sacred Christian inscriptions dating back to the period when it was converted into a church. This temple is the second largest temple in Nubia after the famous Abu Simbel Temple and is distinguished by its unique and magnificent Nubian architectural style.

You will visit the Beit el-Wali Temple, which is one of the oldest and most famous temples built by Ramses II to assert his control and influence over the Nubian region. Like the rest of Ramses II's temples, this temple was carved directly into the rock, but it is not in its original location. It was rescued in 1960 AD from the waters of Lake Nasser and is now located south of the distinctive Kalabsha Temple. You will see many intricate carvings on the temple walls depicting the victorious wars waged by King Ramses against the Nubian kings and his success in controlling the entire region. There are also carvings of Kushites offering tribute and gifts to the great pharaoh to gain his favor.

After completing your last tour of Upper Egypt, we will transfer you to Aswan Airport to catch your flight back to Cairo. Upon arrival at Cairo Airport, a representative from our company will be waiting for you to transfer you to your hotel for some sleep.

Meals: Breakfast

Today, you will wake up early and energetic to enjoy your breakfast. You will enjoy a visit to one of the most beautiful coastal cities in the world: the enchanting city of Alexandria. You will visit the Citadel of Qaitbay, which was built of limestone over a vast area of ​​approximately 1,750 square meters, surrounded by a towering outer wall dotted with defensive towers. The citadel's courtyard is surrounded by an inner wall, which includes a large group of rooms that served as secure barracks for soldiers and as warehouses for weapons and supplies. The fortified Citadel of Qaitbay has attracted the attention of sultans and powerful rulers throughout history due to its unique strategic location, which is an invaluable asset. The citadel has undergone numerous reinforcements, expansions, and restorations, the most recent of which was in 2003.

You will see the impressive Pompey's Pillar, erected in commemoration of the powerful Emperor Diocletian in the 3rd century AD, and the last remaining ruin of the Serapeum built by the famous Postumus. This column is considered the tallest monument in the world. Its exact construction date is unknown, but it dates back to the Roman era. It is said that it was presented to honor Christianity after its victory in Alexandria. The column's name, Pompey's Pillar, dates back to the Arab era and is believed to have come from the towering height of this column, which stands among 400 other columns, resembling the masts of ships.

You will visit the vast Library of Alexandria, home to a vast collection of valuable books, estimated at 2,153,000 in various languages. The library's membership has reached more than 118,000 members, a number significantly larger than any other library. The library's services extend to students from 15 other governorates through "Knowledge Embassies."

You will visit the beautiful ancient catacombs of Kom el-Shoqafa, which is one of the most famous cemeteries in Alexandria from the Roman era. These unique catacombs are located in the Karmouz district; its name is reminiscent of the ancient Greek name "Logos Kerameikos." Kom el-Shoqafa is located in the area where the ancient village of Rhakotis once stood. This name was also used by the Romans, reminiscent of the ancient Pharaonic name "ra-gadit," as mentioned in a hieroglyphic inscription from the reign of Ptolemy I.

After this wonderful tour, you will enjoy the picturesque traditional boats off the shores of Alexandria. You will enjoy the most delicious and nutritious seafood lunch you have ever experienced, and then we will transfer you back to your hotel in Cairo.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
 

This will be your last day in Egypt after spending a wonderful 12-day tour with the Cairo Top Tours team. You will have your last breakfast at your hotel, then meet our representative, who will transfer you to Cairo International Airport at the scheduled time to catch your flight home.

Meals: Breakfast