Historical Egypt, Jordan & Israel Explorer

Itinerary

• Day 1: International Arrival, Cairo

  Upon arrival at Cairo Airport, you will be met in the tunnel by an airport representative who will facilitate the visa process (excluded) and escort you through customs and immigration. Continue on to the baggage claim hall and finally to the passenger pick up, you will be introduced to your private driver who will drive you to your accommodation. It can take an hour to get from the airport to your hotel, after checking in, enjoy time at leisure to explore at your own pace or relax at your hotel.

  • Cairo

• Day 2: Cairo

  Today, you will enjoy a full day tour of the ancient Memphis, Saqqara and the pyramids at Giza. Drive south to Memphis first to visit this ancient capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom, where the Alabaster Sphinx and the statue of Ramses II were rediscovered. Continue your tour to the Step Pyramid of Saqqara. After that, marvel at the most iconic and largest pyramids at Giza and the mysterious Sphinx, a colossal lion with a pharaoh's head.

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  • Cairo

• Day 3: Cairo City Tour

  After breakfast, you will explore the Egyptian Museum, which houses a magnificent collection of Pharaonic antiquities. Later, you will proceed to Old Cairo to visit the Citadel of Salah El-Din, and the Muhammad Ali Mosque situated high above the city. Finish the trip at the Khan El Khalili Bazaar to browse and shop.

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  • Cairo

• Day 4: Cairo - Aswan, Nile Cruise

  After breakfast, you will fly to Aswan and then be transferred to embark your boat. After settling into your cabin, disembark for a guided trip to the High Dam and the Temple of Philae. The latter is a special site, a shrine to Isis: your guide will explain how UNESCO took steps to relocate it to save it from flooding. Later in the afternoon, you will take an Egyptian Felucca to sail on the Nile, passing by the Elephantine Island, and step ashore the Botanical Gardens on the Kitchener Island. 

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  • Nile River Cruise

• Day 5: Nile Cruise: Aswan - Edfu

  Early in the morning, you will set sail to Kom Ombo to visit the Greco-Roman Sobek Temple, the temple is unusual in that it is a double temple, with one side dedicated to the god Haroesis and the other side to Sobek. The cruise will continue to sail to Edfu to visit the Temple of Horus (also known as the Temple of Edfu), it is considered the best-preserved cult temple in Egypt. This is partly because it was built later than most: in the Ptolemaic era from 237 to 57 BC. Despite its later date, it reflects the traditional pharaonic architecture and so provides an excellent idea of how all the temples once looked. Edfu is also very large: the second largest in Egypt after Karnak Temple. 

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  • Nile River Cruise

• Day 6: Nile Cruise: Edfu - Luxor

  Early morning sail to Luxor. After breakfast on board, explore some of the most incredible sites in the country. You will visit the Valley of the Kings where you will have the chance to explore three tombs of the ancient Pharaohs. You will then visit the recently renovated mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut. Hatshepsut was the second pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty of Ancient Egypt. The tour also includes a visit to the huge Colossi of Memnon which is all that remains of the mortuary temple of Amenhotep III. 

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  • Nile River Cruise

• Day 7: Luxor - Cairo

  After breakfast on board, you will start your day with a visit to the Temples of Karnak. Walk along the Avenue of Sphinx to enter the complex as your guide explains how the massive facade was constructed. Continue to Luxor Temple which was once joined to the Temples of Karnak by a two-kilometer-long Avenue of Sphinx, a portion of which marks the entrance to the temple. Your private guide will offer interpretation and guide you through the most important parts of the temples. After the tour, you will be transferred to the airport for a short flight back to Cairo. 

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  • Cairo

• Day 8: Cairo - Amman

  Today transfer to Cairo airport for flight to Amman. Upon arriving at Queen Alia Airport in Amman, where you meet our representative in order to facilitate all the formalities. Once you are done, you will be escorted to identify your luggage. You then head north to Jerash, the best example of a Roman provincial city in the whole Middle East. Visit the spectacular forum, Roman colonnaded street, the Nymphaeum, the Temple of Artemis and South Theater. We then return back to the city, and visit the top of the citadel one of the highest hills, the Citadel, the Roman Theater, and Archeological & Folklore Museums. 

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  • Amman

• Day 9: Amman - Petra

  Today we will embark on a spiritual tour. We will visit Madaba "The City of Mosaics" and the city of Christianity, with very impressive Greek Orthodox ruins and churches and Dozens of beautiful Mosaics. The Mosaic of the map that shows the Middle East is the most important and the most beautiful, it is located in St. George Church. After Madaba drive onwards to Mt. Nebo from where Moses overlooked the Holy Land; here we will have the chance to look through Moses' eyes. Afterward, drive to visit one of the Jordanian handicraft shops, whereby guests will look over the shoulders of mosaic art workers creating unique and traditional styles with the Byzantine influence. Continue to Petra for overnight. 

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  • Petra

• Day 10: Petra - Dead Sea (Jordan)

  Today after breakfast we visit Petra (your English-speaking guide will be with you for around two hours, afterward you are free to explore the valley); the lost city in the middle of nowhere with its huge facades carved into the rocks that will take your breath away around each corner. It is a vast, unique city, carved into the sheer rock face by the Nabateans, an industrious Arab people who settled here more than 2,000 years ago, turning it into an important junction for the silk, spice and other trade routes that linked China, India and southern Arabia with Egypt, Syria, Greece and Rome. Petra has been featured in Hollywood blockbusters such as "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" and "The Mummy Returns". Beyond Al Khazneh you are surrounded on both sides by hundreds of Petra's curved and built structures, soaring temples, elaborate royal tombs, a curved Nabatean theater (seating 3,000 people), large and small houses, burial chambers, banquet halls, water channels and Reservoirs, bathes, monumental staircases, cultic installations, arched gates, public buildings and paved streets.

  After the tour, drive to the Dead Sea (Jordanian side). Relax on the shore of the Dead Sea and experience floating over the water. Stay overnight in the Dead Sea region.

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  • Petra

• Day 11: Dead Sea - Allenby Bridge Border - Jerusalem

  Enjoy the morning at leisure. Later in the day, you will be dropped off at Allenby Bridge. Pass the border, your driver at Israel side will be waiting for you and transfer to your hotel in Jerusalem for the overnight stay. 

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  • Jerusalem

• Day 12: Jerusalem

  Christianity, Islam, and Judaism all consider Jerusalem a holy place and on this day, you will have a guided tour of Old Jerusalem to visit the highlights of the city, including the Mount of Olives, Gethsemane, King David's Tomb, Wailing Wall, Church of the Holy Sepulcher and Golgotha (where Jesus was crucified). Enjoy some free time to explore the city on your own. 

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  • Jerusalem

• Day 13: Jerusalem, Bethlehem & the New City of Jerusalem

  After breakfast, your guide will pick you up from the hotel. Drive south to Bethlehem and see with your own eyes the silver star marking the place where Jesus was born, explore the multitude of Churches and Chapels in the Church of the Nativity compound, enjoy the bustle of Manger Square, and visit the Shepherds Field. Afterward, return to Jerusalem to explore the New City. Visit Israel Museum holds artifacts relevant to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam alike. There are two important exhibits in the museum: the model of the city from the time of the Second Temple and the Dead Sea Scrolls uncovered in Qumran. Later, you will visit the Holocaust Memorial of Yad Vashem and stroll around the Machane Yehuda Market.

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  • Jerusalem

• Day 14: Jerusalem - Tel Aviv, Departure

  After breakfast, you will be transferred to Ben Gurion Airport for your homebound flight. 

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