Day 1 Depart from the U.S.

Day 2 Arrival in Cairo

Your trip Leader meets you at the airport and escort you to your hotel. We get acquainted over a welcome drink ,and have an introductory briefing before dinner this evening in a local restaurant .

Day 3 Alexandria

After breakfast we will drive through agricultural areas to Alexandria. We will get there by mid afternoon . After checking into our hotel ,we walk to the el-Montazah Gradens . We have dinner this evening at a local restaurant.

Day 4 Alexandria

After breakfast we start with a tour of the city’s famous beaches ,we also see the exterior of the famed Citadel at Qait Bay .It is thought to have been constructed from the stones of the Pharos Lighthouse ,one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world.Then we take a bus ride to visit the Catacombs of Kom el –Shugafa, the largest Roman burial site in Egypt. Next ,we visit the National Museum of Alexandria and stroll through the legendary Manshiya markets and city center where we will have lunch.

Day 5 Alexandria

In the morning ,after breakfast ,we visit the ruins of a Greco-Roman Amphitheater, an ancient structure used for public speaking and performances. After lunch we will visit the Library of Alexandria, a uniquely modern structure built to commemorate the original 3rd century B.C. library that once ruled the ancient world of learning. In the evening we gather for dinner at our hotel.

Day 6 Cairo

After breakfast we will drive to Cairo ,in our way we will stop to visit the Wadi Natrun Coptic Monasteries, One of the great Christian religious centers in Egypt. When we reach Cairo we will check in our hotel and get dinner in a local restaurant.

 Day 7 Cairo

Full day excursion to Giza, Sakkara and Memphis. First we will visit the Great Pyramids of Giza, the only present-day survivors of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The Pyramids rank among the world’s greatest tourist attractions and never lose their ability to inspire and overwhelm visitors. We ‘ll enter the temple of the mysterious Sphinx, an ancient figure shrouded in legend and mystery. We will continue to Sakkara where you will see the famous Step Pyramid of King Zoser, the first freestanding stone structure in the world. Next, we visit Memphis, where you will see the ancient capital that once stood as a flourishing metropolis during the time of the Pharaohs. At the we return to the hotel and enjoy the evening at leisure.

Day 8 Cairo

 After breakfast we make an enlightening journey through the spiritiual heart of the city.We drive through Cairo’s most traditional Islamic quarter ,and ascend to the Citadel ,a spectacular hilltop medieval fortress built the 12th century by Salah ad-Din(Saladin). After a short drive we get to Khan el –khalili bazaar where we pause for lunch before setting out on foot to explore what may be the largest traditional shopping bazaar in the world. We return to our hotel and check out in order to catch the sleeping train to Aswan.

Day 9 Aswan /Philae Temple/Old Dam & High Dam

We get to Aswan in the morning then we check into the hotel. After lunch we go for a short drive to see the Old Dam and the Philae Temple which features courtyards flanked by granite lions and walls covered with depictions of ancient gods and goddesses. In late afternoon ,we set off to explore Aswan’s famous spice market .Later, we have dinner in a local restaurant.

 Day 10 Abu Simbel:Temples of Ramses II and Nefertari

 We have a very early wake-up call for an early drive to Abu Simbel to explore the massive temples honoring Pharaoh Ramses II and Nefertari,his queen. We drive back to Aswan in mid-morning . We have lunch at an Aswan restaurant. Later in the afternoon we will visit Nubian Museum which contains more than 3,000 objects .

Day 11 Felucca to Kom ombo

After breakfast we will go shopping for ingredients and we will board the Felucca, a traditional broad sail boat used for thousands of years on the Nile. With their fin-like sails sewn from vertical strips of cloth, feluccas have become icons for the Nile .Designed by ancient Egyptian builders to ferry stones and other heavy objects from shore to shore, they are now beloved as pleasure boats –as we’ll discover in a cruise of our own. Dinner and overnight onboard.

Day 12 Nubian House

 Today we get so close to locals and discover their way of living .We will be hosted by a Nubian family in a small village by the Nile ,we’ll have an Egyptian cooking demonstration from our host family .Dinner and overnight in the Nubian house.

Day 13 Kom ombo/Edfu /Luxor

After a Nubian breakfast we will drive to Luxor ,in our way we will stop to visit Kom Ombo. Once called Nubt or City of Gold. This is Egypt’s only double temple ,with one side dedicated to the crocodile god , Sobek , and the other side to the falcon god, Haroeris(Horus the elder) Our next stop is Edfu where we will visit its enormous temple of Horus. This possibly the best –preserved temple in Egypt . We get to Luxor by late afternoon ,we check into our hotel and have dinner in a local restaurant.

Day 14 Valley of the Kings /Karnak Temple

After breakfast we ‘ll visit the West Bank of Luxor and explore the Valley of the Kings, a vast City of the Dead where magnificent tombs were carved into the desert rocks, decorated richly, and filled with treasures for the afterlife by generations of Pharaohs. We will also have the chance to visit at least one tomb in the Valley of the Queens. Rising out of the desert plain in a series of terraces, the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut (Ancient Egypt’s only female Pharaoh) merges with the sheer limestone cliffs that surround it, as if nature herself had built this extraordinary monument. On the way back to the river Nile, the road passes by the famed Colossi of Memnon, known in Ancient Greek times for their haunting voices at dawn. After lunch we will visit the Temple of Karnak, built over more than a thousand years by generations of Pharaohs. The great "Hypostyle Hall" is an incredible forest of giant pillars .

Day 15 Luxor Temple/Luxor Museum

After breakfast we will start the day by visiting Luxor Temple built by the New Kingdom Pharaoh Amenophis III. After lunch we will sum our visit to Luxor by exploring its Museum . Late in the afternoon we will check out to catch the sleeping train to Cairo.

Day 16 Cairo/National Museum/Amman

Once we get to Cairo in the Morning we will meet our Egyptologist who is going to escort us today on a fascinating tour of 7,000 years of Egyptian history with a visit to the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities. The Museum houses the world’s greatest collection of Ancient Egyptian artifacts, including 12 rooms filled with golden treasures from the world-famous tomb of the boy-king Tutankhamen .Late in the afternoon we will get to the Cairo airport to catch our 90 -minutes flight to Amman. We check into our hotel in Amman ,and have dinner at the hotel.

Day 17 Amman

After breakfast ,we will tour Amman ,which is called the ‘’White City’’ because of its many houses built from characteristic local stone materials . We will visit the museums ,the Citadel ,the amphitheater, the souks and the modern part of town .We will view artworks by contemporary Arab artists in the Dar Al –Funun(House of Art) Gallery. In the late morning ,we will travel overland for a look at the Dead Sea .Lunch is going to be in a restaurant by the sea And then the afternoon is free for exploration or swimming in the Dead Sea.

 Day 18 Madaba and Mt.Nebo /Petra

After breakfast we ‘ll travel on the King’s Highway as we wind our way from Amman to Petra . We will stop to visit the mosaic city of Madaba where we will see the mosaic map on the floor of Saint George’s Church, the oldest known map of the Holy Land. A short distance from here ,we will stop at Mt.Nebo ,known as the burial site of Moses ,with spectacular views overlooking the green Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea. After Lunch we drive around the rounded hills of the limestone plateau until we reach the Wadi Mujib ,a dramatic deep gorge .We get to the Petra by late afternoon . We have dinner here and spend the night.

Day 19 Petra

 After breakfast we spend the day exploring the splendor of this red-hued city of stone .Here the Nabataens , the Arabs who dominated the area prior to the Romans ,carved elaborate temples and tombs out of the sandstone. After lunch in a local restaurant we will continue exploring the rose-red city. Late afternoon we will attend cooking demonstration by local chef at the Petra kitchen. Overnight in Petra.

Day 20 Amman

 After breakfast we will drive back to Amman via the Desert Highway .Overnight in Amman

Day 21 Flight

Transfer to the airport .

Bon voyage