| AN EDUCATIONAL TOUR TO EGYPT |
 6 DAYS / 5 NIGHTSYou meet the group at Johannesburg International Airport at 19:30 on Tuesday for your flight to Cairo (Flight MS 840: departing 22:30, arriving 06:00). Day 1 Arrival in Cairo Wednesday Upon your arrival at Cairo International Airport you are met by your English-speaking Tour Manager and assisted through immigration and customs. You are then transferred by coach to your hotel where you have a hearty breakfast. After breakfast you have time to rest after the flight and to freshen up. You are then joined by a qualified Egyptologist (who will accompany you for the rest of the trip) and visit the Pyramids and Sphinx at Giza standing on a desert plateau some 15 kms out of Cairo, immutably majestic as they have been for thirty-five centuries and amongst the biggest manmade edifices on earth. You will have an opportunity to enter the second biggest pyramid to marvel at how the ancient Egyptians managed to build these huge edifices with blocks of granite weighing many tons without using mortar, but nevertheless so perfect that a human hair cannot pass between the blocks. You will also have an opportunity to stand within a stone’s throw from the ancient Sphinx, representing a lion’s body with a man’s head and dating back to antiquity. You then visit a papyrus factory where you learn more about the ancient art of paper manufacturing and have an opportunity to purchase authenticated works of art hand-painted on papyrus. Dinner this evening at your hotel. Overnight: Cairo Day 2 Cairo Thursday After breakfast you visit the ruins of the ancient city of Memphis, one of the oldest cities on earth and capital of ancient Egypt throughout the Old Kingdom, and Saqqara, the royal burial ground during the Old Kingdom (2705 – 2155 BC). Of special interest will be the Stepped Pyramid built for King Zoser in the 27th century BC by the architect Imhotep. You then visit the Egyptian Museum one of the world’s most famous museums which contains a magnificent collection of antiquities, including mummies, sarcophagi and the fabulous treasures discovered in the tomb of the famous King Tutankhamun on 22 December 1922 This evening you enjoy a dinner cruise on the Nile and enjoy a belly dance and Sofi dance show. Overnight: Cairo Day 3 Cairo – Luxor Friday After breakfast you visit Coptic Cairo where you visit, inter alia, the Church of St Sergius where, according to tradition, the Holy Family sheltered during their sojourn in Egypt, and the oldest Christian church in Egypt, the famous Hanging Church (al-Mu’allaqa) originating in the 4th century and built over the southern gate of the Fortress of Babylon. This church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and its treasures include a 14th century wall-painting of the Nativity. Then the Citadel of Salah al-Din built between 1176 and 1182 AD and now providing a panoramic view of Cairo from the Moqattam Hills. The Citadel complex includes the Alabaster Mosque. You then visit the bustling Khan el Khalili Bazaar the biggest of Cairo’s main markets, in operation since the 1390s and one of the most famous oriental bazaars in the world – offering plenty of bargains, particularly in leather goods, and brass and glassware, as well as objects inlaid with mother-of-pearl and other beautiful jewelry. Try your hand at haggling a price! You are then transferred to Cairo Railway station for your overnight train trip to Luxor. Dinner on the train. Day 4 Luxor Saturday Breakfast on the train. Upon your arrival in Luxor you are transferred to your hotel. You have time to freshen up and relax until your afternoon excursion to the east side of the Nile. In the afternoon you visit the magnificent Karnak Temple probably the greatest place of worship in history. (The temple includes many magnificent temples dedicated to Amun, his wife Mut and their son Khonsu, the moon deity. The main features are the Avenue of the Rams, representing Amun, symbol of fertility and growth. Within the temple are, inter alia, the Chapels of the Thebes Triad dating to the time of Seti II and the Temple of Ramses III, the obelisks of Thutmosis ! and of Queen Hatshepsut, the remains of the Holiest of Holies and further on the Hall of Ceremonies dating back to Thutmosis III) and … Luxor Temple built by the two Pharaohs Amenhotep IIII and Ramses II, the temple was dedicated to Amun-Ra, whose marriage to Mut was celebrated by the ancient Egyptians annually when a sacred procession moved from Karnak to the Luxor Temple. To be viewed are, inter alia, statues of Ramses II, double rows of huge columns with bud papyrus capitals, further double rows of pillars, the Sanctuary of the Sacred Boat and the four-columned Holiest of Holies; the Sanctuary of the Sacred Statue. Dinner at your hotel. Overnight: Luxor Day 5 Luxor - Cairo Sunday After an early breakfast at the hotel you visit the Valley of the Kings containing tombs of roughly 64 famous Egyptian kings including Tutankhamun, Seti I, Amenhotep II, Thutmosis III and Ramses III. These tombs were hewn into the sheer rock faces of the valley so as to safeguard them against grave robbers; Queen Hatshepsut’s Temple (Dier el-Bahari) built by Queen Hatshepsut to perform the rights of the nether world. The temple comprises three impressive rising terraces split by a road and the Colossi of Memnon, the only remains of a temple commemorating King Amenhotep III. The statues are 19,2 metres high. The remainder of the day is at leisure. In the evening you are transferred to Luxor Railway Station for your overnight train trip back to Cairo. Dinner on the train Day 6 Cairo Monday Breakfast on the train. Upon your arrival in Cairo you are transferred to your hotel. The remainder of the day is at leisure. Dinner at the hotel. At midnight you are transferred to Cairo International Airport for your flight to Johannesburg – Flight MS 839, departing at 01:25 on Tuesday, arriving 09:25 on Tuesday). The tour price: R11 500 per person sharing accommodation Single Supplement: R940 per person not willing or able to share accommodation Included in the price:
Not included in the price:
Visas: South African citizens need to apply for a visa to enter Egypt. This visa is issued free of charge. However, Selected Tours & Destinations, charges a handling fee of R200-00 per visa application. Visa requirements:
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