Egypt Tours & Travel - The Crossroads of Civilization

The Crossroads of Civilization
Egypt, Israel & Jordan
20 Days/18 nights with A 4-Day Nile Cruise!!
Only $7849 per person

Day	Itinerary
Day 1	Depart USA on a scheduled flight to Cairo, all meals and beverages served on board flight.
Day 2	Arrive Cairo, where you will be met by our representative who will help you with your immigration and customs formalities. Later you will be transferred to your hotel. The luxurious Mena House Hotel for an overnight.
Day 3	Breakfast, then start your sightseeing by visiting the Pyramids of Giza. Cheop's Pyramid, the largest of the three, was built in the 3rd Dynasty about 2690 BC, and is one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. In front of the pyramids of Chephren, we find the Sphinx carved from a single piece of stone. It is a lion with a pharaoh's head thought to be a portrait of the Pharaoh Chephren. Have a camel ride by the pyramids area, then continue your tour visiting the Egyptian Museum famous for its antiquities from Egypt's Pharaonic period, which dates back some 50 centuries and includes the fabulous treasures of King Tut-Ankh-Amon. Also visit the outstanding Mummy Room in the Museum. Afternoon excursions to Old Cairo, visiting the very old Coptic churches and the oldest Jewish Synagogue of Beni Ezra. Continue your tour by visiting the Citadel of Salah el-Din and the Mohammed Ali mosque and the medieval bazaars of Khan-el Khalili, where you can bargain for your jewelry and hand-tooled leather items. Return to your hotel for an overnight. (B)
Day 4	Breakfast, then you will be met and transferred to Cairo Airport for your flight to Aswan. Upon arrival at Aswan Airport, you will be met and transferred to embark your cruise ship. Later you will visit by "Felucca" the Elephantine Island, the Mausoleum of Agha Khan and the Botanical Gardens. Lunch, dinner and overnight on board ship. (B, L, D)
Day 5	Breakfast, then visit the Unfinished Obelisk in the ancient granite quarries, and the High Dam. Lunch, then cruise to Kom-Ombo. Visit the Ptolemaic Temple of Kom-Ombo, which was dedicated to two gods: the crocodile god Sobek and the falcon-headed god Haroeris. Sail to Edfu. Dinner and overnight on board. (B, L, D)
Day 6	Breakfast, then visit the Temples of Horus (237 BC) the best preserved Egyptian temple in existence. Lunch. Sail to Esna and visit the Temple of Khnum. Continue to Luxor. Dinner and overnight on board ship. (B, L, D)
Day 7	Breakfast, then cross the Nile to visit the necropolis of ancient Thebes. Explore the Valleys of the Kings and Queens where tombs of 64 pharaohs and 57 queens have been discovered, and enter some of the most important burials. Visit the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon. Lunch. Afternoon visit the Temple of Karnak, which took over 1500 years to build and is considered the world's largest religious complex. Then visit to the Temple of Luxor, which was started by Amenhotep III, and completed by Ramses II. Disembark your cruise ship, where you will be met and transferred to Luxor Airport for your flight back to Cairo. Upon arrival at Cairo Airport, you will be met and transferred to your hotel. The Gezirah Sheraton Hotel for an overnight. (B, L) Cairo: The Gezirah Sheraton Hotel
Day 8	Breakfast and a day at leisure for last minute shopping or you can purchase an optional tour from our Cairo office. Overnight. (B)
Day 9	Breakfast, then you will be met by our representative and transferred to Cairo Airport, where you will be helped with your check-in and immigration formalities for your departure flight to Tel-Aviv. Arrive Tel-Aviv where you will be met and transferred to your luxurious hotel, the Dan Hotel in Tel-Aviv for an overnight. (B)
Day 10	Breakfast, then travel through the Sharon Plain and via Netanya to Caesarea, once the Roman capital of the country. See the excavations of the Roman statues, the aqueduct and the Roman Theater, which has been restored to its former glory as a concert venue. Drive along the Via Maria to Megiddo. Visit this biblical city rebuilt by King Solomon and walk through the 9th century BC water tunnel. End our tour in Haifa. Overnight at the Dan Carmel Hotel in Haifa. (B)
Day 11	Breakfast, then start your tour to Haifa at the summit of Mount Carmel, for a panoramic view of Haifa Bay and the Western Galilee. Proceed to the Bahai Center and visit the exotic Persian gardens. Drive to Acre, once the capital of the Crusader Kingdom, visit the Crypt of St. John and the underground Crusader city. Continue to Safed, the mystic city of the Upper Galilee, visit the beautiful ancient synagogues and the artists' colony. On to the Golan Heights, see the former Syrian fortifications and the new Israeli town of Katzrin. Continue to a kibbutz, a wonderful opportunity to learn about the kibbutz life. Dinner and overnight at the kibbutz. (B, D)
Day 12	Breakfast, then start the day with a visit to the church of Annunciation in Nazareth. Drive to Capernaum, on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, see the ruins of the Synagogue and the Church of St. Peter. Continue to Tiberias, the lovely rest town. Visit the Synagogue of the Hammat. Travel then through the fertile Jezreel Valley to Beit Alpha, where the most beautiful synagogue mosaic floor is displayed. Drive along the Jordan Valley to Jericho, the oldest city on earth and explore the ruins of the biblical site. Proceed then to Jerusalem. Overnight at the luxurious King David hotel. (B) Jerusalem: Dome of the Rock
Day 13	Breakfast, then visit the Tomb of King David and the room of the Last Supper on Mount Zion. Enter the Old City and walk through the newly restored Jewish Quarter and visit the Cardo and the Western Wall. Walk along the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Drive then around the old city, view Mount Scopus, and enjoy a magnificent panoramic view of the Old City from the Mount of Olives. Continue to Bethlehem, stopping at Rachel's tomb. Visit the Church of Nativity and then return to Jerusalem. Overnight at the King David hotel. (B) Jerusalem: The luxurious King David Hotel
Day 14	Breakfast, then drive to Hadassah Medical Center at Ein Karem to see the famous Chagall stained glass windows. Proceed to Bayit Vagan to view the scale model of Jerusalem as it was during the second temple period. Continue to Yad Vashem, a memorial of the holocaust. Continue to Israel Museum, visit the Shrine of the Book, where the Dead Sea scrolls are housed. See the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, and the Givat Ram Campus of the Hebrew University. Overnight at the King David hotel in Jerusalem. (B) Jerusalem: Gethsemane General View
Day 15	Breakfast, then drive through the Judean Desert to the Dead Sea, the lowest spot on the surface of the Globe. View the caves at Qumran site, where the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered by desert Bedouins. Proceed along the Dead Sea to Massada, the site of the most dramatic act in the Jewish history, ascend by cable car and tour the mouth, see the excavations enjoy the view of the wilderness. Time and weather permitting, an opportunity will be provided to float on the Dead See, before returning to Jerusalem. Overnight at the King David hotel. (B)
Day 16	Breakfast and you will be met and transferred to the Allenby bridge (the cross point between Israel and Jordan) around 10:00 a.m., where you will be met by our Jordanian representative who will help you with your passport control, then you will be transferred to Jerash, the best preserved city of Roman times, to visit its theaters temple, churches and colonnaded streets. The continue to Ajlun to tour the 12th century saracen Castle built by one of Saladin's lieutenants in the campaign against the Crusaders. Transfer to your hotel in Amman. The Marriott hotel for an overnight. (B) Jordan: The Treasury of Petra
Day 17	Breakfast, then drive southward along the Kings' Way to Petra, visiting Madaba with the oldest map of the Holy Land, and its Mosaic School, Mt. Nebo and the alleged burial site of Moses overlooking the Dead Sea and the Jordan Valley; then drive through the magnificent scenery of Wadi Mujib to Kerak to visit the Crusader Castle. Continue to Petra and overnight at the historical village of Tibat Zaman. (B)
Day 18	Breakfast, and a full day tour visiting the many sites of Petra, on a horseback and then on foot, this city that was carved into the rose-red Sharah Mountains by the Nabateans and lost to Civilization until re-discovered by the Swiss Burkhardt. Walk through the Siq, a narrow and winding fissure between the cliffs, to reach the Treasury, the Roman Theater, the Courts, Qasr Bint Pharaoun, Temple of the Winged Lion and other monuments. A break for lunch, or if you wish you may climb up the Monastery. Overnight in Petra at Tibat Zaman village. (B) Jordan: Um Qeis
Day 19	Breakfast, then drive to the lowest spot on Earth and experience floating in the waters of the Dead Sea. Continue northwards to Pella in the Jordan Valley, considered to be one of the largest, richest and most important archeological sites in Jordan. Continue our tour to Um Qeis, Gedara was renowned in its time as a cultural center. Um Qeis boasts an impressi8ve colonnaded terrace and the ruins of two theaters as well as a spectacular view of the Sea of Galilee, the Yarmouk River and the Golan heights. Transfer back to Amman for check-in at your hotel, the Forte Grand. PM. You will be met and transferred by our representative to a Jordanian home for dinner and a friendly social discussion to get to know the local people and see their way of life. Later transfer back to your hotel for an overnight. (B, D)
Day 20	Breakfast, then you will be met and transferred to Amman Airport for your flight back home. Arrive the USA the same day. (B)

Also Included: All transfers and touring within Egypt and Jordan are operated by private car (personalized service) with a guide and driver. Entrance fees to all sights mentioned, and the services of a professional English speaking guide. Also included in the package price are the service charge imposed by hotels, porterage, meeting and assistance at hotels, airports, and docks.

SINGLE SUPPLEMENT: For single occupancy in hotels and on board cruise, please add $1289.

EXTENSIONS & OPTIONAL TOURS: Extra days and optional tours to sites are available upon request.

If airfare from the U.S.A. is not required, please deduct $1080 from posted rate.

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