Cairo and Nile cruise Christmas vacation

Be ready after enjoying your coffee and your delicious breakfast in your hotel. Your tour guide and private, air-conditioned car will pick you up to start your tour to discover the Great Giza Pyramids. 

The Giza pyramids are attracting people from around the world to watch the greatness of one of the oldest man-made constructions on earth. The idea of the pyramids came from ancient Egyptian kings like King Kuhu, the owner of the Great Pyramid after they believed in the second life and resurrection after death for the representatives of the gods on earth. Therefore, they built massive constructions to be their place after the resurrection and to include all their valuable possessions to assist them.  

They planned to build the pyramids with the best quality stones and decorate the outer bodies of the pyramids with granite stones, but some of them faded through the ages. From inside, the archeologists believe that each pyramid embraces the royal chamber of burying the mummified body of the pharaoh. Be ready to discover more and more secrets about the pyramids and the Egyptian kings with your tour guide. 

Then let’s see one of the significant temples: the temple of the valley, where the ancient Egyptians prepared the body of the dead king to the process for eternity by mummifying the body with their secret sciences. Seize the opportunity to discover more about the process of mummification in the ancient Egyptian civilization. 

Now is the time to see one of the greatest statues in the Egyptian civilization, the Great Sphinx. The statue is made but not in normal shape; it looks like a sitting lion reflecting the power and the Egyptian kings, and the human head represents the wisdom and cleverness of the ancient Egyptians which exist in the ancient Egyptian kingdoms. 

Let’s move to our next destination the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square. The museum was opened in 1902 by Khedive Abbas Helmy II after being designated and built by professional architects from French and Italian backgrounds to include valuable pieces of Egyptian history. The museum also includes more than 100 halls for displaying the significant statues and mummies of ancient Egyptians, like the Yuya and Tuya mummies. In addition, the museum embraces a large collection of pieces of jewelry and valuable possessions, like King Tutankhamun's Golden Mask. The museum also includes one of the unique statues of Amenhotep III and Queen Ti, which is the largest group statue carved from the limestone. 

Let's discover another side of Old Cairo: the Coptic side, and the first destination will be the hanging church of the Virgin Mary. It’s one of the oldest churches in Egypt and the first papal headquarters in Cairo. The beautiful old church is built upon the ruins of two towers dating back to Babylon, and Groundwater is running underneath, so it looks like it's hanging when you look at it like a chandelier. 

Then we move to one of the oldest and most valuable churches in Egypt: Abu Serga Church, or Saints Sergius and Bacchus Church. The significance of this church is due to the hidden secret inside it, which is a cavern where the family of the virgin Mary, Jesus the child, and Joseph took shelter and stayed for a while inside it. Therefore, it becomes one of the steps of the holy family route. The church is decorated with Coptic icons and wooden pieces of art. 

It is not the end; let’s discover the synagogue of Ben Ezra, which was an Orthodox church (Church of the Shammain) and then sold to be turned into a Jewish synagogue. Its importance has been increased due to the owned books and documents for the history of the Jewish people in Egypt. 

Finally, it is time to relax by being transferred to your hotel to have a nice time and be ready for your next day. 

Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch 

In the early morning, get ready to be transferred to Cairo airport to take your flight to Luxor. Once you arrive, you will find our representative waiting for you to start your adventure in Luxor.

Enjoy the Christmas vibes in the great city of Luxor and watch the celebrations un each corner. Your professional tour guide will meet you to start your tour. He will talk to you about the great history of the city of Luxor and the lives and beliefs of the ancient Egyptian kings and queens. 

Your first temple will be the temple of Luxor where you will find the statues of the Egyptian kings waiting for you. The reason behind building the temple is to worship the trinity of Thebes, and the second reason for the confirmation that King Amenhotep was attributed to the god Amun to prove his legitimacy to the throne. Then, the construction of the temple has continued by Rameses II who put the two obelisks and another parts of constructions. 

When you visit the temple, you will see the massive columns that each one of them narrate different stories of the Egyptian gods and mythology. Don’t miss the opportunity to discover more. The columns of the temple narrate the stories of the Egyptian kingdom against another nations like Cadiz battle. The temple is very rich with the carved pictures and stories on each corner of it. 

Let’s go to your nice Nile cruise to take some time to rest and enjoy your lunch abroad. After finishing your lunch, let discover Karnak Temple. It is considered the largest place for worshipping, its not only one temple: It is called “the complex of Karnak” the temple embraces about eleven temples inside it.  When you enter the temple, you will find the entrance decorated with statues of animals reflecting the power of the Egyptian pharaohs.

 The construction of the temple continued into the Greco-Roman, Ptolemaic, and early Christian eras after the ages of the pharaohs and the prints of each pharaoh in the construction of the parts of the temple. One of the most known pieces of the temple is the Obelisk from the red granite of the queen Hatshepsut, and its considered now one of the tallest obelisks in the world. Despite the passing of hundreds years on the construction of the temple, the temple still having the same clear and beautiful carvings and inscriptions on its walls. 

After enjoying seeing these enchanting temples, let’s back to our Nile cruise and enjoy the Christmas vibes and celebrations

Included meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner 

When your beautiful Nile cruise reaches the west bank of Luxor, you will be able to join your tour guide and start visiting the great highlights of Luxor after enjoying your breakfast. 

Your first destination will be the Valley of Kings. It is a place for burying and keeping the bodies of kings and the nobles of the Egyptian kingdom. One of the most beautiful tombs inside the Valley of Kings is the tomb of Ramses the Fifth, which includes many enchanting decorations and also includes many sloping passageways until you reach the deep land. 

The tomb has funerary inscriptions describing the idea of rebirth believing in the concept of resurrection after death. The Egyptian pharaohs chose the location of the valley of kings very carefully to keep their treasures, possessions and bodies safe and secure from any possible danger. The valley of kings is very rich with treasures like the fascinating recently discovered tomb of King Tutankhamun with all of its valuable possessions. 

Our second destination will be the Queen Hatshepsut temple, which has the important aim of being built to revive and honor the name of Queen Hatshepsut and its achievements. She was known for the strength of her army power, her reign, and her travels for discovery and commercial affairs.

 The temple includes sections dedicated to her father, the great King Thutmose I, the goddess Hathor, and Anubis, as well as an open compartment dedicated to the sky for the worshipping of the famous Sun god.  The walls of the temple are covered with inscriptions and stories that represent the process of transferring the obelisks to the Temple of Karnak and the religious traditions of the ancient Egyptians and their beliefs. 

Then back to your Nile cruise to enjoy your lunch meals from a great open buffet and relax to continue your day to see the temples of Memnon. The temple of King Amenhotep was built close to the mortuary temple for the ancient Egyptian funeral traditions, but the temple no longer exists. 

You should see the massive and enchanting temples of King Amenhotep that were known by the sad voices coming from the cracks between the bodies of the statues which became the reason to name the statues of Memnon.

This will be the end of your tour for today, and we will go back to our Nile cruise to enjoy the celebrations on board and relax. 

Included meals: breakfast, Lunch and dinner 

Enjoy the sailing of your Nile cruise in the beautiful Nile River enjoy your delicious breakfast during the sailing and be ready for your upcoming tour. You will start by visiting the temple of Kom-Ombo. The word Ko-mbo means golden because the place was located in the same way of going to gold mines, and the word “Ombo” means in the Greek language the hills that exist in the same area. The date of construction of the temple back to the polemic kings for worshipping two gods, Sobek and Horus. The walls of the temple are decorated with pure Egyptian ornamentation and inscriptions that are characterized by fine workmanship, harmony, and beauty in their design and look.  Beside the temple, there is a temple for the mummified crocodiles from the pharaonic ages. 

Then we will get back to our Nile cruise to relax for some time and enjoy our lunch till our beautiful cruise sails to Edfu. 

Edfu temple is one of the distinctive temples in Egypt, the temple narrates the story between evil and good through its history, walls, and inscriptions. Some archeologists believe that the duration of building a temple lasted 180 years with durations of interruptions. The main reason behind building the temple was to worship the god Horus, who was very notable in Egyptian myths, like the great fight between Seth and Horus and the huge consequences of it. What also is so attractive inside the temple is the Hall with the inscriptions that narrate many historical events. The temple has a different vibe more than any other temple from many sides like the construction method, the history inside its walls, and the view of the Nile. 

After seeing these fascinating temples, let’s head back to the Nile cruise and enjoy the joyful celebrations and shows of Christmas Eve.

Meals included: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 

Be ready to discover the fascinating city of the Nile River of Aswan, a city that is rich with mountains, beautiful islands, unique birds, and rare plants. Be ready to live one of the exciting adventures, which will start by seeing the high dam that protected Egypt from the flood and securing national security by keeping the needed amount of electricity that is produced by the high dam. The high dam was also a reason for the beautiful lake of Nasser behind the dam, and it is also one of the best construction miracles in Africa and the world. 

Then, let’s move to the temple of Philae which is dedicated to the goddess Isis.  Goddess Isis is one of the most famous goddesses in Egyptian mythology in the story of the great fight between the evil and good gods Horus and Seth. The temple was cut and collected in a new island of Aglica after being exposed to the submerging by the water of the Nile. Therefore, a new cooperation was held between the Egyptian government and the organization of UNESCO to transfer the temple to the new island with the same beautiful construction. In addition, the name “Philae” means beloved in the Greek language and in the Egyptian language “Anas El Wgood’.

Let’s move to another beautiful part of the pharaonic civilization of the ancient Egyptians which is the unfinished Obelisk. It has a story because it’s not like any obelisk; it’s made from red granite stone and has symbols carved on it narrating parts of Egyptian history. What is not expected to happen to the obelisk before finishing it the supervising architects discover cracks that are not able to be fixed. Finally, it's called the unfinished obelisk because of the non-finishing process after discovering its cracks. 

Let’s back to relax on our beautiful Nile cruise and enjoy the last night of accommodation on our Nile cruise tour and enjoy dinner while sailing. 

Meals included: breakfast, Lunch, and dinner. 

on the seventh day, you will disembark from your Nile cruise after enjoying the last breakfast on the beautiful Nile cruise. You can choose to add an optional tour to your day visiting the great temples of Abu Simbel and having a really unique experience discovering one of the most significant temples in Egypt. The temple shows how the Egyptian king Ramses II honored his wife Nefertari and built the temple for her. 

After this, you will be transferred to Aswan Airport to take your flight to Cairo. 

Upon arrival at Cairo airport, you will be transferred to your hotel if you have free time. you can add one of the nice activities, like 

visiting Khan El Khalili market , having a Nile cruise dinner, visiting Waekalet El Ghori, and seeing the Tanoura dancing show or seeing the sound and light show. 

Meals: breakfast

Here is the last day of your Christmas tour. Enjoy your last breakfast in the Cairo hotel until you are back again in Egypt with the fresh air and blue sky. 

After checking out, you will be transferred in your private car to the airport for your final departure. 

included meals: Breakfast