Best Pyramids and Christmas Nile Cruise Tour by Train

You will enjoy the warm sunrise in the early morning while having your delicious breakfast at the hotel, then you will start one of the best cultural and entertainment tours in the world. You will meet one of the best tour guides from the Cairo Top Tours team who will explain to you in detail all the information you need to know about the history of Egypt and its civilizations.

At the beginning of the day, you will visit the Great Pyramids of Giza, which is the most famous and beautiful archaeological landmark in the world so far because it bears witness to the greatness and intelligence of the ancient pharaohs in construction and engineering. No people have been able to understand how the great pharaohs built the pyramids or overcome the techniques and theories they came up with. The Great Pyramid of king Khufu was the tallest man-made structure in the world for more than 3800 years. The pyramids were built over a very long period of 20-30 years.

You will see the Great Sphinx, which is about 73 meters long and its front legs are about fifteen meters long. The Sphinx is twenty meters high above the ground. This temple was built around 2500 BC, near the Sphinx and the Pyramid of Khafre in Giza, and was an important part of the funeral rituals. You will also visit the Valley of the Great Temple. This temple was built around 2500 BC, near the Sphinx and the Pyramid of Khafre in Giza, and was an important part of the funeral rituals.

You will visit the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir, which is one of the largest and most important archaeological museums in the world because it contains the largest collection of ancient and rare Egyptian antiquities. The Egyptian Museum contains more than 136 thousand Pharaonic antiquities, in addition to hundreds of thousands of priceless artifacts in its stores, June 29, 1835 AD.

Then you will visit the area of ​​​​ancient Christian Cairo to visit a collection of the most famous and oldest churches in the world. You will be amazed by the beauty of the Hanging Church, which was named so because it was built on two of the ancient towers of the famous Roman fort known as the Babylon Fortress. This church was built in the famous basilica style, including seven holy structures preceded by a wooden icon stand, topped with icons depicting Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, angels, apostles, and saints. You will also visit the Abu Serga Church. The importance of this ancient church in ancient Egypt is that it was an important stop on the Holy Family's journey to Egypt and is also known as the Cave Church; historians confirm that it is the oldest church in ancient Egypt and even in all of Cairo. This holy church was built on the same site that the Holy Family passed through; it contains the cave where the Holy Family rested during their escape with the baby Jesus to the land of Egypt.

You will also visit the Ben Ezra Synagogue, which is considered the oldest Jewish synagogue in Egypt and is located inside the Babylon Fortress. This synagogue is attributed to Abraham Ben Ezra, one of the great Jews of the Middle Ages. Then we will move to the Islamic Cairo area so you can visit the oldest mosques in the world that witness the amazing development in the art of construction in Egypt throughout the ages. At the end of the day, you can visit Khan El Khalili Bazaar so you can buy many souvenirs for your friends from this wonderful market.

We will transfer you to Giza station to take the sleeper train to Luxor to explore this magnificent city. Your dinner and breakfast will be served on the train.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

You will have a delicious breakfast on board the train before arriving in Luxor. Once you arrive at the station, you will be met by one of Cairo Top Tours' most skilled representatives, who will transfer you to your cruise to check in and leave your luggage to start your exciting tour.

Your tour will start with a visit to the beautiful Karnak Temple, which is one of the largest and oldest temples in Egypt. Karnak Temple includes the vast Hypostyle Hall, which includes 13 columns, the most famous and largest hall in the world. Karnak Temple enjoyed royal patronage, and every great king of the New Kingdom left his mark on its walls.

You will also visit Luxor Temple, which is a huge and impressive pharaonic monument. The temple overlooks the Nile Corniche directly in the center of Luxor, which was built by Amenhotep III in the fourteenth century BC. Ramses II added some modifications to the courtyard, such as columns and the first pylon "entrance," so it now contains an entrance and two towers, each tower in a slanted shape, and in front of it are two huge sitting statues of Ramses, and next to them are four standing statues.

The impressive Luxor Temple was dedicated to the worship of the Theban Triad of the Royal Ka, Amun-Mut, and Chones. This temple was the main venue for the annual Opet Festival, a celebration of fertility. At the end of the trip, you will return to the cruise to enjoy a delicious dinner and watch the best entertainment shows in the world.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

You will enjoy the beautiful sunrise view on the banks of the Nile River while having a delicious breakfast on board your cruise to get ready for your enjoyable and exciting tour.

Your tour will start with a visit to the Temple of Hatshepsut, called Deir el-Bahari because it is widely known because Hatshepsut is an interesting and impressive figure who initially ruled as a viceroy to His Majesty and her son Thutmose III and then took over as Pharaoh. Her temple is one of the most beautiful monuments in ancient Egypt, and she designed it before her death. Disagreements arose between Thutmose III and Akhenaten over who would rule the country immediately after her death. Your tour guide will tell you the details of Hatshepsut's life and how she ruled the country with all wisdom and power. 

You will be amazed to see the giant statues of Memnon because they are among the largest statues in Egypt. The two statues of Memnon belong to the great King Amenhotep III, as the famous architect Amenhotep bin Hapu supervised their construction. In the past, there was an ancient and huge funerary temple for King Amenhotep III in front of them, and nothing remains of it except the two statues, each of which is about 21.90 meters high. They are considered part of the agenda of important tourist attractions for foreigners who enjoy Luxor and its monuments.

At the end of the tour, you will visit the Valley of the Kings because the tombs of the Valley of the Kings are the most famous historical tombs in the world, as the pharaohs buried their kings for 500 years in that area. The ancient Egyptians were interested in preserving the body, mummifying it, and placing it in a safe place because they believed in life after death. The ideas of the ancient pharaohs changed to burying their kings in tombs buried in the ground instead of the pyramids after repeated thefts.

We will transfer you to your cruise after enjoying one of the most important cultural and entertainment tours in Luxor to enjoy your dinner on board the cruise.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
 

Today, you will start your first tour in Aswan after enjoying a delicious breakfast on board the cruise. Your private tour guide will come to take you to visit two of the most important archaeological temples in Egypt, Kom Ombo and Edfu.

At the beginning of the day, you will visit the Temple of Kom Ombo, which was built on a high hill overlooking the Nile and dates back to the Ptolemaic era. This temple was built in 180 BC. This temple was dedicated to the worship of the gods (Sebek and Horus), and this temple is unique in its architectural composition. An integrated lighting project was also made to illuminate the entire temple at night.

You should not miss the opportunity to visit the Temple of Edfu because it is one of the best ancient Egyptian temples located on the west bank of the Nile River in the city of Edfu. This huge temple took about 180 years to build, starting with the reign of King Ptolemy III (246-221 BC) in 237 BC, until it was completed during the reign of King Ptolemy XII (80-51 BC) in 57 BC.

The temple still retains all its beautiful and stunning architectural and decorative elements, as it remained buried under the sand for several years until the French archaeologist Auguste Mariette discovered it in 1860 AD and restored some of its parts.

At the end of the day, we will transfer you back to the cruise to have your fresh dinner and enjoy traditional Egyptian entertainment shows.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

You will have a delicious breakfast on board the cruise to have the energy to start your tour today. Your professional tour guide will come at the appointed time to visit the most important tourist attractions in Aswan.

You will visit the High Dam, which is of great importance in Egypt because, in addition to protecting Egypt from the dangers of floods and torrents and using it to generate electricity, it also created the largest artificial lake in the world with an average length of 500 kilometers, a width of 10 kilometers, and a total storage capacity of 162 billion cubic meters.

You will visit the Philae Temple, which is one of the most important temples in Egypt. The Philae Temple is located on Philae Island, which is located in the middle of the great Nile River. This island was one of the most important and powerful defensive fortresses in ancient Egypt. The Philae Temple was moved from its original location to a safer location, Agilika Island, for fear of flooding after the construction of the High Dam.

You should not miss visiting the unfinished obelisk because it is one of the largest obelisks in the world. This obelisk is made of red granite, which is the distinctive raw material of Aswan and is now located in the northern part of a quarry located on the eastern bank of the Nile. The height of this obelisk would have been about 41 meters, and its weight would have reached.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

On your last day on the cruise, you will enjoy a delicious breakfast, and you can book a visit to the Abu Simbel Temples (optional tour), which is one of the most famous temples in the world and not only in Egypt. It is one of the greatest hotels registered on the UNESCO list. The construction of the great temple in Abu Simbel took a long time, reaching nearly twenty years, and it was completed in about 24 years of the reign of Ramses the Great. This temple was dedicated to the gods Amun, Ra-Harakhty, Ptah, and Ramses. It is considered a magnificent temple built during the reign of Ramses II and one of the most beautiful in Egypt.

Then you will check out of the cruise, and we will transfer you to the Aswan train station to take your train to Cairo. You will have your dinner on board the sleeper train.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
 

You will have your breakfast early in the morning on board the cruise, and once the train arrives in Cairo, you will find one of our tour leaders waiting for you to take you to your hotel in Cairo to have some rest. You can book one of the optional tours in Cairo, such as the Cairo Sound and Light Show, the Cairo by Night tour, and many other tours.

Meals: Breakfast

You will have your last breakfast in the land of the pharaohs and will meet your tour leader, who will help you check out from your hotel, and then he will take you to Cairo International Airport to take your flight back home. We hope you enjoyed your Christmas holiday with the Cairo Top Tours team, and we hope to see you in Egypt again soon.

Meals: Breakfast