Site Summary - Lower Egypt Cairo Museum, Giza Plateau. Site Summary - Upper Egypt Deir el Bahri, Senenmut, Asasif, Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, Karnak, Luxor Temple, Tod, Mo'alla, Esna, Luxor Museum, el Kab, Edfu, Gebel es-Silsila, Kubbet el Hawa, St Simeon, Sehel Island, Nubia Museum, Elephantine, Unfinished Obelisk & Philae.   Site Summary - Lake Nasser Kalabsha, Beit el Wali, Wadi es-Seboua, Dakka, Amada, Derr, Qasr Ibrim & Abu Simbel.   SCA Permits / Special Openings We are grateful to Dr Zahi Hawass and the Supreme Council of Antiquities for special permission to enter the tomb of Senenmut at Deir el Bahri.

Day 1 – Mon 4th October 2010 – To Egypt

Fly London to Luxor with EgyptAir and on arrival we take our private transfer and check-in to the first class Old Winter Palace Garden Pavilion Wing for four nights on room and breakfast basis.

Day 2 – Tue 5th Oct – The West Bank

Our day begins with a traditional private launch taking us across the Nile to join our vehicle. We start with a thorough look at Deir el-Bahri and in particular Hatshepsut’s imposing temple. By kind permission of Dr Zahi Hawass and the SCA, we have a special permit to enter the rarely opened secret tomb of Senenmut, steward of Amun and architect of Hatshepsut.

This tomb has an unusual astronomical ceiling. A short walk takes us to the Asasif Tombs where we will enter the tombs of Pabasa and Ankh-Hor. After refreshments and a relaxed local lunch at the Africa restaurant, we take the short ride to the Valley of the Kings. Here we will select three tombs for you to see, one from each of the New Kingdom Dynasties. Our final visit of the day will be to the Queens Valley which we will walk to from Deir el-Medina, passing the charming shrine of Meretsegar and Ptah. (BL)

Day 3 – Weds 6th Oct – The Precinct of Amun

We wake early and head straight to Karnak for opening time. AWT groups tend to have Karnak almost entirely to themselves for the first hour and it is well worth it. The light as the sun rises is magical and it’s by far the best time for photographs. We will explore all the major features of this amazing temple including the spectacular Seti war reliefs, the Sacred Lake and the Festival Hall. There will be time for your own explorations too. Those who wish to return to the hotel by coach will take breakfast on arrival at about 0930. Anyone who wishes can take a coffee at the lakeside cafeteria and stay at Karnak as long as they like as the rest of the day is at leisure until our evening exploration of Luxor Temple by floodlight in the evening. (B)

Day 4 – Thurs 7th Oct – Temples and Tombs

We start our morning with the short journey to Tod. This rarely visited temple is an Egyptological jewel. Founded as a temple to the war god Montu in the XIth dynasty, the temple was added to by many subsequent pharaohs. Our next stop is the small but interesting Old Kingdom and first intermediate period tombs at el Mo’alla, where we enter the tombs of the Governor Ankhtifi and Sobekhotep. We continue to Esna where the hypostyle hall of the Ptolemaic temple is to be found. We return to Luxor for our last night in Ancient Thebes. This evening we visit the superb Luxor Museum which houses some of the finest pieces found in the Luxor region including some truly breathtakingly beautiful statues. (B)

Day 5 – Fri 8th Oct – Of Horus and Horemheb

We drive south towards Edfu and stop at el-Kab. This site has three fascinating parts.  The first are the lovely New Kingdom tombs set in the cliffs just back from the cultivation. We head east now into what is the mouth of the Wadi Hillal, to an area rarely visited – or even known of – by most travellers. Here we find the small chapel of Ramesses II and the larger temple of Nekhbet, the Vulture Goddess, also built by Ramesses II and restore in Ptolemaic times. A little further on is the fascinating ‘Vulture Rock’ with inscriptions going right back to the start of the Old Kingdom.
We continue to spectacular Edfu, most complete of the temples of Egypt, with its scenes of the battles between Horus and Seth. We cross the river now to the West Bank and drive south towards Aswan. Our next stop is the quarries of Gebel es-Silsila. It was from here that much of the stone was hewn for the temples of Karnak and Luxor. There are numerous chapels and inscriptions and a rock-cut chapel built by Horemheb. We drive on to Aswan and check in to the lovely Movenpick Hotel, on the Island of Elephantine, for three nights on a room and breakfast basis. (BL)

Day 6 – Sat 9th Oct – Aswan – The First Cataract

We have a full day of exploration in Aswan, the most charming town in Egypt. We begin with the short Nile crossing taking us to Kubbet el Hawa where we will enter the tombs of the Old and Middle Kingdom Nobles. A short boat ride towards the Aga Khan Mausoleum and we disembark for the walk to the Monastery of St Simeon dating from the 7th Century. After a chance to have refreshments back at our hotel we will take to the river again to visit Sehel Island with its famous rock inscriptions including the heart rending ‘Famine Stela’ then we will enjoy a relaxing sail through the islands with Captain Sugar looking at local birdlife. We will land at Kitchener’s Island with its botanical garden. This evening we will visit the lovely Nubia Museum which houses some wonderful pieces from the area. (B)

Day 7 – Sun 10th Oct – Sacred Islands

Today we begin with a morning tour of the ruins of ancient Yebu on Elephantine Island. The German archaeology team has done wonderful work here and we can explore the Temple of Khnum and other monuments dating from the Old Kingdom to the Greco-Roman period. In the afternoon we will visit the open air museum to marvel at the audacity of the Unfinished Obelisk before we head a little further south to take the short boat ride to the Island of Agilikia and the beautiful temple of Isis at Philae, the last place in Egypt where the ancient religion was practiced. (B)

Day 8 – Mon 11th Oct

For those returning to the UK there is an early flight to Cairo for onward travel to London with an arrival time in the early afternoon. (B)

Extension – The Great Lake

For those wanting to head deeper into the magical land of Nubia we can offer the Lake Nasser Cruise extension on the first class cruiser, the MS Nubian Sea, for  four nights on full board basis. (BLD)

Day 8 – Mon 11th Oct – Aswan

An early morning swim, perhaps, following by some quick packing will have you ready for your late morning checkout and transfer to the lovely M/S Nubian Sea in time for lunch. The rest of the day is entirely at leisure, time to catch up on some relaxation with a good book on the deck of the cruiser. (BLD)

Day 9 – Tue 12th Oct – Lake Nasser Cruise

We begin at Kalabsha, sited in splendid isolation near the small Ramesses temple of Beit el Wali on the western shores of the lake. Kalabsha is a fine temple – perhaps the best in Nubia – and was built during Ptolemaic times. It was moved to its current position to save it from the rising waters of Lake Nasser after the building of the High Dam. Now we cruise peacefully towards Wadi es-Seboua, our overnight mooring.  (BLD)

DEPARTURE DATE Monday 4th October 2010 TOUR CODE AWUE041010    Basic Tour Price: £1,964 Single Supplement: £216 Luxor Balloon: £100 Lake Nasser Extension: £714 Lake Nasser Single Supplement: £314    Book tour

Expert: Dr. Chris Naunton is Deputy Director of the Egypt Exploration Society. He has worked in the field at Abydos and in a series of Late Period tombs in Western Thebes. His research now focuses on the extensive EES archives which are an endless source of fascination. Chris is a popular and approachable expert for AWT and his tours are always great fun.

Day 10 – Wed 13th Oct – Island Temples

We start the day at Wadi es-Seboua itself, the Wadi of the Lions, and the great temple of Nubian Horus, Amun and Ramesses the Great where we disembark and explore these romantic ruins. On to the late period temple of Dakka which was founded during the reign of Ptolemy II. Our next stop is at the New Kingdom Temple of Amada and our final visit of the day is at Derr, a rock-cut temple constructed by Ramesses II. (BLD)

Day 11 – Thu 14th Oct – Mighty Abu Simbel

We will view the important site of Qasr Ibrim from the cruiser then have a sail on to magnificent Abu Simbel, the greatest of all the abiding monuments of Ramesses the Great. We enjoy a full visit of the site before seeing the sunset at this most romantic location. In the evening we will watch the wonderful sound and light show.  (BLD)

Day 12 – Fri 15th Oct – To Cairo

This morning we disembark our cruiser after breakfast and board our flight to Cairo where we check in to the Movenpick resort for two nights on room and breakfast basis. This afternoon we will visit the grand Cairo Museum with time to see all the major exhibits including Tutankhamun’s treasures. There will be free time to search out your own favourites before we return to the hotel. (B)

Day 13 – Sat 16th Oct – Giza

After breakfast we make the short journey to the Giza Plateau for a full guided tour of the plateau. We will explore the smaller Queens’ pyramids and associated mastaba tombs we will walk around the base of the pyramid of Khafre to see evidence of the original levelling of the plateau and we’ll explore the funerary temple at the top of the great causeway that leads down our final destination, the legendry Sphinx and associated mortuary temple. A magnificent way to end our tour! The afternoon is at leisure. (B)

Day 14 – Sun 17th Oct – Homeward bound

After breakfast we board our return flight to London arriving in the early afternoon. (B) 

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