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Cairo tour and cruise from Esna to Aswan by dahabeya 12 Days / 11 Nights

12 Days

Itinerary

Day 1 :
Arrival
Welcome at Cairo airport. Transfer and installation in your hotel.
Night at the hotel
Day 2 :
Memphis - Saqqara - Dahshur
Breakfast at the hotel and departure for a day of visits:
The site of Memphis is the place of the oldest political and religious capital of Egypt. Founded in 3200 BC. JC by the legendary king Menes, the unifier of upper and lower Egypt. Located on the eastern bank of the Nile, capital of Egypt for more than a millennium and a leading religious center. It is also the seat of the worship of god Ptah.
The site of Saqqarah:  is a vast funerary complex which contains the necropolis of dignitaries and the so-called "step" pyramid of King Djoser (the founder of the 3rd Pharaonic  dynasty, around 2700 BC). This pyramid represents the first attempt at pyramid construction. It is considered to be the first freestone construction in the world.
from the Dahshur site: the rhomboidal pyramid and the "red" pyramid, both built by King Sénéfrou (founder of the 4th pharaonic  dynasty and father of the famous pharaoh Cheops). The style of these two pyramids allows us to follow the architectural evolution of pyramid design, illustrating the intermediate stage between the type of the step pyramid of Saqqara and the perfectly pyramidal type of those found on the Giza plateau. You will have the opportunity to enter the "red" pyramid to admire the interior architecture of this fascinating structure.
Return to the hotel at the end of the afternoon
Night at the hotel
Day 3 :
Giza Plateau – Egyptian Museum – Souk Khan El-Khalili
Breakfast at the hotel and departure for a day trip to:
Giza plateau:  the flagship site of the Pharaonic civilization which contains  the three famous pyramids "Cheops, Chephren and Mykerinos" as well as  the Sphinx,  in limestone, enigmatic and gigantic with a human head and a lion's body, raised as guardian of the necropolis. And the  mortuary temple of kings Chephren  built entirely in granite.
Egyptian Museum: It is located in the city center, in an imposing neoclassical building, perfectly suited to its exquisite collections. The Egyptian Museum in Cairo was opened to the public in 1902. It has since grown to become the largest museum of Egyptian art in the world. The museum houses an incredible collection of 150,000 pieces that trace the glorious reign of ancient Egypt from the predynastic period to the pharaonic period, about 4000 years of art
Khan El-Khallili Souk . A labyrinth of small alleys bustling day and night that appeals to the senses with a mixture of images, sounds, scents and colors. Khan El-Khallili is the oldest bazaar in the world. It has been occupied by traders since the 14th century  .
Night at the hotel.
Day 4 :
Cairo - Luxor
Breakfast at the hotel and transfer to Cairo airport to take the plane to Luxor.
Arrival in Luxor and installation in your hotel.
At the end of the afternoon, departure for the visit of the Luxor temple:  a temple started by kings Amenophis 3 and completed by Ramses 2 and many other pharaohs. It best represents the schematic plan of an Egyptian temple with its elegant sphinx path, its gigantic facade once preceded by two magnificent obelisks, one is still in place and the other has been standing since 1834 on Place Concorde in Paris. !
Night at the hotel
Day 5 :
The Theban Necropolis

Breakfast at the hotel and departure for the west bank of Luxor (possibility of a hot air balloon ride .. optional) for:
discover the two colossi of Memnon (photo stop): These two giants, each 17m high, are at the entrance of a large temple erected by King Amenophis 3 during the 15th century  BC.
visit to the flagship site on the left bank of the Nile: The Valley of the Kings . It is a spectacular cemetery of great pharaohs of Egyptian history. This necropolis contains 62 tombs, all of which are colored and painted.
Visit  the temple of Queen Hatshepsut , the first feminist in history! She is the only one who defied the rules of the transmission of the throne and became pharaoh! Its temple also comes out of the architectural scheme of the time with three terraces superimposed one on the other against the mountain, thus creating a balanced harmony that delights the eye.
Free afternoon in Luxor.
Night at the hotel

Day 06 :
Visit of the Karnak site and Boarding on the dahabeya

After breakfast at the hotel: departure for the discovery of the Temple of Karnak dedicated to the god Amon.
The god Amon reigned supreme over the Egyptian pantheon for nearly 2000 years. Each sovereign wanted to build, in  Karnak , his own edifice to the glory of the god. The result ? An abundance of elements from different eras, a fabulous page of history...
Departure by road at the end of the morning for Esna , home port of our dahabeya.
Welcome by the crew, visit the boat, and off you go, the dahabeya leaves the shore, you are in the middle of the Nile.
Lunch on board. Afternoon of leisurely navigation to the rhythm of the wind. You can relax there.
Your stopover for the night will be at El Hegz.
Dinner and overnight on board.

Day 07 :
El Hegz - Edfou - Ramadi

In the morning sailing to El Kab .
Stopover for the visit of the historic site of El-Kab , surrounded by a mud brick enclosure, erected during the periods 747-332 BC, the city would have been founded from the Neolithic period.
Walk among the rock tombs dug into the mountainside.
Return to the ship, resumption of navigation and lunch on board.
Landing in Edfu to visit the temple dedicated to the god Horus of Behedet, symbolized by a solar disk with falcon wings. It is one of the largest temples (height 37m, length 137m and width 79m) and the best preserved in Pharaonic Egypt.
Continuation of your navigation, dinner on board.
Stopover and night in Ramadi .

Day 08 :
Ramadi - Bassaw

Breakfast on board and pleasant walk in Ramadi around the marshes and in the crops to meet the peasants working in their fields of alfalfa, sugar cane or in the date palms.
Return on board and navigation, then after lunch stroll through the charming and very welcoming village of Bassaw .
Dinner and night in Bassaw or at the foot of the spéos of Horemheb (depending on the mooring possibilities of the moment).

Day 09 :
Called Silssila – Come Ombo

Breakfast on board, then departure on foot to discover Gebel el Silsila and its quarry, the largest sandstone quarry of the Pharaonic era. You will enjoy numerous inscriptions, stelae and decorated tombs, visit the small rock temple of Pharaoh Horemheb
Short navigation and walk to the village of Farès in the palm groves, a wide variety of fruit trees and plants will be on your way (doum palms - date palms - caliotropis etc...)
Back on board then lunch while the sailboat sails gently to Kom Ombo.
Arrival in Kom Ombo and visit its beautiful temple dedicated to two deities, Sobek the crocodile and Horus the falcon.
Visit the charming Crocodile Mummies Museum to finish.
Short navigation to Daraw for the night.
Dinner and overnight on board.

Day 10 :
Daraw - Aswan

After breakfast, change of scenery guaranteed in Daraw. You stroll through the jumble of the popular market where colours, perfumes from the Orient and Africa are like so many symphonies for the eyes and the nostrils!
There is also the possibility of visiting the famous camel market (it is held on Saturday and Sunday) or the animal market (it is held on Tuesday).
Return to the boat and lunch on board. Navigation to the island of Herbiab, stroll among the fruit trees; mango trees, orange trees, lemon trees. The island of Herbiab has a very beautiful sandy beach, possibility of swimming in the sacred river
Sailing to Aswan and we end just before the Aswan Bridge.
Dinner and overnight on board.

Day 11 :
Philae – High Dam

Breakfast on board and departure to discover the joyful history of Aswan and its charming landscape:
The temple of Philae  : erected on the fabulous island of Agilika and dedicated to the goddess Isis. It is characterized by its romantic setting, its remarkable architecture and its refined frescoes.
The High Dam:  a gigantic achievement, considered at the time as the largest dam in the world with a spectacular panorama of the immense Lake Nasser, which was built in 1971.
Transfer to your hotel in Aswan
Free afternoon in Aswan
Night at the hotel

Day 12 :
Departure

Transfer
at Aswan airport (or train station)

You can send your enquiry via the form below.

Cairo tour and cruise from Esna to Aswan by dahabeya 12 Days / 11 Nights
From €1,940
/ Adult
From €1,940
/ Child
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