Big trip to Egypt 11 days

Description

Day 1-2 Cairo. Sphinx. Egyptian Museum.

We arrive in Cairo and check into a hotel where we will spend the night.

From the very morning we will begin to get acquainted with the ancient history of Egypt. We go to the western outskirts of Cairo to see the pyramids of Giza. Tens of thousands of people built these gigantic tombs over four thousand years ago. This is the only wonder of the world that has survived to this day, and you cannot miss it while in Egypt.

After walking around the pyramids and the Sphinx, we will continue our journey through time and visit the Egyptian Museum in the city center. Here is a huge collection of ancient Egyptian exhibits: mummies, jewelry, jewelry from tombs and household items.

We will spend the night in a Cairo hotel.

Day 3 Cairo. Khan al-Khalili Market

Today we are waiting for the fascinating Middle Ages of Cairo and its no less interesting present. We explore this monstrous and chaotic city. Here, the singing of muezzins mixes with the noise of cars in traffic jams, and exquisite medieval mosques and fountains coexist with modern chaotic buildings.

We are waiting for the narrow streets of Khan al-Khalili – one of the largest bazaars in Africa. For more than six centuries, local artisans and merchants have brought their goods here, and thousands of locals have come here to shop. You can get almost anything on Khan al-Khalili, and if one vendor doesn’t have what you’re looking for, they’ll be happy to tell you who to contact.

We will get to know the local Coptic Christians, who make up almost a tenth of the population of Egypt. We will learn about the history of this community in Cairo and visit Coptic churches. We will see the “hanging” Church of St. Mary of the III century, which rises above the ruins of an ancient fortress. Let’s take a look at the modern Cathedral of Simeon the Tanner, built in a cave on the outskirts of the Coptic region, whose inhabitants have been collecting garbage in the Egyptian capital for generations.

In the evening we take the train and go to Alexandria (2.5 hours). Overnight in Alexandria.

Day 4 Alexandria

Founded in the 4th century BC by Alexander the Great, Alexandria was the cultural and economic center of the region. The lighthouse of Alexandria was considered one of the wonders of the world, and the famous library was one of the largest repositories of knowledge from antiquity. These two monuments have not survived to this day, and the city itself fell into decay after the Arab conquest. But in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Alexandria experienced a renaissance and again became an important trading hub.

We will walk along the streets of Alexandria to feel the atmosphere of this amazing city. We will visit ancient monuments that survived wars and natural disasters. Let’s walk along the city embankment. Let’s admire the buildings of the new time, left here by European architects who gave Alexandria a special Mediterranean charm that distinguishes it from the bustling Cairo. And, of course, we will try delicious fresh seafood dishes in one of the local restaurants.

In the evening we return to Cairo by train and spend the night at the hotel.

Day 5-6 Black desert. white desert

Early in the morning we leave Cairo and begin to explore the natural attractions of the country. We are going to the Black Desert. This is an area southwest of Cairo, strewn with black hills. They have a different shape and can reach a height of a hundred meters, and they are covered with a layer of black basalt – hence the name of this area.

Our further path lies in the White Desert. In this incredible place, chalk deposits protrude from the ground, making it look like snow has fallen in the desert. And the limestone rocks, hewn by the natural elements, have bizarre shapes and resemble mushrooms or animals. We will meet the sunset in this unearthly place, and spend the night under the starry sky in the middle of the desert.

In the morning we will admire the cosmic landscapes in the rays of the rising sun and see how, as the heavenly body moves, the desert changes its colors before our eyes. Then we will head south to the city of Luxor, where we will stay at the hotel.

Day 7-8 Luxor

Luxor is located on the site of the ancient Egyptian capital of Thebes. It is called the greatest open-air museum. Few places in the world have such large-scale and majestic surviving monuments of ancient civilizations. You can spend weeks walking between the giant columns in the local temples and studying the paintings on the walls of the tombs of the Egyptian nobility.

We will spend the first day exploring the eastern coast of the city. We will visit the Luxor Temple, built 3400 years ago to worship the sun god Amun-Ra. Then we will go to Karnak temple. The road to it goes along the rows of sphinxes, established in the ancient era. We will see the largest temple complex of Ancient Egypt, which is more than five thousand years old. This is such a large-scale structure that its construction took twenty centuries.

We will spend the night in a hotel in Luxor, and in the morning we will go to the west bank of the Nile to see the Valley of the Kings. Here, in a rocky gorge, from the 16th to the 11th century BC, huge tombs were erected for pharaohs, high-ranking officials and their relatives – funeral processions moved here for centuries. Most of the tombs are decorated with bright paintings that have survived centuries later.

From the Valley of the Kings, we return to the eastern shore and take the train to Aswan (3.5 hours), where we will spend the night in a hotel.

Day 9-10 Aswan. Abu Simbel

Standing at the Nile rapids, Aswan has historically been the southern outpost of Egypt. This city is quite large, but surprisingly serene, very different from Cairo and Alexandria. And thanks to the Nubians living here, it has a very special flavor.

The Nile in Aswan is wide, unhurried and fabulously picturesque. After lunch, we will embark on a felucca – a traditional sailing boat – and set off on a journey through the Nile Islands. We will have dinner with freshly caught fish, and we will meet the sunset on a boat in the middle of the river. We will spend the night at a hotel in Aswan.

Early in the morning we leave on a rented bus for Abu Simbel, where two ancient Egyptian temples of the 13th century BC are located. e. It is impossible not to be surprised by the giant sculptures that adorn the entrance to the temples – the statues of Pharaoh Ramses II and his family members are almost as high as an eight-story building! But even more amazing is the fact that the temples were originally located in a different place, and in the 60s of the last century, in order to save them from flooding, the monuments were cut into fragments weighing up to thirty tons and moved to where they still stand.

In the evening we will return to Aswan and take the train to Luxor. Overnight at the hotel in Luxor.

Day 11 Hurghada

In the morning from Luxor by bus we go to Hurghada. Our Egyptian trip has come to an end, and now you can relax on the shores of the Red Sea. It’s easy to find something to your liking here: explore the amazing underwater world, kite and windsurf, or just lie on the beach, whiling away the days before your return flight.

Included:

• Accommodation in double rooms of hotels along the entire route and one night at the campsite;
• All ground transportation along the route by trains, rented minibuses, SUVs and felucca (sailing boat);
• Meals during the desert trip and felucca tour;
• Entrance tickets and services of local English-speaking guides;
• Escort along the entire route.

Not included:

• Road to Cairo and back from Hurghada (we will help you find the best tickets);
• Meals ($ 20–30 per day);
• Tips for local guides and drivers.

Take with you:

• Passport
• Headgear
• Money for personal expenses and souvenirs
• Personal hygiene products
• Comfortable shoes
• Warm clothes for the road (in winter)