Jan 4, Sun: Arrival – Cairo

• Arrival at Cairo International Airport.
• Meet and assist through customs and formalities.
• Transfer to an airport hotel.
• Dinner and overnight in Cairo.

Jan 5, Mon: Giza

• After breakfast, transfer to Giza.
• Visit the Pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure.
• Optional: enter inside any pyramids.
• After viewing the three great Pyramids from a panoramic viewpoint, visit the famous Great Sphinx of Giza.
• Then transfer to visit Saqqara Step Pyramid, built by King Djoser, of the third dynasty.
• Dinner and overnight in Cairo.

Jan 6, Tue: Giza-Luxor

• Check out after breakfast.
• Transfer to visit The Grand Egyptian Museum.
• Transfer to Cairo airport to fly to Luxor.
• Transfer to the hotel.
• Dinner and overnight in Luxor.

Jan 7, Wed: Luxor

• After breakfast transfer to visit Karnak Temple. Walk among the pillars of the temple dedicated to the god Amun Ra and along the avenue of the Sphinxes at Karnak.
• Then visit the illuminated Luxor Temple.
• Optional: Horse Cart tour in Luxor.
• Dinner & overnight in Luxor.

Jan 8, Thu: Luxor

• After early breakfast, drive to the west side of Luxor: explore the great Valley of Kings, where generations of Pharaohs were buried in crypts cut into the cliffs
• Optional: visit Tutankhamun’s tomb.
• Visit the Valley of Queens.
• Stop by the Colossi of Memnon, then proceed to visit the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut.
• Dinner and overnight in Luxor.

Jan 9, Fri: Luxor-Cairo

• Check out after breakfast.
• Transfer to the west bank to visit Madinet Habu temple and Ramesseum, the funerary temple of Ramses II
• Transfer to Luxor airport to fly back to Cairo.
• Dinner and overnight in Cairo.

Jan 10, Sat: Cairo

• After breakfast, transfer to Visit the Egyptian Museum located in downtown Cairo, housing thousands of pieces of the ancient Egyptian civilization, including the most famous collection of the young king Tutankhamun with its fascinating treasures.
• Transfer to Khan el-Khalili Bazar.
• Dinner and overnight in Cairo.

Jan 11, Sun: Cairo

• After breakfast transfer to visit Coptic Cairo, part of the old city. Highlights include a stop at the Saints Sergius and Bacchus Church, one of the oldest Coptic churches in Egypt, dating to the 4th century. Its main attraction is crypt claimed to be the place where Mary, Joseph and infant Jesus stayed during their Egyptian exile.
• Visit Ben Ezra synagogue is the supreme Jewish monument in Cairo. It is not the only synagogue, but it is the most used. It no longer has a rabbi, but is maintained by 42 local Jewish families. Legends claim that the synagogue is built on the spot where pharaoh‘s daughter found Moses in the bulrushes and where Jeremiah spoke to survivors after the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar.

Visit Ben Ezra Synagogue, no longer an active place of worship, but which served the Jewish community of Cairo for about 1000 years.  Most importantly, it is the site of the Cairo Geniza (synagogue storeroom), where 300,000 medieval Hebrew and Arabic documents were found during the 1890s.  These documents, including Bible manuscripts and much more, have revolutionized our understanding of the transmission of the biblical text, medieval Jewish history, and much more.

• Dinner and overnight in Cairo.

Jan 12, Monday: Flight Home

• Transfer to Cairo airport for final departure