Day 2

Arrive in Cairo. Be assisted through customs.  Hotel check-in.  Dinner not provided. Let's go out to eat a hot meal before retiring to bed.

Here is a group of happy sisters chillin'

on our arrival in Cairo, Egypt 

Step Pyramid at Saqqara

The Step Pyramid (located at Saqqara, the earliest necropolis of Memphis) is the first known monumental building made of stone anywhere on our planet. It was the bold thinking of the great multi genius, Imhotep, who designed it for his pharaoh and friend Djoser (Dynasty III).  It is composed of a series of six stone mastabas of decreasing in size as they ascend to about 200 feet/60 meters in height. A mastaba (Arabic for "bench") is a low, slanted-walled rectangular structure which was built over a shaft. The shaft descended into the burial chamber, the final resting place of the deceased mortal remains.

Evening lecture presentation in hotel.  B/D

Pyramids & Sphinx

Visit the Giza Pyramids & Sphinx

The Sphinx, Ra-horakhty (an anthromorphic figure) is the largest monolith sculpture on our planet. With the body of a lion and the head of a human being, the sphinx has come to symbolize strength and wisdom. The lion’s torso is 241 feet/73.5 meters in length and the head reaches 65 feet/20 meters in height.. The Sphinx was carved from the existing limestone in its natural surroundings. Today there is controversy about whose image the facial features belong to as well as the time of its construction. (Khafre; c.2555-2532 BCE?) Nothing can prepare the visitor the first time he or she sees this magnificent wonder of the world. It is truly awesome

The Giza Plateau is part of the necropolis of ancient Memphis. It is the most famous landscape in the world.

Evening lecture presentation in hotel. B/D

Abu Simbel (Lower Nubia) to visit the rock-cut temple of Ramesses II and Queen Nefertari. 

The temple at Abu Simbel is a rock cut edifice built by Ramesses II (c.1279-1213 B.C.E.) in ancient lower Nubia. This magnificent edifice was one of seven  rock- cut temples built by Ramesses the Great. Four colossi (65 feet/20 meters high) statues of him sit in pairs flanking the entrance over which one can find the solar deity Ra-horakhty (Horus of the rising sun).

The other rock-cut white sandstone temple at Abu Simbel was dedicated to his beloved defied queen and wife Nefertari  and  the goddess of love, music and the protector of Ra, Hathor/Het Heru.  It was built by Ramesses II (c.1279-1213 B.C.E.). The facade, resembling a pylon, has six standing colossal statues (over 33 feet/10 meters high). On each side of the entrance, two statues of Ramesses flank one of Nefertari dressed as Hathor. Smaller statues of their children in turn, flank the colossal statues.   Visit Nubian Museum in the evening B/D

Ramesses II Rock cut temple, Abu Simbel 

Free Day and Afternoon visit to Our Nubian Village visit.

Cruise begins:  Tour Isis Temple, the Unfinished Obelisk, Kom Ombo.

A cruise up the Nile is very reminiscent of the way the pharaohs, royalty and ordinary people transported themselves in ancient times.

Evening lecture presentation on Cruise. B/L/D

At Edfu, visit the Temple of Horus and sail via Esna toward Luxor in the evening.

The Temple of Horus/Heru at Edfu has a massive entrance pylon covered with sunken relief carvings. This Ptolemaic temple was constructed between 237 and 57 B.C.E. The signature piece of this temple are the pair of Horus sculptures standing in its open court. Once a year for the "Feast of the Beautiful Meeting," Hathor/Het Heru traveled from Dendera to Edfu to visit her husband/consort, Horus/Heru. Her arrival was scheduled for the afternoon of the new moon. The statues of the deities remained in the mammisi or birth house  until the end of the festival at the full moon. The result of their union was their son Ihy or Horus-Sematawy

Evening lecture presentation on Cruise..  B/L/D 

Horus as Falcon

Valley of the Kings

In Luxor, we visit the Valley of the Kings and Queens (West Bank) the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Deir el Bahri, Ramesses III Temple (Medinet Habu) and Colossi of Amenhotep III ("Memnon") Free afternoon. 

The Valley of  the Kings is the world's most spectacular burial ground. It was home to more than 65 pharaohs from the Middle Kingdom onwards into the New Kingdom. Some notables unearthed from their sepulchers include: Thutmosis III, King Tut, Ramesses the Great,  Ramesess III, among others. The colorful burial chambers with their brilliant illustrations of  the worldview of the Nile Valley African is unparalleled anywhere else in the world.

 Evening lecture presentation on Cruise.. B/L/D 

The Temple of Karnak, dedicated to the god Amon-Re, is the largest temple complex anywhere on the planet. It was 2,000 years in the making during which time many pharaohs contributed to the complex. There are seven pylons, but the most notable one is that which greets the visitors as he or she travels down the avenue of the ram-headed sphinxes. Seti I started the construction of the 134 columned hypostyle hall which was completed by his son, Ramesses II. Notably, Ramesses the Great was also responsible for the installation of the ram-headed sphinxes.

 Cruise ends.  Evening lecture presentation in hotel B/D

Avenue of the Ram-headed Sphinxes

Visit the Grand Lodge of Luxor with the Avenue of the Human-headed Sphinxes (East Bank).

In ancient Egypt, the temple area now known as Luxor was called Ipt rsyt, the "southern sanctuary," referring to the holy of holies at the temple’s southern end, wherein  the principal god, Amun "preeminent in his sanctuary", dwelt.  Another ancient name given to the temple was Waset. This general area was  the capital of Egypt from the 12th dynasty (1991 B.C.) and reached its zenith during the New Kingdom. Notables like Thotmosis III, Amenhotep III, Akhenaton and Ramesses II are associated with Waset.

The major festival celebrated at this site each year was the Opet, a celebration which brought the god Amun from the great  temple at Karnak to be united with his wife Mut and son Khonsu. This renewal festival drew thousands of devotees for an extended celebration which was known for its offerings of flowers, fruit, cattle, bread, wine, beer, and other agricultural products from the harvest.

Also noteworthy is the fact that Luxor was the site of a great school of learning where students came from far and wide to learn at the feet of the master teachers from this lodge.

Tour and lecture. Evening lecture presentation in hotel. B/D

                  Facade of Seti I Temple at Abydos

Visit Abydos and Dendera.

In the 19th Dynasty, Seti I began an ambitious project to restore Abydos to its former status as the holiest of all the holy cities in Egypt. He began the construction of one of Egypt’s unique temples with the configuration of an L-shaped floor plan and seven entrances. Each entrance lead to a sanctuary dedicated to Ra-horakhty, Heru, Asaru, Aset, Amun, Seti I,  Ptah and Het Heru, respectively. Ramesses II continued this project after the death of his father, Seti I, and  closed all but one entrance to this temple. In this temple one can find the King's List, the resurrection of Asaru, the Djed column, and some of the best executed bas-reliefs one can find anywhere in Egypt. 

Tour and lecture B/D

Flight back to Cairo (hotel check-in).  Shopping and sightseeing.  Evening lecture presentation in hotel. B/D

Visit the Cairo Museum, and Old Coptic area, shop at the Khan Khalili Bazaar. 

The Egyptian Museum of Art is home to millions of objects from  Egypt's glorious past. A tour through this museum takes one back in time to help one understand the life of royalty as well as the life of everyday people.

After being immersed in Egypt for two weeks, a final journey through the maze of the largest open air market in Africa, the Khan Khalili Bazaar, is most welcoming. A sumptuous dinner and world class entertainment are the best ways to say goodbye to Egypt.

Final DINNER CRUISE, Cairo night life and goodbye (this should be a group activity). B/D

                                         Pompey's Needle

Optional one-day tour to Alexandria.

Alexandria is Egypt's second largest modern city which is located on the Mediterranean Sea. It was the site on which Alexander of Macedonia established his capital after invading the dying Egyptian civilization. It is important to see the beginnings of what would later develop into Greco-Roman society, appropriated from Egypt. The Catacombs, the Old Library at Alexandria,  Pompey's Needle (seen at left), the modern Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria Museum, the Citadel, lunch on the Mediterranean Sea, and more are some of the sites of this one-day tour of Alexandria.

NOTICE

We will do our best to match tour members with roommates, however, we cannot promise a share.

B = Breakfast , L = Lunch, D = Dinner

     (Full meals served buffet-style)

Egypt 2010 Payment Schedule

TO PAY BY CREDIT CARD
Trip 1 - July 17 to July 31, 2010
Trip 2 - Aug. 8 to Aug. 22, 2010
NOTE: Upon completion of credit card payment, all participants referred by Emancipation Support Committee (ESC) must complete a Reservation Form and submit it to ESC.
TO PAY BY CHECK OR MONEY ORDER
Trip 1 - July 17 to July 31, 2010
Trip 2 - Aug. 8 to Aug. 22, 2010