THE TRACES OF THE PHARAOHS Private Tour.

Arrival from the country of origin to the Cairo airport. Reception, visa procedures with the assistance of Holiplus staff. Transfer to the Intercontinental Cairo Semiramis hotel, accommodation and night in Cairo.

Breakfast. Departure to visit the Giza necropolis with the famous Pyramids of Cheops, Khafre and Menkaure. We will be there for a while in front of the great pyramid fulfilling the dream of many of our passengers, given that its fame is due to two things, the first and most important is that for thousands of years they were the tallest buildings built by man. To give you an idea, the Great Pyramid is almost exactly the same height as the Picasso Tower in Madrid (one hundred and fifty meters high) and its base is so large that it can fit seven and a half football fields! It was not until the 19th century that a taller building was built in the world. The second reason is because they are very well preserved and you can enter them; something that Roman and Greek tourists were already doing at the time when Christ was born more than two thousand years ago. Of the other Egyptian pyramids, and many were built, only three others remain standing, the rest have been converted over the centuries into piles of rubble. The pharaohs were mummified and they were introduced into the pyramids along with some food and their most precious belongings to accompany them on their last journey. Although the exact date of construction of the great pyramids is not known, it is estimated that the works began around 2500 BC.

We then headed up to the Great Sphinx which was the first truly colossal piece of ancient Egyptian sculpture. The Egyptians would not carve statues of these proportions again until the reigns of the New Kingdom pharaohs, some some 1,200 years later. It was carved out of the natural bedrock at the very base of the Quefrén causeway in the shape of a real human head on a lion's body, symbolizing the power and strength controlled by the pharaoh's intelligence. The temple of the valley of Quefrén was built with megalithic blocks covered with red granite and the entrances to the temple were closed with enormous doors of a leaf, probably of cedar wood. The close association of the Sphinx with the Quefrén valley makes it more than likely that the Sphinx were carved for Quefrén.

Later we will have dinner in a local restaurant, and then we will visit the Sakkara pyramid complex. The Step Pyramid, built by Imhotep the first architect recognized in history during the rule of Pharaoh Zoser, in Dynasty III, around 2,630 BC, the Step Pyramid is the most important place in the pharaoh's funerary complex. The pyramid measures 140 meters in length, 118 meters in width, 60 meters in height and was built with small calcareous blocks, with a mode of construction similar to adobe. The importance of the pyramid of Djoser lies in having been the origin of the construction of the Pyramids of Giza and the rest of the Egyptian pyramids. We will include an interesting visit to one of the only Mastabas ¨Mastaba de Kagemni¨ that have scenes from the daily life of Pharaonic Egypt and we will also visit the pyramid of TiTi that has the pyramidal texts.

At the end return to the hotel, night in Cairo.

Breakfast at the hotel, at the indicated time transfer to Cairo airport, to fly to Aswan. Arrival and direct visit to the High Dam of Aswan (known in Arabic as Saad El Aali). The Aswan Dam or Aswan Dam is a mega-construction, designed in 1956 and built between 1959 and 1970 by the Egyptian and Soviet governments, in order to end the floods that occurred in the territory of the lower Nile as a result of the sudden increase in the flow of the Nile.

Then visit the jewel of the Nile or the pearl of Aswan "The Temple of Philae", (located on a beautiful island in the Nile "Island of Agilka". This small island, an alluvial rock covered with granite, of only 460 x 150 m, it is located about 8 km south of the Aswan Dam in Upper Egypt, in an area that in ancient times was the border with Nubia. The Greek name for Philae is well known. Its ancient Egyptian name was P -aaleq, meaning "end" or "remote place", which later became Coptic under the name Pilak. Another meaning of the ancient name is "creation" or "island from the time of Re", which talks about the Egyptian creation myth of the place where the earth rose above the waters of chaos in the beginning of Creation. The Temple of Philae has great importance for the Egyptians since, according to legend, when the God Osiris was killed by his brother, who scattered his body throughout the country, his wife Isis picked them up and took refuge in the Philae Island to rebuild it. When you visit these ancient stones, which tell mythological stories of great value, you will discover that you are facing one of the wonders of the Ancient times.

Then transfer to the M/S Steigenberger Royale cruise ship, to stay on board on a full board basis. Lunch, and in the afternoon departure to enjoy a romantic and relaxing felucca ride along the Nile, passing through the wonderful islands of the Nile.

Return to the boat, dinner and overnight on board in Aswan.

Free morning with the possibility of optionally visiting by cart the temples of Abu Simbel, which they call the eighth wonder of the World, Abu Simbel is one of the jewels of Egypt, a huge sanctuary dedicated to Pharaoh Ramses II who has managed to get the name of this Egyptian monarch endured for more than 3,000 years. Although the Temple of Ramses is the best known in Abu Simbel, the complex is made up of several buildings dedicated to the worship of the ancient gods and pharaohs. Today Abu Simbel continues to amaze visitors in the same way that he did at the time of its construction.

Return to the ship, lunch and then navigation to Kom Ombo. Then visit the Temple of Kom Ombo, which is an unusual double temple built during the reign of the Ptolemaic Dynasty, in the Egyptian city of Kom Ombo. In the period of Roman domination, some extensions were made. The construction is unique due to its double design, which means that there were duplicate entrances, courtyards, halls, chapels and shrines for two gods: Sobek and Haroeris. There we will also visit the museum of mummified crocodiles, some of the three hundred crocodile mummies discovered in the area are on display in this museum.

Then, navigation to Aswan. Dinner and night to enjoy the costume party. (Galabya ​​Party).

Breakfast and departure to visit in Calesas ^ Horse-drawn carriages ^ The Temple of Edfu (dedicated to the god Horus the Falcon, the best preserved in Egypt. The temple was built on much older ruins dating back to Ramses III, and was erected over one hundred and eighty years under a variety of rulers during the Ptolemaic Period in Egypt. This period represented a time of Greek rule; all pharaohs were descendants of Ptolemy, a general in Alexander the Great's army who took control of the region a few centuries before the construction of the temple. However, the temple embodies the traditional architecture of ancient Egypt and is largely free of Hellenistic influence. The temple itself is dedicated to the cult of the Egyptian god Horus, who was frequently fused with the Greek god Apollo. In fact, the city of Edfu was renamed Apollonópolis Magna during the Greco-Roman rule in Egypt. Several of the inscriptions found Thus in the temple of Edfu they describe what is known as the "Sacred Drama". The story describes the conflict between Horus, the deity of the fertile Egyptian lands near the Nile, and Seth, the deity of the surrounding Egyptian desert, as Horus seeks revenge for the murder of his father, Osiris. This story was recreated every year through ceremonies by the ancient Egyptians in the temple complex.

At the end of the visit, we return to the ship and we continue sailing towards Esna. When crossing the lock of Esna we will sail towards Luxor or formerly thebes; the city of a thousand gates and the capital of pharaonic Egypt during the new empire, where there is a third of the ancient monuments of the whole world. Luxor is an Egyptian town built on the ruins of the city of Thebes. Once we arrive, we will go to visit the Karnak temples, we will go to see the largest room in the world that exists in any religious complex, which is the colonnade room of the Karnak temple, which is made up of 134 columns. Probably the most spectacular thing about the temple is its hypostyle hall; with more than 5,000 square meters it contains 134 columns, of which the 12 central ones are wider and raised the roof, now destroyed, to 23 meters high. At the entrance of the temple, before crossing the first pylon, 40 ram-headed sphinxes will welcome you. It is the beginning of the Avenue of the Sphinxes that reached the Temple of Luxor and the Nile. The temple of Karnak, in Thebes, dedicated to Amun, was the main place of worship in Egypt since the New Kingdom. The photograph corresponds to the great hypostyle hall. Over more than two millennia, the pharaohs embellished Egypt's main cult center, dedicated to Amun, the great god of the new kingdom. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Karnak amazed researchers even though it was in ruins. More than four thousand years ago, Intef II, king of the 11th dynasty, began work on the temple of Amun-Re in Thebes, where the modern town of Karnak stands. It was the nucleus from which, during the next two thousand years, dozens of pharaohs were creating and remodeling one of the richest and most spectacular places of worship of antiquity, in which archaeologists have cataloged more than two hundred structures.

Return to the boat, then we go to the beautiful temple of Luxor when the sun goes down in the afternoon and they start to put the night lights there you will see that the temple impacts a lot with these lights. This is located in the city that bears his name and discovered in 1884, the Temple of Luxor is one of the most spectacular temples in Egypt and the most important monument in Luxor. The Temple of Luxor was built between 1400 and 1000 BC. by the pharaohs Amenhotep III and Ramses II, the first built the inner part and the second the outer enclosure, adding the façade, the colossi and the obelisks. The temple is 260 meters long and is dedicated to Amun (god of the wind). The temple has undergone many evolutions since, what was originally a temple of worship to the most important god of the Egyptian pantheon, Amun-Ra, was transformed over the years to house the worship of other deities. During the time at the entrance there are the two colossal statues of Ramses second together with the famous obelisk of the same pharaoh (brother of the one that is currently in the Place de La Concorde in Paris).

At the end, dinner and night on board.

Breakfast on board, departure to explore Luxor. There we will make 3 special stops that few people make. We will start with the Valley of the Nobles, where there are more than 500 tombs of high officials of the Theban government. Theban tombs used to have terracotta funerary cones placed at the entrance of the tomb chapels. During the New Kingdom of Egypt, they were inscribed with the title and name of the owner of the tomb, sometimes with little prayers. Of the 400 sets of cones recorded, only about 80 come from cataloged graves. It may lack the star energy of the Valley of the Kings and other hotspots in Luxor, but this neglected gem is well worth a visit. It is a cemetery on a rare scale, with hundreds of rock-embedded tombs, often richly decorated with frescoes depicting the working lives of its inhabitants. Only a fraction of the sites are accessible. Highlights include the tomb of Sennofer, the mayor of Thebes (present-day Luxor), with his charmingly painted vines, and the harvest scenes that accompany the astronomer Nakht on his eternal journey. One of the largest tombs belongs to the noble Ramose, offering the visitor a rare glimpse into life under Akhenaten, possibly the oldest of all rulers to embrace a monotheistic faith. The tombs of the nobles are called the Tombs of Qubbat El Hawa, in connection with the name of the Mountain of Qubbat el Hawa, which is a rocky mountain with a height of about 130 meters. Also these tombs date from the era of the Old and Middle states, and there are several tombs that date back to the era of the New Kingdom.

Then visit the Madinat Habu Temple, where the Mortuary Temple of Ramses III is located; It represents one of the most important religious buildings in Thebes. The temple was built in an intentional imitation of the Ramesseum and consists of 2 pylons, 2 courtyards and 3 hypostyle halls, as well as a jetty and a canal that connected it to the Nile, destined to carry out the religious processions by boat of the god . Then we will go flying on the wings of imagination 3500 years ago, to be able to imagine where the pharaohs had hidden their tombs that make up the famous Valley of the Kings (including 3 royal tombs). This valley is the necropolis of Egypt where many of the pharaohs of the New Kingdom are buried, today more than 63 tombs carved in the rocks have been discovered. Then visit the temple of Queen Hatchepsut, which is one of the most outstanding that we have in Egypt. At the same time, it is an unusual temple in the way it was built. The temple became a true marvel of the engineering of the ancient builders. Today, it is considered one of the most famous structures in ancient Egyptian architecture. We will finish our tour with a visit to the two colossi of Memnon -which represent Pharaoh Amenhotep III.

At the end transfer to the Sonesta St George hotel to stay on a bed and breakfast basis, overnight in Luxor.

Breakfast + lunch in a local restaurant. At the indicated time transfer to Luxor airport, to fly to Cairo, arrival and direct visit to the Egyptian Museum of Pharaonic art passing through all the masterpieces of the same Museum. This guards the largest collection of objects from the Ancient Egyptian era; possesses more than 136,000 classified objects from different eras of Egyptian history: Tinite, Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, New Kingdom, Third Intermediate Period, Late, Hellenistic and Roman, surpassing other museums not only for the quantity, but also for the importance of many of them. It is located in the center of Cairo, on Tahrir Square. The ground floor, entirely dedicated to sculpture, painted reliefs and sarcophagi, is dominated by the colossal statues of Amonhotep III and Queen Tie, located at the back of the great atrium. Tutankhamun's funeral trousseau is exhibited on the first floor: the mask and gold sarcophagi, the jewels, the golden throne, the alabaster crockery and the furniture. The collections on display are so rich that they cannot be visited in a single day. Since Napoleon's military campaign in Egypt, European interest in Egypt has been arousing into a veritable mania for the pharaonic and the ancient. During the early years of the 19th century, European consuls and treasure hunters explored the country, some in search of relics and monuments and others in search of gold and precious treasures.

At the end we will go to the Saladino Citadel where the Alabaster Mosque is and we will give a detailed conference on everything that is related to the Mosques. Food in a local restaurant. Next, visit the Khan El Khalili Market. No visit to Cairo is complete without a stop at Khan el Jalili Bazaar, where you will be transported back in time to an ancient Arab souk. The market is located in the heart of Islamic Cairo, in a walled area with a medieval air in which you can breathe the magnificence of Mamluk architecture, colorful bells, fabrics, handicrafts, jewelry, spices, perfumes, musical instruments and, of course, Egyptian souvenirs and gifts… in the narrow streets that form the Jan El Jalili market it is possible to find literally all kinds of shops. It is said that there are more than 900 positions. In most of the stalls they speak Spanish, at least as much as necessary to get the visitor's attention and haggle over the price. The works in copper are especially famous, in fact, "El Najaseen" is an area of ​​the market where the artisans of this metal are grouped. The merchants calling you to their stalls, the aroma of spices, the hubbub of the trade exchange, and the number of beautiful items you can buy will make you lose yourself in the alleys for hours.

Then transfer to the Intercontinental Cairo Semiramis hotel. Accommodation and night in Cairo.

Breakfast. At the scheduled time, transfer to the Cairo International Airport to take the flight back to your country of origin.

End of trip and our services.