Precious Journeys Egypt with Jordan

Day 1:  Arrive Cairo, Egypt
Welcome to Egypt, home of the Nile and the great pyramids.  Four Seasons Cairo At Nile Plaza - Deluxe Room

Day 2:  Cairo
Drive through lush date palm groves to the pyramids of Giza.  Guarded by the mighty Sphinx and listed among the Seven Wonders of the World, much about these soaring structures still remains an enigma.  You will also visit the Solar Boat Museum and venture out on a camel ride from the Giza Plateau to the base of the Pyramid of Menkaure.  Delve further into old Coptic Cairo with visits to the Church of St. Sergius and Ben Ezra Synagogue, built on a site where legend holds the baby Moses was found in the bulrushes.  Take in the hilltop Citadel with its grand city views and ethereal Mohammed Ali Mosque.  Then stroll with your guide through the Khan El Khalili, a vibrant warren of shops where you can bargain for rugs, copper and leather crafts, perfumes, and other goods both exotic and familiar.  Four Seasons Cairo At Nile Plaza - Deluxe Room (B,L)

Day 3:  Cairo / Aswan / Nile
Depart on a flight to one of the great wonders of human history – the colossal Abu Simbel.  Carved into a mountain, it was relocated to its current location in 1965 through an unmatched engineering feat to save it from submersion by the Aswan High Dam project.  Board your ship for your three-night Nile cruise.  Visit the graceful island Temple of Philae, the monumental High Dam, and the Unfinished Obelisk in the granite quarries of the pharaohs.  Sonesta Star Goddess – Beethoven Suite (B,L,D)

Day 4:  Nile River
Sail to Kom Ombo to explore the temple honoring two gods Horus and Sobek.  The 'double' design meant that there were courts, halls, sanctuaries and rooms duplicated for the two gods.  The southern half of the temple was dedicated to Sobek, god of fertility, while the northern section was dedicated to the Horus, also known as Horus the Elder.  Visit the Temple of Edfu located on the West Bank of the Nile known in Greco-Roman times as Apollonopolis Magna, after the chief god Horus-Apollo.  Built in the Ptolemaic period between 237 and 57 BCE, Edfu features inscriptions on its walls from the Greco-Roman period in ancient Egypt.  Sonesta Star Goddess – Beethoven Suite (B,L,D)

Day 5: Nile River / Luxor
Sail to Luxor, and spend an incredible day in ancient Thebes, known for its Middle Kingdom’s glorious temples and tombs.  This morning tour the great Luxor and Karnak Temples, which evolved over a period of a thousand years.  Enjoy a sound and light show at magnificent Karnak temple.  Sonesta Star Goddess – Beethoven Suite (B,L,D)

Day 6:  Luxor
Tour the West Bank – the Colossi of Memnon, Queen Hatshepsut’s Temple and the staggering Valleys of the Kings & Queens, where you enter the richly decorated tombs, hidden for centuries in the stark desert sands.  Discover the magnificent temple of Karnak.  Sonesta St George Hotel - Front Room (B,L)

Day 7:  Luxor / Cairo
Fly back to Cairo and enjoy a city tour, beginning your exploration at the world-acclaimed Museum of Antiquities.  The 300-year reign of the pharaohs is vividly brought to life in the wealth of art and artifacts here, including the Tutankhamen Collection of golden tomb artifacts; and exhibits of small, lifelike statuary from the early dynasties.  You will visit the fascinating Mummy Room.  Four Seasons Cairo At Nile Plaza – Deluxe Room (B,L)

Day 8:  Cairo / Amman, Jordan
This morning, you fly to Jordan’s capital city of Amman to enjoy a complimentary three-day stay in Jordan.  Upon arrival, you will be welcomed and transferred to your Dead Sea hotel.  Remainder of the day you are free to enjoy the amenities of your resort.  Kempinski Hotel Ishtar Dead Sea (B)

Day 9:  Amman / Mababa / Petra
Head south along the 5,000-year-old King’s Highway, a memorable journey that passes through a string of ancient sites.  The first city along the way is Madaba, the "city of mosaics," which has been intermittently inhabited for nearly 3,500 years.  The chief attraction is a wonderfully vivid, sixth-century Byzantine mosaic map showing Jerusalem and other holy sites.  Hundreds of other mosaics are scattered throughout Madaba's churches and homes.  Then travel on to one of the most spectacular man-made sites in the region – the rose city of Petra.  A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Petra is the legacy of the Nabateans, an industrious Arab people who settled in south Jordan more than 2,000 years ago.  Much of Petra's appeal comes from its spectacular setting deep inside a narrow desert gorge.  From the main entrance, the visitor travels on foot through the awesome "SIQ", an immense crack in the sandstone that winds for one kilometer between overhanging cliffs.  Petra's most famous monument, the Treasury, appears dramatically at the end of the Siq.  Various walks and climbs reveal literally hundreds of buildings, facades, tombs, baths, funerary halls, temples and a 3,000-seat-theater from the first century AD.  Movenpick Resort Petra (B)

Day 10:  Petra / Amman / Depart
Today you travel to Amman’s international airport for your onward flight.  (B)