Classic Egypt with Sonesta Cruise

Day 1: CAIRO
Arrival at Cairo airport, reception by a local representative and transfer to the hotel for accommodation for 2 nights, with breakfast.


Day 2: CAIRO
After breakfast at the hotel, full-day city tour. Visit one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: the great Pyramids of Giza. A single pyramid is built with 2,300,000 blocks, each weighing an average of two and a half tons. Not far from the pyramids is the Sphinx of Giza, which dates back to the time of Chephren (2620 BC). Built in natural yellowish limestone and measuring 20 meters high and 60 meters long, this unforgettable statue combines the head of a pharaoh with the body of a lion.

Visit to the Egyptian Museum, built by the Egyptian government in 1835. The current museum building was built in 1900 in the classic style of the architect Marcel Dourgnon. The museum has collections that exceed 120,000 objects, from the prehistoric era to the Greco-Roman period.


Day 3: CAIRO/LUXOR - NILE RIVER CRUISE
Breakfast, check-out at the hotel and transfer to the airport for boarding to Luxor. Disembark and transfer to the port for boarding a cruise along the Nile River. Accommodation for 4 nights, with full board (excluding drinks).

In the afternoon, visit the Luxor Temple. Built largely by Amenhotep III and Ramses II, the temple served as a setting for rituals that were performed to reconcile the human aspect of the ruler with his divine office.

Continuation to the Karnak Temple, erected in 1928 BC as a small sanctuary dedicated to Amun, the god of Thebes at the time. Karnak comprises three main temples, smaller enclosed temples, and several external temples - all built over 1,300 years. The three main temples of Mut, Monthu, and Amun are surrounded by enormous brick walls, with the temple of Amon at the center. Karnak is the largest and oldest temple complex.


Day 4: NILE RIVER CRUISE
After breakfast, visit the Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, and the Colossi of Memnon.

• Valley of the Kings: located on the ancient site of Thebes, it is a cemetery where many of the New Empire's rulers were buried.
• Queen Hatshepsut Temple: also known as Deir el Bahri, it is dedicated to Amun-Ra, the sun god. Designed by the architect Senemut, the temple is unique in that it was designed according to classical architecture. The temple reliefs recount the legend of Hatshepsut's divine birth and the commercial expeditions to the land of Punt (a modern reference to Somalia or the Arabian Peninsula).
• Colossi of Memnon: two gigantic statues of Amenhotep III. Each colossus is about 21 meters tall and represents King Amenhotep III on his throne. Legend has it that after the damage caused by an earthquake in 27 BC, one of the statues made strange noises at dawn, because the humidity of the night evaporated at sunrise. However, its restoration in 193-211 AD caused the phenomenon to disappear.
  
  

Return to the cruise and sail to Edfu.


Day 5: NILE RIVER CRUISE
After breakfast, visit the Temple of Horus, the second largest temple in Egypt. It took about 200 years to complete its construction. Thanks to the preserved hieroglyphics in good condition, some issues related to the cult of Horus and its associated temples were clarified. The temple is believed to have been built where the great battle between Horus and Seth was fought.

Return to the cruise, sail to Kom Ombo and lunch on board.

In the late afternoon, visit the Kom Ombo Temple, dedicated to the gods Sobek and Horus. Built on the banks of the Nile River where crocodiles used to stay in ancient times, the temple is an example of the importance that the priests of Ancient Egypt attached to the natural circles and the Nile crocodiles.

Sailing towards Aswan.


Day 6: NILE RIVER CRUISE
Arrival in Aswan in the morning and, after breakfast, visit the largest landfill dam in the world, built along the Nile in Aswan between 1960 and 1970. The construction of the Aswan High Dam became one of the government's main objectives after the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. With the capacity to better control floods, provide water for irrigation, and generate hydroelectricity, the dam was considered fundamental to the planned industrialization of Egypt.

Visit to the Philae Temple, dedicated to the goddess Isis. The temple was relocated by UNESCO to an island when the construction of the Aswan Dam threatened the site where it originally stood.

The next stop is the Unfinished Obelisk, which was found in a granite quarry in the southern part of the city of Aswan. If completed, the obelisk would have been the largest piece of stone that humans have ever worked. Dating back to the New Kingdom, it documents the process of building obelisks in ancient Egypt.

In the afternoon, departure for a felucca ride along the Nile.


Day 7: NILE RIVER CRUISE - ASWAN/CAIRO
After breakfast on board, check-out and disembarkation in Aswan. Transfer to the airport to board a flight to Cairo. Arrival and transfer to the hotel for accommodation for 1 night, with breakfast.


Day 8: CAIRO
Breakfast, check-out and transfer to the airport.