13 Days Egypt tour Cairo, El Minya and Luxor & Aswan

Pyramids of Giza

The pyramids of Giza are the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still preserved today and therefore one of the most famous buildings in the world. The pyramids of Giza include the three main pyramids, the Pyramid of Cheops, the Pyramid of Chephren and the Pyramid of Mykerinus.

The queen Pyramids

some other smaller secondary pyramids, in which for example the women of the pharaohs were buried, as well as workers villages, temples, and cemeteries.

The Sphinx of Giza

The Sphinx Giza is the largest Egyptian sculpture. It was carved out of the limestone rock of the Giza Plateau and represents a lying lion with a human head and the so-called Nemes headscarf. Originally, the sphinx was painted with reddish ochre and also had a chin beard, but this fell off in ancient times.

Grand Egyptian Museum

It began in 2002, after an international architectural competition called for to design a new museum that would include valuable Egyptian archaeological finds.

Lunch

We will take a break and take the opportunity to eat and recharge. Lunch will be at a restaurant and Egyptian food (drinks not included).

Bazaar khan el khalili

After visiting the Egyptian Museum go see the beautiful Khan El-Khalili famous souq Cairo main market. Its always crowded with tourists and locals alike. It is the beating heart of the Egyptian metropolis. Lose yourself in the various bazaars where you will really find everything and buy some nice local handicrafts.

Baron Empain Palace

If you like the very old architecture, you should go to Baron Empain Palace This reinforced concrete palace in Hindu style and inspired by the temple of Angkor Wat detonates in the Cairo landscape. Designed by a French architect, it was inhabited by a Belgian industrialist who came to Egypt for a railway project. Many stories surround this residence and it is said that it is still haunted by the baron. Then Proceed to have your lunch at a local restaurant.

Babylon Fortress

The Babylon Fortress date of foundation is unknown, although it is known that it already existed a hundred years before Christ
The walls of the fortress, reinforced by the Roman emperors, are 3 meters thick and the towers are 10 meters high and 31 meters in diameter.

Hanging Church

Hanging Church is the most famous church in the Coptic Quarter. it’s known as the Hanging Church because it is built over one of the gates of the Roman fortress, The wooden dome of the church is in the shape of Noah’s Ark, as described in the Old Testament.

Abu Sarga Church

It’s the oldest church in Egypt. It was built in the 5th century over the cave where it is believed, the Holy Family took refuge for several days. It is dedicated to Saints Sergius and Bacchus, part of whose relics are kept in this church.

Saint Barbara Church

It is a church of great historical importance, which was originally dedicated to Saint Cyrus and Saint John. From the 13th century onwards it was dedicated to Saint Barbara as her relics came to this church. It houses some of the oldest and rarest icons of Coptic art.

Ben Ezra’s Synagogue

it was originally a church, but in the 9th century, it was sold to Abraham Ben Ezra, who gave it his name, to get the money needed to pay the high taxes demanded by the Roman government.

Mosque of Amr ibn al-As

The Mosque of Amr ibn al-As in the oldest mosque on the African continent. Its origins date back to the year 642 when the territory of Cairo was occupied by Fustat, the capital of Egypt which at that time had been recently founded.

After this, you will be transferred to your hotel in Cairo.

The High Dam

The Aswan Dam is a 20th-century mega-construction, completed in 1970 and built to save Egypt from the annual flooding caused by the Nile, the world’s longest river.

The Unfinished Obelisk

Our next stop will be the Unfinished Obelisk, located in a red granite quarry that was exploited during the time of Queen Hatshepsut. This obelisk was designed to be the largest obelisk in ancient Egypt, with a height of 42 meters and a weight of 1,200 tons.

Philae Temple

You will go to Philae Island, between the old and the new Aswan Dam, where the beautiful Philae Temple is located. This temple is dedicated to the goddess Isis and is one of the 4 places where the legend of Isis, Osiris, and Horus takes place.

After finishing your visit, our Egyptologist tour guide will take you to your hotel in Aswan. overnight in Aswan.

Temples of Abu Simbel

Abu Simbel, the famous complex composed of two temples carved into the rock, one dedicated to Ramses II and another to Nefertari, his first wife, and his favorite. It took about 20 years to build and was done under the reign of Ramses II. The state of conservation of the temples is excellent since they were buried under the sand until the 19th century.

The most spectacular aspect of this temple is its location on the solid rock on the banks of the Nile River, between the first and second waterfalls. As impressive as Abu Simbel, he probably would be as famous if it weren’t for his move to the Aswan Dam building.

Our guided tour will last 2 hours, enough time to discover every corner of both temples and learn all their stories and anecdotes, such as why they are kept in pristine condition, how they moved from place to place, and what Egypt did in exchange for international aid.

After enjoying this tour you will return to Aswan.

overnight in Aswan

Edfu temple

Edfu temple dedicated to the God Horus. It is one of the best-preserved temples in Egypt and the most important after Karnak Edfu temple t remained hidden under the sand for centuries until the French archaeologist Auguste Mariette rediscovered it in the mid-19th century.

Kom Ombo temple

On the banks of the Nile River, stands the Temple of Kom Ombo, from the Ptolemaic era, a unique temple, the only double temple in ancient Egypt, where the falcon god Horus and the god Sobek the temple of Kom Ombo, Egypt, is of great interest because it is one of the most important sanctuaries of the Pharaonic era dedicated to Sobek. This crocodile-headed god was the deity of the Nile and according to some myths, the creator of the whole world.

After finishing your visit, our Egyptologist tour guide will take you to your hotel in Luxor. overnight in Luxor.

Karnak Temple

Temple of Karnak, is considered the largest in the world, and has monuments dating from the twenty-first century BC, as well as many others covering the seventh century AD. In other words, almost 3,000 years of history in a single temple.

Luxor Temple

Temple of Luxor, was built by Amenhotep III and later expanded by Ramses II, and is the only temple with pharaonic, Greco-Roman, Coptic and Muslim monuments.

After finishing your visit, our Egyptologist tour guide will take you to your hotel in Luxor. overnight in Luxor.

The Valley of the Kings

Valley of the Kings, where the magnificent tombs were discovered, those tombs were dug into the desert rock, richly decorated and full of treasures for the afterlife of the pharaohs, you will visit 3 tombs

Temple of Queen Hatshepsut

Continue the tour to visit the temple of Hatshepsut in El Deir El Bahary, this impressive temple dedicated to Queen Hatshepsut, the only female pharaoh who rises from the desert plain in a series of terraces and merges with the limestone cliffs that surround it.

Colossi of Memnon

Colossi of Memnon are two massive stone statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III and the reason behind building them was protecting the mortuary temple of Pharaoh Amenhotep III.

After finishing your visit, our Egyptologist tour guide will take you to your hotel in Luxor. overnight in Luxor.

Temple of Abydos

In Abydos, we will enter its famous temple, erected by Seti I in honor of Osiris. In this temple not only are represented important scenes of the life of Seti I and Ramses II, but is where the famous royal lists, with the names of the 77 kings of Egypt from Menes to Seti I himself.
Abydos was the religious center of the greater pilgrimage of Egypt. Here were represented the & Mysteries of Osiris, an afterlife ceremony in which the death and resurrection of the god were reproduced.

Temple of Dendera

The Temple of Dendera is dedicated to the goddess Hathor and its construction, which began in the time of Nectanebo I, continued until Roman times. The temple contains twelve decorated crypts, two hypostyle rooms, and two funeral chapels. The “zodiac” of the Louvre Museum comes from one of these chapels.

After making the last stop at the temple where Isis was born, we will leave Dendera to drive back to Luxor.

Saqqara pyramid

We will Move to Saqqara, a pyramid complex that, like Giza, is part of the necropolis of Memphis. There we will see one of the first pyramids built, which served as a model for all those that were built later. The step pyramid of Zoser has a rectangular base and is about 60 meters high, and was part of a ceremonial complex built around 2650 BC for the Pharaoh Zoser by Imhotep, the most famous Egyptian architect.
Then Proceed to have your lunch at a local restaurant.

Lunch

At the end of the visit to Saqqara, we will take a break and take the opportunity to eat and recharge. Lunch will be at a restaurant and Egyptian food (drinks not included).

Ancient Memphis Egypt

After Saqqara, we will undertake the last part of our excursion. We will head to Memphis, capital of the Old Empire between 3100 and 2040 BC, and the coronation site of all the pharaohs of the Empire.
According to tradition, Memphis was founded by Narmer, considered the first pharaoh. The city is located in the Nile Delta, right between Upper and Lower Egypt, the two regions into which the country was divided. In 1820, a huge statue of one of the most famous pharaohs, Ramses II, who ruled from 1279 to 1213 BC, was found in the Great Temple of Ptah near Memphis. The colossus, carved from pink granite, is more than 11 meters high and weighs more than 80 tons. For a time it was located in the center of Cairo, but erosion seriously damaged it and it was moved to Memphis, where it is exhibited in a covered area, to protect it.

beni hasan tombs

You will head to the necropolis of Beni Hassan. Here we will discover the 39 tombs carved into the rock and is an example of the greatness of the monarchs. The tombs were intended for the princes and high officials of the dynasty that lived in this part of Egypt. Throughout the visit we will know all the details and curiosities of Beni Hassan.

Tell el-Amarna

We will continue our tour visiting Tell el-Amarna or Amarna, the ancient Egyptian city of Akhetaten (or Akhetaton).

After finishing your visit, our Egyptologist tour guide will take you to your hotel in Cairo. overnight in Cairo.

Prince Mohamed Ali Palace (Al Manial Palace)

This palace was built by Prince Muhammad Ali, one of the great Egyptian figures. The palace, now a museum, is divided into 6 structures: the reception palace, the clock tower, the mosque, the hunting museum, the presidential palace, and the private museum. It is beautifully decorated and is surrounded by a beautiful garden.

Garbage city Cairo

Dug in 1976 in the Mokattam Mountain, it is the largest church in Egypt, and even in the Middle East with a capacity of 20000 people. Every Sunday, the Christians of Cairo meet there. To get to the monastery, you have to cross the Zabbaleen district, a district entirely dedicated to the waste management of the capital and where the garbage collectors live. A rather strong smell is therefore present in the surroundings. It couldn’t be more authentic! From the heights of the Mokattam Mountain, you will have a beautiful panorama of Cairo.

City of the Dead

The City of the Dead is like a city in a cemetery… or a graveyard in a city. The inhabitants live among the graves, so much so that the mausoleums look like houses. Then Proceed to have your lunch at a local restaurant.

Lunch

We will take a break and take the opportunity to eat and recharge. Lunch will be at a restaurant and Egyptian food (drinks not included).

The Islamic Quarter

This is one of my favorite parts of Cairo: the historic district. You will find many historical monuments in Moez Street: mosques, Islamic schools, palaces, hammam.

After this, you will be transferred to your hotel in Cairo.