6-day Nile cruise and Cairo package departing Marsa Alam

A representative collects you from your hotel in Marsa Alam , then transfers you to Aswan to board your Nile cruise ship. Lunch is served on board as the journey continues. Explore Aswan, including the temple of Philae and a felucca sail around Elephantine, plus the High Dam and the Unfinished Obelisk. 1 ►❤ Phiala temple: raised in honor of the goddess Isis, this was the last temple built in the classical Egyptian style, construction beginning around 690 BC as one of the final outposts where the goddess was worshipped. 2 ►❤ The High Dam: Aswan's High Dam is a rock-fill dam on the northern border between Egypt and Sudan, fed by the Nile, its reservoir forming Lake Nasser. Construction began in 1960 and finished in 1968, with an official inauguration in 1971. 3►❤ The Unfinished Obelisk: Aswan supplied ancient Egypt's finest granite for statues and for adorning temples, pyramids, and obelisks. The immense unfinished obelisk in the Northern Quarries offers valuable clues to how such monuments came together, though the full building process remains partly unclear. Three faces of the shaft, close to 42m long, were finished apart from the inscriptions; at 1168 tonnes, the completed piece would have been the single heaviest stone the Egyptians ever worked. 12:00 lunch on board the cruise
Dinner and overnight on board

Breakfast and lunch are served on board. An early excursion takes you to Abu Simbel from Aswan. 1►❤ Abu Simbel temples: the two temples of Ramses II and Queen Nefertari were hewn from the mountainside on the Nile's west bank between 1274 and 1244 BC. The Great Temple was dedicated to Ramses II, Ra-Harakhty, Amun Ra, and Ptah, guarded by 4 colossal statues; the second honored Queen Nefertari and the goddess Hathor. Both temples were later dismantled stone by stone and rebuilt on higher ground, a preservation feat that ranks among UNESCO's greatest achievements. 13:00 sail on to Kom Ombo. 2 ►❤ The temple of Kom Ombo: the temple and its associated settlement sit 40 km north of Aswan, dedicated to the deities Sobek and Horus and dating mostly from the Ptolemaic and Roman periods (332 BC-395 AD). Sail on to Edfu for an overnight stay.
Dinner and overnight aboard the cruise ship

Breakfast is served aboard the Nile cruise, then a visit to Edfu awaits. 1 ►❤ Edfu temple : an Upper Egyptian site dominated by a large, well-preserved temple dedicated to the hawk-god Horus. Construction of the Ptolemaic temple, founded on the site of a far older shrine, dates to the period around Ptolemy III's reign (246 BC). Wall carvings depict the myth of the contest between Horus and Seth, likely re-enacted yearly as religious theater. Sail on to Luxor through the Esna lock and visit Luxor temple. 2 ►❤ Luxor Temple: largely built by New Kingdom Pharaoh Amenhotep III and completed by King Tutankhamon and the great King Ramses II. The first pylon was raised by Ramses II and decorated with scenes of his Battle of Kadesh. Dinner and overnight aboard the cruise.
Galabyia party.

Breakfast is served aboard the Nile cruise, then explore the west bank of Luxor and Karnak 1 ►❤ The Valley of the Kings: once called the great Place of Truth, this valley, now known as the Valley of the Kings, is a majestic domain of the pharaohs who once lay in great stone sarcophagi awaiting immortality. The isolated valley behind Deir el Bahri is dominated by a pyramid-shaped mountain peak. 2 ►❤ The Colossi of Memnon: massive twin statues known as the Colossi of Memnon, rising some 18 m from the plain, are all that remains of what was once the largest complex on the west bank, built by Amenhotep III. 3 ►❤ The Queen Hatshepsut temple: rising from the desert plain in a series of terraces, the temple of Hatshepsut merges with sheer limestone cliffs on the eastern face of the Theban Mountain, as though nature herself had built this extraordinary monument. 4 ►❤ Karnak temple: Karnak is far more than a temple - it's a spectacular complex of sanctuaries, kiosks, pylons, and obelisks, all dedicated to the Theban gods and to the greater glory of Egypt`s pharaohs. Karnak was the foremost place of worship for the Theban Triad (Amun, Mut, and Khonso).
Lunch is served in Luxor - transfer to your Luxor hotel, the Nile Palace Steigenberger, after disembarking the cruise. Overnight in Luxor

Transfer from your hotel in Luxor to Luxor airport, then fly to Cairo, where your guide will meet you. 1 ►❤ Visit the Pyramids of Giza : first, you'll tour the Giza pyramids - Cheops , Chephren & Mykerinos. Having seen the famous pyramids, head over to the Valley Temple . Along the way, take a closer look at the Great Sphinx, the legendary guardian standing beside the vast funerary complex with its lion's body and the head of King Chephren. Those who prefer may enter the great or small pyramid or ride a camel, though these are not included in the tour price. Continue your day with a visit to the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities. 2 ►❤ Visit the Egyptian Museum : it displays the world's largest and most precious collection of Egyptian art, showcasing a rare assembly of over 250,000 genuine artifacts dating back as far as 5000 years, including an exclusive exhibit devoted to Tutankhamen - treasures, gold, and jewelry buried in his tomb for over 3,500 years before their discovery in 1920. Should you wish to see the royal mummies' hall, ask your guide to arrange a visit to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization at your own cost (approximately 200 Egyptian pounds). The New Grand Museum is not yet open, with its debut expected in 2022.
Overnight in Cairo

Your Egyptologist guide collects you from your hotel in Giza for a fantastic 8-hour orientation tour of Cairo, taking in the major monuments of Old Cairo along with the maze of streets and stalls that make up the historic Khan El Khalili Bazaar. You'll drive up to the Saladin Citadel. 1 ►❤ The Citadel of Sultan Salah El-Dein, raised by Salah al-Din on the Moqattam hills in 1183 AD as a defense against Crusader armies. Prized for its fresh air and sweeping Cairo views, it's now a preserved historic complex of mosques and museums, including the Mosque of Muhammad Ali Pasha. 2 ►❤The Mosque of Mohamed Ali: designed by the Turkish architect Yousif Boushnaq, who journeyed from Istanbul especially to raise this great building, its alabaster structure stands in beautiful contrast against the city's sandstone. Lunch follows at a local restaurant in Old Cairo. 3 ►❤Old Cairo: visit key sights including the Hanging Church, the Ben Ezra Synagogue, the Church of St. Barbara, and the Church of Abu Serga, among the oldest Coptic churches in Cairo. Continue to the Khan el-Khalili Bazaar, one of the oldest bazaars in the Middle East, at the heart of Cairo's trading activity since the 14th century. Return to your hotel for the night in Cairo, then fly back to Hurghada at 19:00, arriving at 20:00 before being transferred to your hotel in Marsa Alam