Magic of Egypt

Nile Cruise – 5 days/4 nights

Meals: 4 breakfasts, 4 lunches, 4 dinners

Luxor to Aswan Movenpick M.S. Hamees 4 nights

DAY 1 (Monday) – Arrive Luxor to join your Nile

Cruise. Temples of Karnak and Luxor.

On arrival at Luxor Airport you will be met by a

representative of World Discovery and taken by private

car direct to the Movenpick Hamees for embarkation.

Lunch on board. As ancient Thebes, Luxor was the

capital of Egypt’s New Kingdom (1550-1069 BC) and

has attracted tourists and travellers since Greek and

Roman times with its incomparable wealth of

monuments. In the afternoon there are included visits to

the two great Pharaonic temples of the East Bank. The

vast temple complex of Karnak is quite simply

overwhelming, covering more than 100 acres. At its

heart lies the enormous Temple of Amun with its

colossal Hypostyle Hall of 137 columns and its sacred

lake. The XVIIIth Dynasty Temple of Luxor, located

close to the Nile in the centre of town, is built on a

smaller scale, but many consider it more beautiful than

Karnak. Approached through an avenue of sphinxes, the

temple contains some excellent reliefs and its

Colonnade of Amenophis III is renowned for the elegance of its giant papyrus columns.

Meals included: Lunch, afternoon tea, dinner.

DAY 2 (Tuesday) – Valley of the Kings and Western Thebes. Sail to Esna.

In the early morning cross the Nile to visit the magnificent archaeological remains of Western Thebes. You

will visit three tombs of the pharaohs in the famous Valley of the Kings (the selection of tombs open for

visiting varies from time to time). For an additional fee, payable on the spot, you may visit the most famous

tomb of all – that of the boy-king Tutankhamun, sensationally discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter. During

your morning on the Western bank of the Nile you will also visit the Valley of the Queens and the

monumental Temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari. Return to the Movenpick Hamees for lunch

and then enjoy a leisurely afternoon sailing on the Nile in the direction of Esna, where the ship will moor for

the night.

Meals included: Full breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner.

DAY 3 (Wednesday) – Temples of Edfu and Kom Ombo. Sail to Aswan.

Sail through the Esna Lock and continue to Edfu, where you will step ashore to visit the Temple of Horus,

the largest and best-preserved Ptolemaic temple in Egypt. The entrance to this awesome complex is

guarded by two elegant black granite statues of the falcon-god Horus, son of Osiris. Return to the Movenpick

Hamees and sail to Kom Ombo, whose unusual, totally symmetrical, temple is dedicated to two gods – the

falcon-god Haroeris (Horus the Elder) and Sobek, the crocodile god. The temple is in a beautiful setting

overlooking the Nile. Continue sailing to Aswan.

Meals included: Full breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner.

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DAY 4 (Thursday) - Aswan sightseeing including the Temple of Philae.

Sail in the morning to Aswan, gateway to Nubia, situated downriver from the First Cataract on the Nile. It was

here that the British built a dam between 1898 and 1902, but this was superseded by the Aswan High Dam,

constructed by President Nasser in the 1960s, resulting in the creation of Lake Nasser, the largest artificial

lake in the world. In the afternoon you will visit the High Dam, the Unfinished Obelisk in the Northern

Quarries, and also the superb Temple of Philae, rescued from the rising waters of the lake by UNESCO and

painstakingly reconstructed on its own new island. Philae was the centre of the cult of Isis, and the

magnificent Temple of Isis dominates the site. In the afternoon enjoy a felucca sail on the Nile. Overnight in

Aswan.

Meals included: Full breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner.

DAY 5 (Friday) – Disembark. Depart.

Your Nile cruise on the Movenpick Hamees ends this morning. An optional excursion by air may be taken to

visit the incredible temples at Abu Simbel on the shores of Lake Nasser. A private transfer is provided.

Depart for home or extend your stay in Egypt.

Meals included: Full breakfast.