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Egypt & the Nile at Christmas and New Year
13 days from £1799
The Sphinx, Giza
Giza
Cairo
" 5-star accommodation " Full programme of included excursions " Enjoy Son et Lumiere at the Pyramids on New Years Eve
Egypt is the gift of the Nile, said Herodotus. Five thousand years later and this ancient river remains almost unchanged. Relax on board your luxury 5-star cruiser as you sail from Aswan to Luxor, site of ancient Thebes and the extraordinary Valley of the Kings. As part of your holiday youll also see the Citadel of Saladin at Cairo and experience an awe-inspiring New Year's Eve at the incredible pyramids of Giza.
ItInerary 21 DeCeMBer London/Cairo Fly to Cairo and transfer to your 5-star hotel. 22 DeCeMBer Luxor A direct flight takes you to Luxor where you transfer to your 5-star cruiser moored on the banks of the Nile. You spend tonight in Luxor. 23 DeCeMBer Luxor Luxor is in view on the east bank of the Nile, beckoning you to visit the massive Temple of Karnak. This huge and breathtaking religious complex includes a vast hypostyle hall made up of 134 gigantic columns, an avenue of sphinxes, dramatic obelisks and a sacred lake. Your day also includes the chance to see the Temple of Luxor, built beside the river between 1400 -1250 BC. We then leave Luxor and sail to Esna. CHrIStMaS eVe edfu An unforgettable visit to Edfu Temple, dedicated to the hawk god Horus, is the highlight of todays trip. Remarkable for its towering pylon or gateway, Edfu dates from 237 BC and is the most complete and best-preserved Egyptian temple. Escape from the afternoon heat for lunch on board as we sail to Kom Ombo. CHrIStMaS Day Feluccas on the nile We sail towards Aswan, an enigmatic city built around the Nile Gorges and much favoured by wealthy Victorians who sought to escape cold winters. After lunch on board the ship we climb aboard feluccas, the traditional sailing craft of the Nile, enjoying the views of the city as we sail past (subject to weather conditions). Highlights include lush botanical gardens, the Mausoleum of the Agha Khan and the imposing Elephantine Island - named after huge black rocks that resemble bathing elephants. BOXInG Day aswan Todays excursion takes us to High Dam at Aswan, an extraordinary feat of engineering built to hold back the powerful waters of Lake Nasser and the Nile floods. The tour also includes the Aswan Quarry and a mammoth unfinished obelisk, which was abandoned when a flaw was discovered in the stone. We also see the awe-inspiring Temple of Philae, rescued stone by stone from the rising waters of Lake Nasser and painstakingly reassembled on an island in the lake. 27 DeCeMBer Kom Ombo As we sail to Edfu and Kom Ombo well have time to visit the Temple of Haroeris and Sobek, dramatically sited on a promontory in the river. The twin entrances make this temple unique and lead to double sanctuaries and separated halls.
Funerary mask of Tutankhamun
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