Passage Through Egypt - Nile River Cruise

Arrive in Cairo and transfer to the Nile Ritz-Carlton, your home for the next two nights. The hotel has a prime location along the Nile in the heart of this great city, and your room will face the Nile (with the Pyramids visible in the distance, weather permitting).

After a morning welcome briefing, we start the day exploring the most iconic and mysterious of all things in Egypt: the Pyramids and Sphinx complex in Giza. Among the seven wonders of the ancient world, only the Pyramids of Giza have survived. The magnificent Pyramid of Cheops was built from over two million blocks of stone and took tens of thousands of workers twenty years to build. Nearby is the great Sphinx, carved out of a single massive piece of stone, showing the Pharaoh Chefren’s head on the body of a lion. You’ll have the chance to go inside the Great Pyramid, following the narrow passageway of the Grand Gallery to the burial chamber of Cheops. Your Egyptologist will regail you with stories and details of the site's construction while your Certified Photography Instructor will be on hand to ensure you get the perfect photos. Marvel at the Solar Boat, built about 2500 BC for the Pharoah Khufu’s use in the afterworld. You'll have the chance to ride a camel if you wish.

The treasures of Egypt are vast and the stuff of legend. No trip to Egypt would be complete without expertly-guided visits of amazing collections. Tour the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), scheduled to open in early 2022, which holds an almost endless collection of some of the greatest masterpieces ever crafted, including the treasures of Tutankhamun, the brightly painted limestone sculptures of Prince Rahotep and Princess Nofret, the bizarre relief of Akhenaten, and pharaoh mummies including Ramses II. Note: If the GEM is not opened as scheduled, we will instead visit the Antiquities Museum which houses a grand collection of ancient marvels, and is scheduled to close when the GEM opens.

Enjoy a change of pace today as you explore some of Cairo’s greatest architecture and monuments to Islam, interpreted and brought to life by your Egyptologist through stories and personal experiences. Among the sites you'll visit is the Ottoman-era Muhammad Ali Mosque, completed in 1848. It occupies a commanding position overlooking Cairo from atop the Citadel, and its five domes can be seen throughout the city. Continue to the mosque of Sultan Hassan, built between 1356 and 1363 during the Bahri Mamluk period. Renowned for its size and use of unorthodox architectural elements, the Sultan Hassan mosque and madrassa is considered one of the best examples of Islamic art in Cairo. We have lunch at a local restaurant, then explore the Khan el Khalili bazaar, a maze of streets with thousands of shops selling everything from filigreed silverwork to camel saddles. (B,L,D)

Fly via private charter flight to Luxor, in Upper Egypt, where we’ll visit Karnak Temple. For 2,000 years some 30 pharaohs added their own monuments and shrines to this vast temple. The 134 columns of the great hall create a forest of stone 70 feet high, while the towering obelisk of Queen Hatshepsut shadows the rear of the temple. The reliefs and carvings, created by some of Ancient Egypt’s finest artisans, are dramatic. We’ll then embark the elegant, privately chartered Oberoi Philae, our home for the next six nights, in time for lunch. Onboard you will find spacious cabins, warm public areas and a welcoming Egyptian crew offering impeccable service.

We start the day sailing through some of Upper Egypt's most stunning scenery to arrive at the remote temple of Dendera, constructed during the time of the Roman emperors, noted for its dramatic columns and magnificent ceilings. The reliefs on the temple walls depict the empress Cleopatra. Hundreds of years of black soot was delicately removed to reveal the stunning and colorful artwork beneath, considered among the finest in all Egypt.

Rise early for an optional hot air balloon ride and a panoramic view of the Luxor area. This morning we will cross the Nile to the fabled West Bank and Valley of the Kings, burial ground for hundreds of years to Egypt's greatest pharaohs. Explore and photograph the tombs of Set I and Tutankhamun. Visit the Valley of the Queens and the most remarkable tomb of them all: that of Nefertari. Vivid paintings show the queen's beauty and depict her journey to the afterlife in exquise color and quality found nowhere else in Egypt. See the temple of Hatshepsut, dramatically set beneath sandstone cliffs.

Walk to the nearby Temple of Khnum, which lies beneath the contemporary town of Esna and has not been fully excavated. Your Egyptologist will explain how silt from centuries of the Nile's annual floods buried the temple, which sits below street level. Walk back to the ship through the narrow streets of Esna, talking with locals, sharing stories and smiles, and learning about everyday Egyptian small-town life. Enjoy more time onboard where you can relax, dip into the ship's library of Egyptian history, or take a cool swim in the pool. Presentations and Recap onboard will cover Egyptology as well as modern Egypt plus photo instruction that take into account the sites and lighting you are experiencing. We overnight in Kom Ombo, just under the riverside temple. (B,L,D)

Set strikingly atop a hill overlooking the Nile we will visit Kom Ombo, built during the Ptolemaic era, dedicated to two gods—hawk-headed Haroeris and crocodile headed Sobek. It is richly decorated, and even has a hieroglyphic calendar. Stand on deck as we approach Aswan, a glorious location on the Nile, backed by hills, with granite rocks protruding from the riverbed and sailboats (called feluccas) plying the water. It is just downstream of the northernmost Nile cataract, which historically made it a frontier town and trading center with Nubia. This afternoon we visit the fine Nubian Museum where you’ll learn about the Nubian history and culture of Upper Egypt, as well as the architectural marvel that is Abu Simbel. We will end the day with High Tea at the legendary Old Cataract Hotel, from where commanding views of the Nile and Elephantine are sure to please. This evening enjoy a Nubian cultural show onboard Oberoi Philae. (B,L,D)

This morning we visit the lovely Temple of Isis on the island of Philae, from which the Oberoi Philae gets its name. In Greek, Philae means "the end" and the island was aptly named due to its border with ancient Nubia. Like Abu Simbel, the Temple of Isis would have been lost to the floods caused by the building of the High Dam if not painstakingly dismantled, moved and reconstructed at its present location. Visit a granite quarry to learn about how massive obelisks and other structures were carefully cut from solid rock and transported to the river for sailing the Nile. Get a good look at an unfinished obelisk on site. This afternoon enjoy a relaxing sail on a traditional felucca as the Nubian crew sing local songs and show you the beauty of the cataracts in the afternoon light. (B,L,D)

Disemark Oberoi Philae and fly by private-charter to southern Nubia and the remarkable site of Abu Simbel, on a sun-baked island in the azure waters of Lake Nasser. Two temples are found here; one large, dedicated to Ramses II's victory at Kadesh, and one small, dedicated to his beloved Queen Nefertari. Contructed in the mid 13th century BC, Abu Simbel was excavated from the sand in 1817. The temples were moved piece-by-piece to where it sits today to avoid being lost again, this time not to sand and neglect but to the creation of modern Lake Nasser.

After breakfast, transfer to the airport for flights home. (B)

All day-by-day breakdowns are a sampling of the places we intend to visit, conditions permitting.