BLACK PROFESSIONAL CONNECTION:
TRIP AND CRUISE TO EGYPT
March 6 - 15, 2009

TRIP AND CRUISE TO EGYPT

Description:
The land of the Pharoahs and the majesty of the pyramids are offered to you and your fellow young professionals at an incredible price! Experience a rare opportunity as we fly to the other side of the world to experience an acient and beautiful land.

Discover the numerous historical sights in and around ancient Cairo, including the Pyramids, the Sphinx, the Egyptian Museum and much more. Fly to Luxor to visit the spectacular Valley of the Kings, ancient Thebes, magnificent Karnak and Luxor Temple. Your deluxe four-night Nile River cruise will take you to Edfu to explore the Temple of Falcon God Horus. Stop in Kom Ombo and marvel at Crocodile God Sobek’s Temple. In Aswan, enjoy a Felucca sailboat ride, visit Philae Temple and Aswan High Dam. Why not visit Abu Simbel before your trip to Mediterranean Alexandria.

Itinerary:

Day 1, Mar. 6th.

Depart from JFK by overnight to Cairo
Leave IAD by overnight flight to Cairo. (Arrangements and assistance can be made to get TTD members to JFK)

Day 2, Mar. 7th. CAIRO (D)

We will arrive in Cairo in the afternoon. Our guide will meet us at the airport and bring us to our Cairo hotel Sofitel Gezirah. You will be transferred to Naguib Mahfouz Restaurant for welcoming dinner - after that transfer back to Sofitel Gezirah Hotel or similar.

Day 3, Mar. 8th CAIRO (B, L, D)

We will spend the morning first going to the Egyptian Museum. We could spend days exploring every corner of this vast museum, seeing all the artifacts of the ancient kingdoms. The spectacular finds of Howard Carter in King Tutankhamen's tomb, the unusual Amenhotep IV and many more wonderful articles will let you see what life for the pharaohs must have been like. If you like and it is open, you can pay $20.00 to see the gallery of mummy’s chamber.
Lunch at a local restaurant in Cairo

After lunch, we will continue on into the Old City of Cairo where you will get a touch of all the great religions of Egypt today. First we will visit Saint Sergius Church, a Coptic Christian Church. Then we continue on to the Citadel of Salah el-Din built in 1183 and the Alabaster Mosque known as the Mohammed Ali Mosque. Mohammed Ali, in the 1800s, led Egypt into the modern world. We will walk through the ancient Khan el Khalili Bazaar where we can imagine Egyptians of centuries past bartering for goods, much as we do today. Dinner at your hotel & overnight

Day 4, Mar. 9th. CAIRO (B, L)

We begin our day by traveling to Memphis. In route, we will visit Kerdassa Village and tour the carpet school. Here children are taught the intricate patterns and weaving of carpets. Memphis is the ancient capital of Egypt. Mena unified Egypt in 3200 BCE and created his capital at Memphis. Little remains of this great citadel as the stone was used to build Cairo. But you will see a colossal statue of Ramses II and a temple to Hathor, which is still half buried.

We will continue to Sakkara, the cemetery for Memphis, which was used for 3,000 years and contains some 80 pyramids and hundreds of tombs and mastabas bearing colored paintings, which represent the daily life of ancient Egypt. Then the best site of all, the first pyramid built in 2650 BCE, which is known as the Step Pyramid of Zoser, designed by Imhotep. It is thought that this is the oldest surviving stone building in the world. , Lunch at a local restaurant in Giza,

This afternoon we visit one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world; the Pyramids. No pictures or videos will ever prepare you for the size of the pyramids. The phrase 'awe inspiring' is really true as you stand in their shadow. The pyramid for Khufu (Greek Cheops) is the largest at 451 feet tall and was built in 2570 BCE. The second largest pyramid is Khafre's (Chephren), son of Khufu and the smallest is the grandson Menkaure (Mycerinus). We'll see the Valley Temple where the Pharaohs were first laid out for their funeral before entering the tombs. Of course, the Sphinx will be there before the pyramids. It is a lion's body with the face of Khufu - overnight in Cairo.

Day 5, Mar. 10th. CAIRO-LUXOR (NILE CRUISE) (B, L, D)

After a buffet breakfast, we will transfer to the airport for our flight to Luxor. On the one hour flight, you should study the Nile River below you. You will see the thin line of green on either side of the Nile and then desert to the horizon, which is the true picture of Egypt.

We will transfer from the airport to our cruise ship M/S Sonesta Moon Goddess. - Luxor became the capital of the New Kingdom when Pharoah Ahmos in 1580 BCE drove the Hyksos, foreign invaders, from lower Egypt. Waset, as Luxor was then called, had never been conquered by the Hyksos. Luxor then became a grand city of luxurious palaces, huge temples, large gardens, large scale trading and foreign embassies. Luxor was destroyed by the Assyrians in 665 BCE. Luxor lay in ruins until the Arabs in 639 CE found the ancient ruins, which they named Aloksor-Luxor. When Champollion discovered the secrets of the hieroglyphic language in 1822, attention was drawn back to Luxor again. First we will tour the Luxor and Karnak temples. These gigantic shrines show how powerful the pharaohs really were. The Luxor temple is dedicated to the God Amon-Ra. Ramses II is here again because he significantly expanded the temple in his time. The most outstanding features of this temple are the White Chapel of Sesostris I and the Great Hypo style hall with its 134 huge columns.

We will reach the Karnak temple by walking down a long avenue lined with sphinx statues all with Ramses II's head. The Karnak temple was begun by the 12th Dynasty kings.
The main structures were built by Amenophis III and Ramses II. It is a temple to Mut, Amon-Ra's wife. The ten monumental pylon gateways are awe inspiring. The two temples include obelisks, pylons, colossi and courts
Dinner and overnight on board the ship in Luxor.

Day 6, Mar. 11th. (B, L, D)

We will begin our morning with a buffet breakfast on board the ship. Then off we go by boat to the west bank of the Nile River where we will pass through the ancient village of Thebes. When we arrive at the Valley of the Kings, it is a stark contrast to the lush green fields beside the Nile, Here the ancient pharaohs decided to hide their tombs after the Great Pyramids were robbed. There are many tombs that we can visit; Ramses III, Ramses VI and Thuthmose III are the best.

Further to the west we come to Deri el-Bahri, Queen Hatshepsut's impressive temple. Queen Hapshepsut was the first woman in Egypt to rule by herself. This three tiered temple is quite dramatic. Finally we will stop at the giant statues of the Colossi of Memnon before returning to the ship for a late lunch.

The ship now heads south toward the locks of Esna. As we go south, we will be able to watch rural life in Egypt unfold before our eyes. There is little difference between the villages of today and the ancient Egyptian villages. The crops, methods of farming, animals used and irrigation systems are very similar to that of 4,000 years ago. We will have an Egyptology lesson this afternoon on the day's visits, given on the upper deck while tea is served. The ship will stay at Esna tonight.

Day 7, Mar. 12th. EDFU-KOMOMBO (NILE CRUISE) (B, L, D)

This morning we sail on to Edfu, where we take horse drawn carriages to the Temple of Horus, Egypt's best preserved temple. The ship then sails to Kom Ombo where we will have lunch before visiting the temple of Kom Ombo, the only site in Egypt with twin sanctuaries. These are of crocodile-headed Sobek and hawk-headed Haoreris. These Ptolemaic temples overlook the Nile. Be sure to look for the surgical instruments depicted in the drawing on the walls.

We stay at Kom-Ombo for the night. Overnight on board the ship

Day 8, Mar. 13th. ASWAN (B, L, D)

This morning we sail to Aswan. Sain (Aswan) was the door to Africa for the Egypt It controlled the trade routes from the ancient kingdoms of Kush and Axum; trading spices, leathers, ivory, fruits, grains, baskets, and mummified and living crocodiles. The name Sain is derived from Sainite or the red granite extracted from its quarries.

This afternoon we will take a sail on the Nile using the ancient Felucca sailboat. We'll sail around Elphantine Island, the Botanical garden and view the Agha Khan mausoleum. We will visit the Philae Temple. This temple to Isis was transferred to its present location to remove it from the flooding of Aswan Dam.

Day 9, Mar. 14th CAIRO: ASWAN-CAIRO (B)

After breakfast, we will visit the Aswan High Dam and the granite quarries where a huge cracked obelisk will clearly show you how the giant stones were carved from the rock. At additional cost, we can offer Optional Air-excursion to Abu Simbel.

We will fly back to Cairo. Overnight at Hotel Le Passage or similar

Day 10, Mar. 15th CAIRO: CAIRO / USA

After Breakfast transfer to Cairo airport for your flight back to JFK.

This trip is being co-organized with Things To Do, Inc. 

Suggested Attire:


Directions:
Egypt
(map)
Meet at JFK airport at the Egypt Air Terminal (near the ticket window). Look for the TTD representative. Arrangements can be made to assist in your transfer to New York City.  
 

Click Here For More Info & to Buy Your Tickets!