Special 8-Day Cairo and Nile Cruise Easter Tour

You will wake up early to enjoy your delicious breakfast and start your adventures with full enthusiasm. One of the professional tour guides from the Cairo Top Tours team will come to meet you and take you on a tour of the most important archaeological sites in the world. You will start your day by visiting the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM).

The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) is one of the most important museums in Egypt and the world, especially with its modern design and advanced display techniques. Despite the opening of other major museums in Egypt, such as the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, the GEM has quickly become the new global center for exploring Egypt’s ancient heritage.

It houses thousands of priceless artifacts, including the complete collection of King Tutankhamun, displayed to the public for the first time in history. As the largest archaeological museum in the world, the GEM offers an immersive experience that makes it an essential destination for Egyptology students and lovers of Egyptian civilization from around the globe.

You will visit the Great Pyramids of Giza, which make the smartest scientists in the world unable to explain how these giant structures were built without using modern construction tools available in our current era. The Pyramid of Khufu was designed in a wonderful geometric and astronomical way because the Egyptian scientists who designed it had extensive knowledge of mathematics, astronomy, and engineering. The Pyramid of Khufu was like a very accurate chronological clock through which the dates of the spring and autumn equinoxes and the dates of the beginning of the summer and winter seasons were determined.

You will also see the Valley Temple of King Khafre. This temple was characterized by strong earthquake-resistant construction engineering, so we see that the wall engravings are simpler compared to the temples later in the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties, which are more decorated. The main purpose of these temples was that they were used for the mummification process, or what was known as "opening the mouth," which is the ceremony of entering the "Ka" into the body of the deceased. You will also see the famous Sphinx statue that represents King Khafre in the Old Kingdom, the son of Khufu, in the form of the god Horus worshiping the god Ra—the sun god, who is worshiped inside the temple in front of the "Sphinx," known as the "Sphinx" Temple.

We will now move to visit Coptic Cairo, and you will be able to visit many valuable historical churches, such as the Hanging Church. The Hanging Church, “Qasriyat al-Rayhan,” is the Church of the Virgin Mary, known in the Old Cairo district, which is the most famous church among a group of churches within the Babylon Fortress, which was the headquarters of the ancient Roman garrison in this area. This church was built in the late fourth and early fifth centuries AD.

You will visit the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, known as “Abu Serga,” which was built in the late seventh century by Athanasius—one of the most prominent men of the Umayyad state in the era of Abdul Aziz Ibn Marwan, the ruler of Egypt. Athanasius came from Syria, influenced by the story of Saint Sergius, who was martyred in this place at the same time he lost his friend, the martyr Bacchus. Athanasius built this church in memory of the two martyrs above the place of the blessed cave of the Holy Family.

You will also visit the Ben Ezra Synagogue, which was formerly a Christian church called the Church of the Candlemas and was sold by the Orthodox Church to the Jewish community when it went through financial distress due to the exorbitant taxes imposed on it at the time. The temple was named after “Ezra the Scribe,” one of the most prominent Jewish rabbis, and is sometimes called the Temple of the Palestinians or the Temple of the Levantines. The Jews say that this spot is a holy place where our master Moses, peace be upon him, stayed and used it for prayer after the plague struck the country, according to the well-known story. 

You will have a delicious lunch at one of the local restaurants, then visit the Khan El-Khalili Bazaar, which is full of life, colors, local products, and beautiful handicrafts. After this exciting tour, you will return to your hotel to have some rest.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

You will wake up early today to get ready for an exciting adventure in one of the most important archaeological cities in the world, the famous city of Luxor. You will have your delicious breakfast early in the morning at your comfortable hotel, and then you will meet your tour leader, who will transfer you to Cairo International Airport to take your plane to Luxor. Once you arrive at Luxor Airport, you will find our representative waiting for you to take you on your beautiful and luxurious cruise. You will meet one of the most skilled tour guides in Luxor, who will accompany you during all your enjoyable tours in Luxor.

You will visit Karnak Temple, which is the largest religious site in the world. This temple includes huge and terrifying historical columns, with a base area of 16.46 square meters. The god Amun-Ra, who was present in Karnak Temple, was served by a huge number of servants, reaching more than eighty thousand servants and slaves, and about 5000 statues were erected in his honor. Over the years, Karnak Temple has been exposed to the erosion of some of its walls, especially those containing hieroglyphic decorations and inscriptions, but the government is working to restore them to preserve the Pharaonic heritage.

You will also visit the famous Luxor Temple, which includes three Pharaonic, Islamic and Coptic civilizations and has witnessed many events dating back to several different eras throughout history. This temple is the only temple in Egypt that is topped by a mosque and the ruins of a church that date back to the Coptic era in ancient times, but it is the oldest as this church was built above it. This ancient church was built by a strong woman of Roman origin, and this church was built above the temple before it was excavated and found underneath. The Avenue of Sphinxes connects Luxor Temple to the great Karnak Temple.

At the end of the trip, we will return you to the cruise to enjoy a delicious dinner on board your cruise while sailing on the banks of the Nile.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

You will have a delicious Egyptian breakfast on board your Nile cruise. You will meet your tour guide to start your tour today at one of the most important archaeological sites in the world according to UNESCO, the Valley of the Kings. The story of choosing this valley as a burial place for the kings is a very special story worth telling. Thutmose I, the third pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty, wanted to choose his grave in an isolated valley behind the rocks of Thebes to protect his body from theft. He entrusted this responsibility to the engineer Anini to choose the appropriate place for him. He chose the Valley of the Kings because it is a narrow closed valley located on the west bank of the Nile, behind the huge rocks of Mount Thebes. From a geographical point of view, this valley is a shallow ravine surrounded by towering heights and resembles a large hole in the middle of the heights at the edge of the western plateau.

You will also visit the Colossi of Memnon, which is located in Luxor on the western banks of the Nile. Each of them is about 18 meters high and weighs about 720 tons. These two statues represent Amenhotep III, who is one of the most famous pharaohs of the 18th dynasty of ancient Egypt. The statues are shaped like Amenhotep sitting on his throne decorated with beautiful and detailed drawings of his wife and mother, as well as other pharaonic symbols. The two statues were placed in front of the tomb complex of Amenhotep, looking east towards the Nile River.

At the end of the tour, you will visit the Temple of Hatshepsut, whose walls are covered with scenes representing temple rituals and religious festivals, as well as the transfer of obelisks from the quarries to the huge Karnak Temple. Perhaps the most distinctive scenes represent Hatshepsut's mission to the land of Punt, which is probably located near Eritrea today and its inhabitants, homes, and surrounding environment were depicted. On the other hand, it depicts how Hatshepsut became a powerful legitimate king of the country, not only by confirming her father Thutmose I's appointment of her as his legitimate heir, but also by saying that her father is the god Amun himself.

We will transfer you to your cruise again to enjoy your dinner while sailing the cruise to Edfu.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After the end of the trip, we will transfer you to your cruise to sail to the beautiful city of Aswan. You will enjoy a tasty breakfast, and then you will start your tour today to two of the most important pharaonic temples accompanied by your professional tour guide.

At the beginning of the day, you will visit the Temple of Edfu, which was discovered by the great archaeologist "Merit" in 1860 among the dust particles to become one of the most visited tourist destinations in Upper Egypt. This temple was originally built to worship "Horus Behdeti," who had the form of a falcon. It took more than 100 years to build this temple, which finally appeared with its huge size and majestic appearance. When you visit the temple, the first thing you will see is the open courtyard with its large yard that includes a collection of decorated statues of the god Horus. The temple consists of two parts; one is a valuable library, and the other is a storehouse for tools and equipment designated for religious rituals. The last part has two corridors: one for presenting offerings and the other for the comfort of the priests, and then the road finally leads us to the sacred temple.

You will visit the Temple of Kom Ombo, which is one of the most beautiful Egyptian temples. Your professional tour guide will tell you about the most important discoveries found in this temple. The oldest pottery workshop in the Old Kingdom, dating back to the era of the pyramid builders during the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, was found in this temple. A large number of inscriptions, pottery, and excavations have been uncovered, revealing that the existing temple was built on the ruins of an ancient temple dating back 3,700 years, specifically to the New Kingdom era in the Eighteenth Dynasty.

After the end of the trip, we will transfer you to your cruise to sail to the beautiful city of Aswan.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

You will have a delicious breakfast while your ship docks in the beautiful city of Aswan. You will meet your tour guide at the appointed time to visit the most important tourist attractions in Aswan.

You will start by visiting the Temple of Philae, which, despite the many floods that this temple has been exposed to, is one of the most magnificent sacred sites in Egypt. The columns of its hypostyle hall have been amazingly preserved, and the Pharaonic inscriptions such as the sculptures in the musical scenes in the Temple of Hathor have retained much of their ancient beauty, and the amazing unfinished Trajan's Kiosk was a favorite of Victorian artists.

You will also see the unfinished obelisk that Hatshepsut ordered to be built, perhaps to complete what was later known as the Lateran Obelisk, which was originally in the Karnak Temple and later moved to the Lateran Palace in Rome. The gigantic unfinished obelisk is about a third larger than any ancient Egyptian obelisk ever erected. If completed, it would have measured about 42 meters and weighed about 1168 tons. The makers of the obelisk began carving it directly from the bottom of the rock, but cracks appeared in the granite, and the project was abandoned. The underside of the obelisk is still attached to the bottom of the rock to this day.

You will visit the largest and most famous water project of the twentieth century, the High Dam. The water held back in front of the dam forms an artificial lake with a length of more than 500 kilometers and an average width of 12 kilometers, covering all of Egyptian Nubia and part of Sudanese Nubia. Egypt used this dam to generate electricity used to run factories and light cities and villages, reaching about 10 billion kilowatts/hour.

You will return to your cruise to have your first dinner in Aswan on board your cruise.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

You will have a delicious and fresh breakfast, and then you will check out of your cruise. You can book an additional tour of the famous Abu Simbel temples. In the mid-twentieth century, the Abu Simbel Temple was exposed to drowning due to the construction of the High Dam in Aswan, but the Egyptian government cooperated with UNESCO to save this impressive temple from drowning, and this project was supported by more than 50 countries around the world, and through this project the two temples were dismantled and transferred to a land about 60 meters above sea level, west of their original location, and this transfer process took about five years.

Then we will transfer you to Aswan Airport to take your plane and return to Cairo. Your tour leader will transfer you to your comfortable hotel in Cairo to enjoy some rest.

Meals: Breakfast

You will enjoy the warm sunrise view in this beautiful country, and then you will enjoy your delicious breakfast at your hotel. You will meet a Cairo Top Tours representative who will transfer you to Cairo International Airport at the specified time to catch your plane and return to your country with the most beautiful precious memories with the Cairo Top Tours team.

Meals: Breakfast