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DISCOVER THE WONDERS OF ANCIENT EGYPT WITH DR RICHARD PARKINSON
27TH FEBRUARY - 11TH MARCH 2011
Cairo – Sakkara – Giza –
El Minia – Beni Hassan – El Amarna - Dendera – Abydos
- Luxor –
Karnak – Valley of the Kings – Aswan – Abu Simbel
This tour along the length of the Nile valley will include the iconic monuments of Ancient Egypt, but will also give the chance of visiting some of the equally spectacular sites in under explored Middle Egypt and some of the rare remains of everyday reality that are often overlooked.
As well as the grandiose pyramids of Giza, the religious complex of Karnak, and the temples of Abu Simbel, we will visit some less familiar monuments from the golden age of the Middle Kingdom, such as the ruins of the famous Labyrinth. We will also tour more intimate domestic sites such as the remarkably preserved workmen’s village at Deir el-Medina and the superbly excavated small town on the fortress island of Elephantine. The tour will concentrate on putting the surviving monuments into the context of their living landscape. Ranging through all periods, it will provide an overview of the full range of one of the world’s great cultures, and a glimpse of the ancient lives behind the monumental façades.
Richard Parkinson trained at Oxford and is now a senior Egyptologist at the British Museum; he is widely regarded as the world authority on Ancient Egyptian poetry from the classic period. He lectures internationally and teaches regularly at Oxford, Köln and Göttingen. In the Museum he has been responsible for the display of the Rosetta Stone and the highly acclaimed new gallery of the wall-paintings from the New Kingdom tomb-chapel of Nebamun. His personal research centres round the interpretation and reception of Egyptian texts, and he has overseen staged recitals of ancient poems. He has previously accompanied Nile cruises with Bales Worldwide.
As well as articles in specialist journals, his publications range from the award-winning The Tale of Sinuhe and other Ancient Egyptian Poems to a hieroglyphic edition of Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit. Several of the sites on the tour were central to his most recent monograph exploring the relationship between texts and landscape, Reading Ancient Egyptian Poetry: Among Other Histories.
Day 1 Sunday 27th February London Heathrow to Cairo
This morning make your own way to London Heathrow in good time to catch British Airways flight BA155 to Cairo which departs at 1655 hours and arrives into Cairo at 2340 hours. On your arrival you will be met and transferred to the Cairo Le Meridien Pyramids Hotel (Standard Rooms) where you will stay for the next three nights.
Day 2 Monday 28th February Cairo (B/L)
This morning begin the tour at Sakkara to see funerary monuments of the Old Kingdom. Here you will visit the newly opened museum and tour the Step Pyramid complex of Djoser (c. 2650 BC), which predates the Giza Pyramids and is the world’s first monumental building constructed entirely in stone. We will tour the smaller pyramid of Teti, built for a sixth Dynasty king, whose burial chamber is covered with Pyramid Texts to ensure survival of his soul, and the tombs of the official Ti and the perfectly preserved tomb of the two brothers Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep. After lunch at a local restaurant, you will proceed to the wonderfully evocative desert site of Dahshur to tour the so-called Bent Pyramid and the Red Pyramid of King Sneferu (c. 2550 BC).
Day 3 Tuesday 1st March Cairo (B/L)
Today is a day featuring the grandest works of Ancient Egyptian art and architecture. This morning, you will start a tour that will bring you to the only surviving representatives of the seven wonders of the Ancient World, the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx. You will visit the Solar boat museum, where the remarkably preserved remains of the ceremonial boat of King Cheops (c. 2550 BC) are displayed. After lunch at a local restaurant we will proceed to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, one of the great collections in the world, containing the treasures from the tomb of Tutankhamun (c. 1325 BC).
Day 4 Wednesday 2nd March Cairo to El Minia – 250kms (B/L/D)
After an early breakfast, start the tour with some of Cairo’s outstanding medieval architecture, including Sultan Hassan Madrsa and Ibn Toulun Mosque with the house of Gayer Anderson. A lunch box will be provided on the way to the Fayyum oasis which was once a royal pleasure ground. Here you will visit the Middle Kingdom pyramid town of el-Lahun and the gaunt remains of the pyramid-complex of King Amenemhat III at Hawara, famed among classical writers as the fabulous ‘Labyrinth’ (c. 1800 BC). Proceed to el Minia and stay for two nights at the Minia Horus Hotel (Standard Rooms).
Day 5 Thursday 3rd March El Minia (B/L/D)
Start the day with an early visit to the spectacular Middle Kingdom
tombs cut into the cliffs at Beni Hassan (c. 1850 BC); their elegant
halls full of brilliant paintings of daily life promises to be one
of the tour’s highlights. Then visit the remains of Hermopolis
at Ashmunein, the city of Thoth, the god of wisdom and the moon. Continue
to the town’s necropolis, Tuna el-Gebel, with tombs from the
Breco-Roman Period merging Egyptian and classical styles of art, as
well as catacombs of sacred baboon and ibis burials, and the boundary
stelae of the city built nearby by the revolutionary king Akhenaten
c. 1350 BC. A lunch box will be provided during today’s tour.
Day 6 Friday 4th March El Minia to Sohag – 220kms (B/L/D)
After breakfast we will proceed to el-Amarna, the city built by the heretic king Akhenaten, around 1350 BC and dedicated to his new god, the Aten. The city is the most extensively preserved capital to survive, since he chose a virgin desert site in a desolate bay in the valley cliffs. The remains of the abandoned city remain highly atmospheric. The nearby decorated tombs of Akhenaten’s officials are full of scenes showing the city at its peak, and are a beautiful example of the revolutionary art of this extraordinary period. We will then proceed to the much earlier tombs of the local governors at Meir/El Qusia which are rarely visited. We finally arrive at Sohag for overnight at the simple El Safa Hotel.
Day 7 Saturday 5th March Sohag to Luxor -220kms (B/L/D)
After breakfast, you will proceed to Abydos where you will visit the Temple of Seti I, decorated with some of the most beautifully painted reliefs surviving from Pharaonic times. The temple contains the famous list of Kings. Continue south to Dendera to visit the temple of Hathor, named for the goddess of love, music and wine. This temple is perfectly preserved and gives a sense of how such building would have been for visitors. On the roof are chapels for the secret rituals to celebrate the resurrection for the god Osiris, decorated with the famous Zodiac of Dendera. Afterwards proceed to Luxor to the Luxor Steigenberger Nile Palace Hotel (Side Nile View Rooms) where you will stay for the next three nights. A lunch box will be provided during today’s tour.
Day 8 Sunday 6th March Luxor (B/L/D)
After breakfast, start the tour of the extraordinary temple-complex of Karnak that was constructed over many centuries. We will visit the magnificent sanctuary of Amun-Re, with its maze of monumental gateways, obelisks, pillared halls and subsidiary shrines. In the afternoon, you will explore the elegant temple of Luxor, including the famous scenes of the procession of the Opet Festival and the scenes of the divine conception and birth of Amenhotep III (c. 1350 BC).
Day 9 Monday 7th March Luxor (B/L/D)
After breakfast, you will cross the Nile to the village of workers who decorated the royal tombs at Deir el Medineh c. 1200 BC. For the energetic, it will be possible to walk over desert hills from the village to the Valley of the Kings, following in the footsteps of the ancient craftsmen. The royal tombs to be visited will be three selected from the tombs open to the public this day. You will also visit the terraced funerary temple of Queen Hateshepsut (c. 1450 BC), at Deir el Bahari, one of Egypt’s most spectacular monuments. We will also see some of the most famous of the many ‘tombs of the Nobles’ that fill the surrounding hillsides. These small tomb-chapels are particularly appealing due to the vibrant paintings of daily life, which give an intimate view of life in ancient Egypt. You will enjoy lunch at a local restaurant on the West bank.
Day 10 Tuesday 8th March Luxor to Aswan – by air (B/L/D)
After breakfast, you will be transferred to Luxor Airport for your
short flight to Aswan. Upon arrival you will be escorted on a tour
of the remains of the ancient town on Elephantine Island which has
been continually inhabited from 3000 BC. This is a chance to see small
provincial temples and shrines, as well as alleyways and drinking
fountains in an ancient town. Later you will be transferred to the
Aswan Movenpick Island Resort and Spa (Superior Nile View
Rooms) where you will stay for the next two nights.
Day 11 Wednesday 9th March Aswan (B/L/D)
Today explore the Aswan area. The tombs of the local governors high in the cliffs above Aswan are some of the most evocative tombs surviving, including the famous autobiography of the governor Harkhuf telling how he brought his king a dancing dwarf from Africa. Also visit the well preserved fortress monastery of St Simeon in a nearby desert valley. Later visit the sacred island of Philae, the ‘pearl of the Nile’ and one of the most beautiful religious sites in Egypt. The group of temples sacred to the goddess Isis was moved to a new island after the Aswan dam was built, but Philae has kept all of its charm. The island temples were built when Egypt was governed by Greek kings and Roman emperors, and they were one of the last strongholds of Egyptian religion. Carved on a gateway to the tomb of Osiris is the last known hieroglyphic inscription.
Day 12 Thursday 10th March Aswan to Abu Simbel – by
air (B)
Abu Simbel to Cairo – by air
Fly from Aswan to Abu Simbel (almost 45 minutes) to visit the great rock-cut temples dedicated by Ramses II (1200 BC), then fly back to Cairo via Aswan. These two temples face east to receive the rays of the rising sun, dominated by huge statues of Ramses II and his beloved queen Nefertari. In 1968, they were dismantled and moved to a new site above the water of the newly created Lake Nasser. They are now a wonder of modern as well as ancient engineering and form a fitting end to the tour. Upon arrival at Cairo, you will be met and transferred to the Cairo Sonesta Hotel (Standard Rooms) where you will stay overnight.
Day 13 Friday 11th March Cairo to London Heathrow (B)
This morning transfer back to Cairo Airport in good time to catch British Airways flight BA154 to London Heathrow which departs at 0850 hours and arrives back into London at 1200 hours.
END OF SERVICES
The cost of the above 13 Day itinerary will be as follows:
1. £3590.00 per person based on twin sharing accommodation and World Traveller Class travel with British Airways
2. Single Room Supplement £560.00 per person
You may also wish to consider upgrading your World Traveller flights with British Airways to World Traveller Plus or Club World as follows.
* The supplement, subject to availability, for World Traveller Plus would be £330.00 per person return. World Traveller Plus is a separate cabin, with fewer seats which provides a more spacious and relaxing environment. A wider seat with 38 inch legroom (compared to 31 inch in economy) and a good recline ensures you have a more comfortable flight.
* The supplement, subject to availability, for Club World would be £1150.00 per person return. Club World offers an armchair style seat and footstool that convert to a 6 foot flat bed – a contemporary and more personalised meal service offering greater choice and flexibility- personal video screen – 18kg hand luggage allowance.
We are a licensed bonded Inclusive Tour Operator (ABTA V5041, ATOL 2841). The above price is a fully inclusive price covering all our services and is fully guaranteed against any surcharge for any reason once your deposit has been paid.
If you would like to proceed with the booking, we will require a non-refundable deposit of 15% of the total cost, and this can be paid by cheque or credit / debit card. We are pleased to accept credit cards (Visa, Amex and MasterCard) or debit card (such as Maestro or Delta) over the telephone if this is more convenient for you. Pettitts do not charge a supplement on deposit payments by credit cards; however, balance or full payment is subject to a 1.5% charge towards the cost of the credit card issuers commission. There is no charge for any payment by debit card.
Pre-existing medical conditions / Disabled passengers
It is essential that you advise us before booking if you have any
disability, pre-existing medical conditions or important dietary requirement
that Pettitts should be made aware of before we accept responsibility
for operating this itinerary to the countries named. We may request
that you provide a letter from your doctor confirming your fitness
to travel.
For your peace of mind...
If, within two weeks of your departure, the Foreign and Commonwealth
Office issues a travel advisory advising against all, or non-essential,
travel to a country where you are taking your holiday, Pettitts will
do its best to offer you either a suitable alternative holiday or
a full refund of all monies paid.
Please note…
This tour is based on a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 16 clients and we anticipate that it will be oversubscribed. However, if ten weeks or more before departure there are insufficient bookings we reserve the right to cancel the tour and you would receive an immediate full refund.
Dr Richard Parkinson has agreed to lead this tour; however, in the unlikely event that he is unable to accompany this tour for whatever reason we reserve the right to arrange a suitable alternative leader. Whilst we do not anticipate any major changes to this itinerary, Richard Parkinson at his discretion, may adjust it to suit local conditions at the time.
Hotels: The journey from Cairo to Luxor via El Minia and Sohag is off the normal tourist trail and this is reflected in the standard of hotels in these two places, however, all the hotels on your tour have en suite facilities. We feel that the reward of visiting some magnificent rarely visited sites in the Middle Kingdom far outweighs any possible shortcomings in these hotels.
What’s included...
* The tour will be led by Dr Richard Parkinson together with the full time services of an English speaking tour escort.
* World Traveller class travel to and from Egypt using the scheduled services of British Airways using Boeing 747 series aircraft. Once issued, flight tickets are restricted for use only on the dates specified in the itinerary and are non-refundable.
Please note that airlines are required by new laws to give border control agencies access to passenger data. Accordingly any information we hold about you and your travel arrangements may be disclosed to the customs and immigration authorities of any country in your itinerary.
* Sightseeing and entrance fees.
* Between places you will travel by air-conditioned coach and economy
class flight using the scheduled services of Egypt Air as shown in
your itinerary.
* Accommodation as specified including hotel service charges and local taxes.
* Meals are based on a set menu basis as indicated in the above itinerary:
B=Breakfast
L=Lunch
D=Dinner
* All gratuities to drivers and porters in Egypt.
* Entry Visa for Egypt.
Extras...
* Travel insurance. It is a condition of your contract with Pettitts that every member of the party has full Travel Insurance which covers, specifically, medical treatment and emergency repatriation where appropriate, without any exclusion. Please note that we will need to know the name of your insurers, your policy number and their emergency contact number before commencement of your holiday.
* Any expenses of a personal nature, such as drinks, telephone calls, laundry, camera/video camera fees, meals (other than specified) etc.
* Gratuities to local guides.
Discover the Wonders of Ancient Egypt 2011