The Belle of Egypt - Travel in the style of days-gone-by!

An Ancient Cultural Tour of Cairo, Lake Nasser, Abu Simbel
Featuring a Villa in Cairo and a Cruise on Lake Nasser
May to September: 8-Days, From $2199

• Round-Trip Trans-Atlantic Air from JFK to Cairo, Washington Dulles add $98; Detroit add  $110; San Francisco add $276
• 3 nights at the 5-star Villa Belle Epoque Hotel
• 3 nights aboard M/S Eugenie in a upper deck cabin, front of ship
• All internal air and transfers within Egypt with local hosting
• Transportation provided by air-conditioned motor coach.
• Breakfast daily in Cairo
• All meals and shore excursions from Aswan to Abu Simbel on Lake Nasser, including entrance fees and guidance.
• Sightseeing in Cairo as per itinerary with lunch and including entrance fees and guidance
• Service of an English-speaking Egyptologist during sightseeing
• Airline Fuel Surcharges.
• Not included are airport fees and taxes of approx $250 and Visa fee $25

ITINERARY
This elegant travel program is designed to recall a historic event in Egypt's recent past: The grand opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, attended by crown heads of Europe including the Empress Eugenie of France. The M.S. Eugenie was constructed in 1993 in the style of a turn-of-the-last-century Nile steamship. The Eugenie, the first ship to sail Lake Nasser, launched a new era of tourism, offering travelers fresh vistas of Egypt’s natural beauty and archeological treasures. Lake Nasser extended the boundaries of Egypt’s tourism possibilities, and the Eugenie reminds us of this ancient country’s endless capacity for renewal.

This same period is reflected with your stay in Cairo. The Villa Belle Epoque is just a short walk from the Maadi district just south of Cairo. On the main street, Road 9, you will find a small souk with many small boutiques worth a browse; from gold, silver to copper ware and bookstores. In addition there are plenty of coffee and tea houses and restaurants as well as the metro station for convenient transport into central Cairo avoiding the traffic of the city.

Maadi (sometimes spelled Ma'adi) is the name of one of the first fully excavated predynastic sites in Egypt; and it is the site for the Maadi culture, the Upper Egypt flavor of pre-dynastic history. Located in a suburb of Cairo, Maadi lies on a rocky ridge next to the Nile River floodplain.

This trip will recall travel in days gone by!

Day 1: Wednesday
Depart U.S. on Egypt Air

Day 2: Thursday
Arrive Cairo and be transfered to your hotel. Rest of day at leisure, overnight Villa Belle Epoque Hotel

Day 3: Friday
After breakfast at your hotel, fly to Aswan. Arrival in Aswan to board the M/S Eugenie. Lunch served on board. Visit to Kalabsha temple, Beit El Wali, and the kiosk of Kertassi. Afternoon tea is served in the lounge. Dinner and overnight on board in the Aswan Harbour. (B,L,D)

Day 4: Saturday
Breakfast on board. Today, sail to Wadi El Seboua and cocktail while passing the Tropic of Cancer. Lunch served on boar. Visit to Wadi El Seboua temple, the temple of Dakka and temple of Meharakka. Sail to Amada. Dinner and overnight aboard. (B,L,D)

Day 5: Sunday
Breakfast followed by morning visit to the temples of Amada and Derr as well as the tomb of Penout. Sail to Kasr Ibrim. Visit the citadel of Kasr Ibrim. (Tour is conducted from the ship's sundeck as entrance to the site is not permitted).

Sailing to Abu Simbel. Lunch served on board. Visit the Abu Simbel temples. Optional Sound & Light show at Abu Simbel temples. Candlelight dinner on board and overnight. (B,L,D)

Day 6: Monday
After breakfast on board, disembarkation and fly to Cairo. Remainder of day at leisure. Overnight at Villa Belle Epoque Hotel. (B)

Day 7: Tuesday
After breakfast at your hotel, visit the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities, which houses the world's largest collection of artifacts from the era of the pharaohs including some belonging to King Tut. Tour Old Cairo, where early Judaism and Christianity flourished in Egypt. Visit sites like the Ben Ezra Synagogue, and the Moallaka Church where the Virgin Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus took refuge. Spend the afternoon at the Great Pyramids of Giza built for Cheops, Chephren, and Mykerinos, and the defending Sphinx. End the day at the bazaar of Khan El Khalili. Optional Sound and Light Show available this evening. Overnight in Cairo, Oasis Hotel. (B/L)

Day 8: Wednesday
After breakfast transfer to Cairo airport for your trip home. (B)

Optional Tours:

• Day 5 - Sound and Light Show at Abu Simbel Temple, $40
• DAY 7 - Sound and Light Show in Cairo, $40.

History of Nubia
Nubia is located in today's southern Egypt and northern Sudan. The modern inhabitants of southern Egypt and Sudan still refer to themselves as Nubians. They speak the Nubian language as well as Arabic. Thousands of Nubians from the north were forced to relocate from their endangered homelands to be resettled in Egypt and Sudan. This land has one of the harshest climates in the world. The temperatures are high throughout most of the year, and rainfall is infrequent. The banks of the Nile are narrow in much of Nubia, making farming difficult. Yet, in antiquity, Nubia was a land of great natural wealth, of gold mines, ebony, ivory and incense which was always prized by her neighbors.

The land of Nubia is a desert divided by the river Nile. For want of water and rich soil, most of Nubia has never been able to support a large population for long periods. However, some of Africa's greatest civilizations emerged here, centers of achievement whose existence was based on industry and trade. Because they did not write their own languages until very late in ancient times, we know these centers and their people largely through their archaeology and what the Egyptians and Greeks said about them.

To the ancient Mediterranean world, the land south of Egypt was a territory of mystery and legend. Wealth and exotic products came from there. It was the home of the Ethiopians, whom Homer called blameless and stories about its great achievements endured to tantalize the modern world. This land is one of enormous distances, and its exploration was long impeded by problems of transport and political unrest. In the last hundred years, Nubia has slowly yielded its secrets, its vanished peoples, abandoned cities and lost kingdoms brought to light by the excavator and analysis of inscriptions. This exhibit is a selection of objects recovered over twenty years ago by the Oriental Institute Nubian Expedition in the effort to rescue archaeology from the rising water behind the Aswan Dam.

In the 1960's, a dam was constructed at Aswan, Egypt. It created a 500 mile long lake which permanently flooded ancient temples and tombs as well as hundreds of modern villages in Nubia. While the dam was under construction, hundreds of archaeologists worked in Egypt and Sudan to excavate as many ancient sites as possible. The Oriental Institute worked in Nubia from 1960 until 68. Today, the 5000 Nubian objects in the collection of The Oriental Institute Museum and thousands of objects in other museums are our sole resource for recovering the rich civilization of northern Nubia, for the sites themselves now lie beneath the waters of Lake Nasser. In contrast, expeditions from many countries are working in southern Nubia.

Hotels Used:

Cairo, Egypt
Villa Belle Epoque

Cairo’s first boutique hotel, will opened on 21st March 2009 for its first guests. The new hotel offers a smaller, more intimate way of experiencing Cairo, located in the leafy suburbs of the city’s Maadi area.

Tarek and Beryl El Gendy, the Egyptian/Dutch owners, bought the property a year ago. Since this time they have painstakingly restored the former 1920’s townhouse into a stunning 13-bedroom hotel just five miles south of the city centre to the east of the Nile.

The setting is tranquil, with lush gardens date palms and fruit trees surrounding an inviting swimming pool. The original mango and guava trees are now joined by younger peach, apple, olive and lemon trees with plenty of cosy seating areas for guests to sit, relax and take tea or cocktails. There are also fire pits which will be lit during the winter evenings so guests can continue to enjoy the outdoors.

Each guestroom is individually designed using a mixture of contemporary and period styles. For example, many of the chandeliers have been purchased from El Atareen, the famous antique quarter of Alexandria. In addition the hotel has a fine collection of contemporary Egyptian art. Many rooms have conservatory areas opening onto balconies.

All meals are served at the hotel including lunch and dinner from a choice of Egyptian, Oriental, Italian and French cuisines. The hotel will be organizing a high tea to be served on the shores of the Nile at a Plant Nursery from where guests can take a felucca sail boat to enjoy the sunset over the Nile.

Villa Belle Epoque offers guests a concierge service and advice on how to enjoy a different and more personal experience of Cairo. For example, excursions to the Fatimid quarter of the city, with its historical houses and trade centres or a night out for dinner at the restaurant of the Azhar Park. Events can range from traditional musical performances, singing, dance or maybe a ballet at the Cairo Opera House. Colonial Maadi still boasts many rare trees brought into the country during the English and French periods. Special tree walks can be organized to view the old gardens of colonial houses, embassies and clubs.

The hotel is a short walk from Maadi’s main street, Road 9 where there is a small souk with many small boutiques worth a browse, from gold and silver to copper ware and bookstores. In addition there are plenty of coffee and tea houses and restaurants as well as the metro station for convenient transport into central Cairo avoiding the traffic of the city.

The hotel offers the perfect alternative to the larger branded hotels of Cairo’s city centre and is the ideal base for a long weekend break to explore the sites and sounds of the lesser know side of Cairo, or before heading off for a Bales ‘dahabiyya’ cruise along the Nile.

Aswan to Abu Simbel:
The M/S Eugenie.
Constructed in 1993 in the style of a turn-of-the-century Nile steamship. It is 74 meters long, with just 52 cabins for maximal comfort, and two luxurious suites. Each cabin has an ensuite bathroom with shower, washbasin, w.c. and hairdryer.

The Upper Deck has 22 twin-bedded cabins each with a private balcony (total space: 21m2). Cabins 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311 and 315 are ‘executive cabins’ available at an additional surcharge per cabin and per night.

The Main Deck has 20 twin bedded cabins, also with private balcony (21m2) and two single bedded cabins, also with private balconies (cabins 201, 202).

The Lower Deck has 8 twin bedded cabins without balconies (21m2); these can also be used for triple occupancy.

Even the connoisseur of Egypt will delight in the virgin landscapes of Lake Nasser. Created as a result of the Aswan High Dam, the lake covers a 500-km2 region known in antiquity as Nubia. To salvage the area's rich archeological heritage, UNESCO launched the Nubian Campaign in 1960, an effort involving 54 countries over a period of 20 years. Today, Lake Nasser and the monuments relocated on its shores are accessible to travelers with a passion for discovery and a taste for comfort - aboard the cruise ships Eugenie and Kasr Ibrim.

Spacious interiors full of warmth and elegance await you on board Eugenie and Kasr Ibrim, the first vessels launched on Lake Nasser. Explore its natural beauty and archeological treasures in a gracious and leisurely atmosphere provided by attentive hosts with 25 years of experience in Nile cruising.