Egypt, 9 days

Meeting at the airport and flight to the capital of Egypt, Cairo. The name "Cairo" is of Arabic origin and means "The Victorious", tracing its origins back to the time of the conquest of the city by the Arabs in 969. Arrival, transfer and check-in at our hotel.

Breakfast and departure to get to know Cairo. Our today's tour starts from the Giza plateau where the great Pyramids of the 3rd Dynasty are located: Cheops (2589-2566 BC), Mycerinus (2552-2503 BC) and Chephren (2558-2532 BC) .X.). Behind the pyramid of Cheops is the museum of the ship of Cheops. Then we will visit the great Sphinx, one of the 7 wonders of the world, which represents Pharaoh Chefrina with the body of a lion and which until today hides from us the real date of its construction, reaching according to many to 16000 BC. We continue our contact with the ancient Egyptian civilization with our visit to the Egyptian Museum which is housed in a building from 1902. We will explore the periods of this civilization through the exhibits, until the end of the pharaonic period, in 343 BC. We will have the opportunity to see the ancient technique used to make the papyri with our visit to a local workshop. After this archaeological day we will end up in the market (souk) Khan el Khalili, created as a "caravan-serai" in 1832. Return to our hotel

Breakfast and transfer by road to Alexandria, the most famous of the cities founded by Alexander the Great. The city was built in 331 BC. and during the Ptolemaic dynasty it became one of the largest cities of the ancient world and the current co-capital of Egypt. The route of approximately 240 kilometers, an opportunity to meet our fellow travelers and to be given the information and details of our trip, but also the first information about Egypt and the Greek culture that developed especially in Alexandria from the time of Alexander the Great up to modern times. Arriving in Alexandria, we will visit the Patriarchate and the house of Constantinos Cavafy, the great Alexandrian poet who marked as few Greek letters as possible (Due to renovation, the site will not be open to visitors, we will pass outside). We continue with our visit to Agios Savvas, the old seat of the Patriarchate which is built on top of an ancient Pharaonic temple. To this day, the Patriarch is elected there. Built on the same spot where the ancient Royal Library stood, we will see the modern Library of Alexandria, Egypt's ambitious project that aspires to attain the splendor of its ancient Ptolemaic counterpart. Alexandria's trademark was the famous Pharos, one of the 7 wonders of the Ancient World, but it did not survive to this day as it was twice destroyed by earthquakes. Its remains were used by the Mamluk Sultan Qauit Bay in 1480 AD to build the existing Qauit bay Fort, which we will see up close. We close with our visit to the Hellenic naval group, where we will have free time. On our way back to Cairo we will also make a photo stop at the oldest mosque in Alexandria, Abui Abbas. Return to our hotel in Cairo

Breakfast and transfer to Cairo airport from where we will fly to the south of Egypt and Luxor. Arrival and we begin our guided tour of the magnificent temple of Karnak, a huge complex dedicated to the Theban Trinity, enriched by the pharaoh Ramses II and expanded in the following centuries by many pharaohs. The magnificence and size of the temple will impress and move us especially when we visit the sanctuary of Alexander the Great. Transfer to our river cruise ship to check in and get settled.

In the afternoon we will visit the Luxor temple, which is located in the city, next to the Nile. This temple, also dedicated to the Theban Trinity. This temple is best visited in the evening because it is open until late and evocatively lit. In the evening we suggest you watch the amazing show of "Sound and Light" at the temple of Karnak. Overnight on board.

During today's tour we will visit the Valley of the Kings, the necropolis of ancient Thebes, on the west bank of the Nile. The gorge now called the "Valley of the Kings" was called the "Great Place" or "Place of Truth": in this majestic location the pharaohs once rested in giant stone sarcophagi, awaiting immortality. It seems that the ancient Egyptians chose this remote ravine as the final resting place of their kings for both symbolic and practical reasons. Looking out from the meadows of Thebes, that was where the sun set, which the ancient Egyptians associated with the afterlife. There are more than 60 tombs in the Valley, among them the untouched tomb of Tut-Ankh-Amun (Tutankhamun) discovered by the archaeologist Carter in 1922, of Seti I, Rampsis III, Tuthmosis and Nefertiti. Then we will visit the unique architectural three-story mortuary temple of Hatshepsut, the only female pharaoh in history, with the highly interesting wall paintings of the campaign in Punt, today's Somalia, as well as the Colossi of Memnon, two faceless statues, 18 meters high. On our sail to Aswan we will cross the Esna Canal to level up. Overnight on board.

As we cross the Nile, our next stop will be Edfu, the Apollonopolis of the Greeks, with ancient history and archaeological interest. The temple of Horus stands out, the best preserved temple in Egypt: the current building, on a pharaonic foundation, is Ptolemaic, construction began in 237 BC, inaugurated in 142 BC, completed in 57 BC. and was destroyed in 391 AD. Edfu is the place where the mythical battle between Horus and the evil demon, Seth took place and ended with the defeat of the latter, which is depicted in the frescoes. Return to our ship and continue sailing.

Then our ship will dock at Kom Obo, about 45 km north of Aswan. Kom Ombo, the Hellenistic city of Ombos, has a strategic position as a station for caravans coming from Nubia and was inhabited before Hellenistic times. Our interest here is the double temple of the crocodile god Sobek and Horus the Elder or Aroeris, who was later associated with Apollo. Although it is a complex, everything is double, as a mirror, along the longitudinal axis of the temple. Of interest is the display of surgical artefacts as well as the "Nileometer", a graduated well where the Nile flood was measured. Overnight on board.

Sailing we reach Aswan, the border of pharaonic Egypt and the gate of Nubia, Kush as it was called. The name "Aswan" is a corruption of the name of the Egyptian goddess of childbirth Suenet, who was associated with the ancient Greek goddess Eileithyia and the Roman Lucina. In Aswan we will see the Old Dam built by the British in 1902 and the High (New) Dam completed, with Soviet help, in 1970.

Then we will visit the Ptolemaic temple of Isis on the island of Philae. The plural number of the name refers to the fact that before the construction of the High Dam there were two islands and one, the one that carried the temple, was submerged by the created, artificial Lake Nasser. The temple was moved, at the expense of UNESCO, to the island of Atzilkia. The island of Philae was considered one of the burial places of Osiris, therefore it was impassable and according to the myth, birds did not fly from above, nor did fish approach the shores. Since the temple ceased to function under Justinian, it relatively escaped the sanctuary of the early Christians and was saved in good condition.

In the afternoon we will board feluccas, typical local sailing boats and sail around Elephantine Island and Kitchener Island. In Elephantine there are the first finds of human habitation in the area dating back to the Neolithic Age as well as pharaonic temples, mainly that of Khnum. After the Felucca ride for anyone who wishes, we suggest you visit the Nubian region, a 5000 year old civilization. We will wander through their colorful villages, see how they live and enjoy their hospitality. Overnight on board.

Transfer by road to Abu Simbel, about 300 kilometers south of Aswan. Abu Simbel includes two temples built by Ramses II, one for himself and one for his wife Nefertari. The temples were not always in this location. With the construction of the High Dam they would be flooded and so they were moved by UNESCO (1964-1968) and with worldwide logistical assistance, 65 meters higher and 200 meters further from the Nile. The temples were built in memory of the victory of Kadesh, as evidenced by the excellent frescoes. The sight is amazing, especially at dawn, because the colossal, 20-meter-high statues are almost unscathed. Return to Aswan

Departure to Cairo and boarding our return flight to Athens.