EGYPT AND NILE CRUISE BEGINS HERE:

DAY 1 -- Sunday: October 3, 2010 - NEW YORK / ISTANBUL

Tour members are welcomed at JFK International Airport for our departing flight to Istanbul via widebody aircraft arriving the next day.  Meals served on board.

DAY 2 -- Monday: October 4, 2010 - ISTANBUL / CAIRO

This morning we arrive in Istanbul.  We will transfer to our flight to Cairo.

Upon arrival we will be met and taken to our hotel for dinner and overnight.

DAY 3 -- Tuesday: October 5, 2010 - CAIRO / LUXOR / KARNAK / NILE CRUISE

This morning we will be taken to the airport for our flight to Luxor. Upon arrival in Luxor we will transfer to our cruise ship where we will check in. 

This afternoon we will visit the Luxor Temple on the bank of the Nile as well as the complex of temples at Karnak -- including Amun Temple, the largest columnar structure ever raised. Continue our exploration  amid massive columns and inscrutable statues at Luxor's fertility shrine of the sun god. Then horse-drawn caleches continue to the Avenue of the Sphinxes and Karnak's colossal wonders. Dine aboard as the felucca sails zigzag across the sunset.

DAY 4 – Wednesday October 6 - LUXOR / ESNA / EDFU - NILE CRUISE

After breakfast, a ferry boat takes us across the river to the West Bank of the Nile, to visit the fabled Colossi of Memnon. We then continue to the mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, Egypt's only female pharaoh, and the Valley of the Kings, where we step from a dramatic landscape of sun, sand and rugged mountain peaks into the dark silence of some of the  sixty-four tombs discovered here to date. Return to our cruise for lunch. 

Threading through the Esna Locks, we arrive at Esna an hour later. We go ashore to visit the ornately hewn Temple of Khnum with its gracious, colonnaded vestibule. Return to the ship where we enjoy dinner as we sail to Edfu.

DAY 5 – Thursday October 7 - EDFU /  KOM OMBO - NILE CRUISE

This morning we explore the birth house at the Temple of Horus and other engaging sights. 

This afternoon we cruise the Nile, enjoying the splendid poolside facilities of our luxurious barge en route to Kom Ombo. In Kom Ombo see its unique and spectacular temple, dedicated to two gods: Horus, the sun god and Sobek, the crocodile god. Tonight we enjoy dinner aboard, followed by a lively Galabeya Party with a display of oriental dancing.

DAY 6 -- Friday October 8- KOM OMBO / ASWAN - NILE CRUISE

This morning we sail to Aswan where we see the Aswan High Dam. We then head for the quarries of ancient Thebes and a chance to walk on the Unfinished Obelisk.

After a relaxing lunch on board, we take a sailboat cruise to Elephantine Island and the Aga Khan's mausoleum. Here the tombs reveal the colossal space concepts of the early Memphis architects.  Dinner on board the ship.

DAY 7 -- Saturday October 9- ASWAN / CAIRO

This morning we will be at leisure before we leave our cruise ship and be taken to the airport for our flight to Cairo. 

This afternoon we will board our flight to Cairo. Continue our hotel for dinner and overnight.

DAY 8 – Sunday October 10 - CAIRO – MUSEUM / PYRAMIDS & SPHINXS

This morning we visit the Egyptian Museum with its priceless gems from the tomb of Tutankhamen, the Mummy Room and other world-famous relics. Dinner and overnight at our hotel.

This afternoon we go to the Giza Plateau to explore the area around the ancient Pyramids, one of the wonders of the ancient world.  We’ll even enjoy a camel ride and see the Sphinx up close and personal.   In April 1950, close by the Great Pyramid, a road was being made for the convenience of tourists when a 150-foot-long Solar Boat was discovered, which is now housed next to the Sphinx.  Return to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

(Optional Sound and Light Show $30 per person) Return to your hotel to freshen up, then you will be met and transferred to the Sphinx area to attend the magnificent sound and light show. Return to our hotel for dinner and overnight.

DAY 9 – Monday October 11 - CAIRO / NEW YORK

This morning we will transfer to the airport for our flight home with unforgettable memories to cherish always. Knowing we have walked in the footsteps of Jesus and the early Christians on such a memorable tour will bring new meaning to our Bible reading. Egypt Tour Ends Here.

For those passengers that are joining us on The Holy Land Extension:

DAY 9 – Monday October 11- CAIRO / LAND OF GOSHEN / ISMAILIA 

Today we will begin our journey to The Holy Land by going the way of the Land of Goshen (we will visit the towns of Ramses and Pithom which are two Egyptian sites known today as (Tell Dabaa) and (Tell Kantir). We will stop at the ancient royal city of Tanis (Biblical Zoan) (remember Raiders of the Lost Ark?).During the Middle Kingdom the reigning Pharaoh gave the Land to Jacob to breed his animals. Jacob in turn blessed the Pharaoh for his generosity and he called the area The Land of Goshen. A place where the Israelites later grew, flourished and where eventually enslaved and where Moses was born and raised. We will see modern villages, such as 'Ezbet Helmi, still operating with some of the same traditional practices the Israelites used.

 We will continue to ISMAILIA for dinner and overnight.

DAY 10 -- Tuesday: October 12, 2010 – ISMAILIA / TABA / TIBERIAS

Today we will proceed to the Taba border to cross over into Israel. We will meet our new guide and driver and begin our journey to Tiberias. We check in to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

HOLY LAND TOUR BEGINS HERE:

DAY 1 -- Monday, October 11- NEW YORK / ISTANBUL

Tour members are welcomed at JFK International Airport for our departing flight to Istanbul via widebody aircraft arriving the next day.  Meals served on board.

DAY 2 -- Tuesday, October 12- ISTANBUL / TEL AVIV / TIBERIAS

This morning we arrive in Istanbul and transfer to our flight to Tel Aviv.

Upon arrival in Tel Aviv we are met by our guide who will be with us for the time we are in the Holy Land. Board our bus and travel through Israel on it's new toll road through the center of the country. Continue to Tiberias. Check into our hotel for dinner and  overnight.

DAY 3 -- Wednesday, October 13- TIBERIAS / BET SHEAN / SEA OF GALILEE / TIBERIAS

This morning we follow the Rift Valley running parallel to the Jordan, along the route Jesus most frequently traveled to Jerusalem.  We visit Bet Shean at the foot of Mt. Gilboa, where King Saul was slain, see the evidences of Egyptian, Roman and Byzantine occupations, and view the ancient tel, Roman Theater and church mosaics.

In the afternoon we enjoy a relaxing boat ride on the  Sea of Galilee to Capernaum, then visit Tabgha and the Mount of Beatitudes.  Our last stop today will be at the River Jordan then transfer to the hotel in Tiberias for dinner and overnight.

DAY 4 -- Thursday, October 14 - TIBERIAS / NAZARETH / CAESAREA / JERUSALEM

We leave Tiberias for Jerusalem, on the way visiting Nazareth, boyhood home of Jesus.  We pass through Cana, where Jesus performed His first miracle, then proceed across the Plain of Jezreel to Megiddo to visit the excavations of over 20 different civilizations.  Visit  Muhraka on Mount Carmel.

In the afternoon we visit Caesarea on the Mediterranean, the Roman aqueduct and port, Crusader's Moat, and the famous Roman Theater.  We pass through Tel Aviv on our way to Jaffa (Joppa), the city of Jonah, where Peter had his housetop experience at the home of Simon the Tanner (Acts 10).  Proceed by way of the Aijalon Valley to Jerusalem for check-in and dinner at our hotel.

DAY 5 -- Friday, October 15- JERUSALEM / MASADA / JERICHO

We begin our day with a stop at Bethany, home of Mary and Martha and Lazarus.  Drive to Masada and ascend by cable car to the magnificent ruins of the fortress where, from 70 to 73 AD, Jewish defenders made their last stand in the Judean revolt against Rome.  We see the remains of storehouses, cisterns and a sixth-century Byzantine church. 

Continuing alongside the Dead Sea, 1300 ft. below sea level -- the lowest spot on earth -- we proceed to Ein Gedi. Here we will have a stop for lunch and swim in the Dead Sea or walk the path to see the waterfall in the desert.

This afternoon we continue to Qumran and the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. We travel to Jericho, the world's oldest city.  From the excavated tel atop the ruins of ancient Jericho we view the lush green Jordan Valley, Elisha's spring and Qarantal, the Mount of Temptation. We will head up to Jerusalem and return to the hotel for dinner.

DAY 6 -- Saturday, October 16- JERUSALEM / MT. OF OLIVES / OLD CITY

Today we drive to the Mount of Olives for a panoramic view of Jerusalem, visit the Church of Pater Noster and the Chapel of Ascension, then proceed to the Garden of Gethsemane.  Crossing the Kidron Valley, we pass the tombs of Absalom, Zechariah and St. James, then visit the Pool of Siloam and the Church of St. Peter of Gallicantu (Caiaphas' House).

We enter the Old City this afternoon through the Zion Gate and see the Cardo and the remains of Nehemiah's Wall on the way to the Western (Wailing) Wall.  We visit the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount, the Church of St. Anne, the Pool of Bethesda, Pilate's Judgment Hall, the Chapel of Flagellation, Lithostrotos, and the Arch of Ecce Homo ("Behold the Man").  We follow the Via Dolorosa (Way of the Cross) to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and end our day in the Garden Tomb before returning to the hotel for dinner and overnight

DAY 7 -- Sunday, October 17- JERUSALEM / NEW CITY / BETHLEHEM

This morning we visit the New City of Jerusalem, Mount Zion, the Upper Room, the tomb of King David and Dormition Abbey.  We enter the Jewish Quarter of the Old City to visit the Wohl Archaeological Museum, displaying the newly restored Herodian Quarter.  Remains of this area of  Jerusalem date back to the time of the Herodian Dynasty (37 BC to 70 AD).  Proceed to the Shrine of the Book where we see the Dead Sea Scrolls on display then view the Knesset (Israeli parliament) building. Continue to visit Yad Vashem, a memorial of the Holocaust then visit the Model City.

This afternoon  we continue to Bethlehem to visit the Church of the Nativity, the Manger, Crusader's Cloister and the Grotto of St. Jerome.  We then visit the cave in Shepherds' Field and view the Fields of Boaz.  En route to Jerusalem we see the Tomb of Rachel and other antiquities before returning to the hotel for dinner.

DAY 8 -- Monday, October 18- JERUSALEM / NEW YORK

We transfer to the airport for our flight home with unforgettable memories to cherish always. Knowing we have walked in the footsteps of Jesus and the early Christians on such a memorable tour will bring new meaning to our Bible reading.