Site Summary - Lower Egypt Imhotep Museum, Step Pyramid Enclosure, Pyramid of Teti, Mastaba Tombs. Dahshur - Red and/or Bent Pyramid, Bent Pyramid Valley Temple, Giza Pyramids and Sphinx Enclosure, South Sakkara, Abu Sir,  Cairo Museum.    Site Summary - Middle Egypt  Karanis, Hawara, Lahun, Birket Quarun. Amarna - Royal Tomb, Nobles Tombs, Central City and Palaces.  Artemidorus, Fraser Tombs, Beni Hassan, Meir, Tuna el-Gebel, Ashmunein & Meidum.   Special Permits We are very grateful to the Ministry of Antiquities for their kind permission to enter the Sphinx Enclosure and the area of South Sakkara.

Day 1 – Thu 3rd March – London/Cairo

We fly London to Cairo with EgyptAir and check-in to the first-class Movenpick Giza for two nights on a room and breakfast basis.

Day 2 – Fri 4th March – Sakkara

We begin our tour with a full day at Sakkara and Dahshur starting with a look at the unique displays in the new Imhotep Museum. These help us understand the layout of the cemeteries before entering the Step Pyramid enclosure of Djoser. We then view some fine reliefs in Old Kingdom mastaba tombs and enter the pyramid of Teti with its prime examples of the Pyramid Texts. There will be plenty of time to explore this most atmospheric of sites. After a relaxing lunch at the Sakkara Palm Club we head to Dahshur and the fascinating Red and Bent Pyramids of Seneferu, one or both of which we will enter. We finish with a wander down to the rarely visited Valley Temple of the Bent Pyramid. (BL)

Day 3 – Sat 5th March – Faiyum

This morning we leave the city for Meidum, to explore Seneferu’s pyramid, and the accompanying cemetery of large mastabas. We continue to Lahun to view Senwosret II’s pyramid, and associated tombs, the first royal tombs to explicitly hide their entrances. On to the pyramid of Hawara where we see the site of King Amenemhat III’s mortuary temple and the ‘Labyrinth’ described by Herodotus. Here Petrie’s excavations unearthed the famous Roman Period portrait-mummies. Our last visit of the day will be to the ancient Graeco-Roman city of Karanis with its two well preserved temples, bath house and mud brick walls. As the day ends, we drive along the Lake edge of Birket Quarun where we check-in to the medium-class Auberge Hotel for one night on a full board basis. (BLD)

Day 4 – Sun 6th March – Beni Hassan

This morning we drive south towards Minya and Middle Egypt. Our first stop will be at the rarely visited rock-cut Fraser Tombs dating from the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties. We continue to Beni Hassan to admire the superbly-decorated tombs of the local governors of the Eleventh and Twelfth Dynasties. Here we view the famous and vivid murals of wrestling scenes, desert hunts and family life. Our final stop is Speos Artimidorus. This afternoon we check-in to the Medium-class Horus Hotel or similar in Minya for three nights on full board basis. (BLD)

Day 5 – Mon 7th March - Amarna

A full day in Amarna and Aidan will in particular be looking at the circumstances of Akhenaten’s last years, with the Royal Tomb and its intriguing evidence for the tragedies that beset the king’s family. We will also explore the nearby unfinished tombs that may have been intended for Nefertiti and Tutankhaten. In addition, we will visit the Southern Tombs, in particular that of the future Pharaoh, Ay. We also intend to explore some of the most important parts of the city of Akhet-Aten itself, including temples and private houses. We hope very much to meet up with Barry Kemp today; whose famous excavations have uncovered so much at this amazing site. (BLD) 

Day 6 – Tue 8th March - Ashmunein, Tuna el Gebel & Meir

Today we focus first on the ancient city of Ashmunein the cult centre of Hermopolis, sacred to the ibis-god Thoth. Here we see a pair of giant quartzite baboons at the open-air museum. The elegant rose granite columns of the basilica and the scattered remains of Thoth’s temple cover a vast area. Out on the desert margins we find not only the best preserved of Akhet-Aten’s boundary stelae, but also the Late Graeco-Roman necropolis at Tuna el-Gebel, including the Roman Well, the unusually decorated tomb of Petosiris, along with that of Isadora and the vast baboon and ibis catacombs. Driving further south, we come to the Old and Middle Kingdom governors’ tombs at the picturesque necropolis of Meir - a wonderful site set in a spectacular location in the cliffs above the Nile Valley. (BLD)

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DEPARTURE DATE Thursday 3rd March 2011 TOUR CODE AWJA030311   Basic Holiday Price: £2,265 Single Supplement: £288     Land Only Discount: £512 This tour is now fully booked. Look out for Aidan Dodson's next tour, scheduled for January 2012 and which will be announced via our newsletter.

Day 7 – Wed 9th March - Amarna and Cairo

We return to Amarna and this morning we concentrate on the tombs of the nobles. At the Northern Tombs we will see the tombs of Huya and Meryre II, with reliefs that are crucial to our understanding of the end of Akhenaten’s reign, as well as one or two of the earlier tombs there. We will look at the boundary Stelae of the city. We return to view the Palace before starting our Journey back to Cairo. We will stop for a lunch time picnic and continue to Cairo. We head back to Giza and our comfortable Movenpick Hotel where we check-in for a further four nights on room and breakfast basis. (BL)

Day 8 – Thu 10th March - Giza and the Sphinx

A very full visit today of the Giza Plateau. We will be shown all the major features of this enormous site including the pyramids themselves, one of which we may be able to enter. We will walk around the pyramid of Khafre and see the inscriptions of Ramesses II as well as the mortuary temple and the causeway of which leads us to the Sphinx. Our highlight for today, however, is entrance to the Sphinx Enclosure for which we have a special permit from the SCA. This is a rare privilege, a chance to be able to study the Dream Stelae ‘up close’ and to be able to walk around the Sphinx. (B)

Day 9 – Fri 11th March - South Sakkara & Abu Sir

South Sakkara is a wonderful site and we are delighted that this tour has the permits needed from the SCA to enter and learn more. We will board four wheel drive vehicles and explore this intriguing site. Here we will see the vast and unique mastaba of King Shepseskaf of the Fourth Dynasty and the kings’ pyramids of the late Fifth and Sixth Dynasties. These include that of Pepy II, last king of the Old Kingdom. After a rest and lunch at the Sakkara Country Club we will visit the site of Abu Sir with its pyramid complexes of the Fifth Dynasty. (BL)

Day 10 – Sat 12th March - Cairo Museum

After breakfast we head in to the city to the amazing Egyptian Museum for a guided tour looking at the major collections and, in particular material from sites we have visited on this trip. This is followed by free time to explore on your own before heading back to the hotel. This afternoon there is a chance to join us on an optional excursion to the colourful and exciting bazaars of the Khan el Khalili quarter of Old Cairo (B)

Day 11 – Sun 13th March - Cairo/London

Fly Cairo to London with EgyptAir arriving later the same day. (B)

Expert: Aidan Dodson of Bristol University has been accompanying tours to Egypt for many years. He makes regular appearances on TV documentaries on Ancient Egypt and has written many books. His latest book, ‘Poisoned Legacy’: the Fall of the Nineteenth Egyptian Dynasty is due to be published in December 2010. A large number of the sites visited on this tour feature in his book ‘Amarna Sunset’ published in 2009.