Ancient World tours

Sites Old Cairo including Bab Zuweila and Ibn Tulun, Giza and Sakkara, including the Serapeaum and 18th Dyn Tombs and Dashur's Red and Bent Pyramids.   Meidum, Lahun, Hawara, Qasr Qarun, Medinet Maadi, Medinet Faiyum, Qasr Sagha, Dimai, Karanis/Kom Ushim, Bubastis and Tanis.   Day 1 – Sat 3rd Nov – To Egypt Fly London to Cairo and on arrival we take our private transfer to the Movenpick Hotel at Giza for three nights on a room and breakfast basis.

Day 2 – Sun 4th Nov – Old Cairo

This morning we head into Old Cairo. We start with a visit to the vast Ibn Tulun Mosque, a rare survivor from the classical Islamic period of the ninth and tenth centuries. A short distance from the mosque we move on to the Gayer-Anderson House, a mansion house museum of Oriental and Islamic style furnishings collected in the 1930’s and 1940’s by a retired British Major, Gayer-Anderson. We have lunch at the delightful Citadel Restaurant overlooking Al Azhar Park and then we continue our exploration of Old Cairo at the great Citadel of Saladin and the Mosque of Mohammed Ali. We end with a visit the colourful Tentmakers’ Bazaar and the city gates of Bab Zuweila, once the city’s main southern gate. (BL)

Day 3 – Mon 5th Nov – The Great Pyramids

To the Giza Plateau for a visit to the Pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure as well as an in-depth look at the satellite pyramids, boat pits, the mortuary temple of Khafre and the mighty Sphinx. Time is allowed for those who wish, to enter the Solar Boat Museum to view the boat of Khufu, or perhaps enter a pyramid. We return to the hotel for some free time over the lunch period before travelling in to the city for a guided tour of the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities. Plenty of time to search out many artefacts from areas we will visit over the next few days, as well as the most famous collections such as Tutankhamun, the Tanis Treasures and the Amarna collection. There is an optional ticket available in the museum for those who wish to enter the Mummy Room. (B)

Day 4 – Tue 6th Nov – Remote Pyramids

After breakfast we board our four wheel drive vehicles and set off for the more remote pyramid fields. We journey south to Meidum with its spectacular pyramid and fascinating ‘Mastaba 17’. The adventurous can enter the pyramid itself to explore the burial chamber and then enter the mastaba tomb via the ancient robbers’ tunnel. Our next stop will be at the eroded pyramid of Senusret II at Lahun, where we have a picnic lunch before continuing to Hawara. At Hawara we find the mud brick pyramid of Amenemhat III and the site of the fabled Labyrinth. Dylan has studied this site extensively and will talk us through the history of the area. This was the excavation area where Petrie discovered the famous Faiyum Portraits. This evening we check in for two nights at the very fine Auberge Hotel in a beautiful setting on the shores of Lake Qarun. (BLD)

Day 5 – Wed 7th Nov - Faiyum

Today we concentrate on some interesting local sites starting at Qasr Qarun, a temple dedicated to the Faiyum god Sobek, built during the Ptolemaic Period. The ruins of the ancient town known as Dionysias, and the fortress, are thought to have been abandoned in antiquity. On to Medinet Maadi with its isolated temple built in the 12th Dynasty, were we see an avenue of sphinxes and lions and many fine reliefs. We have a picnic lunch before entering Faiyum City itself. We spend the afternoon exploring some of the famous landmarks in the area. The wooden water wheels for irrigating the fields, the stele of Senusret I, more often referred to as an obelisk, and the ruined giant statue bases at Biahmu. (BLD)

Day 6 – Thur 8th Nov - Temples & Cities

Our day begins at Qasr al-Sagha, an incomplete temple dating from the Middle Kingdom. We explore the fortress and the extensive remains of the nearby village. Next we travel to Dimai, believed to be founded by Ptolemy II, when the city would have been closer to the shore of the lake and served as a port. We move on to one of the largest Greco-Roman cities in the Faiyum, that of Karanis. Here we see temples dedicated to the crocodile god, granaries, a Roman bath and the homes of the residents of this community. We then have a picnic lunch out in the desert before our journey back to Cairo. On arrival, we check in to the first-class Movenpick Hotel at Giza for three nights on room and breakfast basis. (BL)

DEPARTURE DATE 3rd November 2012 with Dylan Bickerstaffe TOUR CODE AWRC031112 Basic Holiday Price: £2,485 Single Supplement: £216    Book Tour

Day 7 – Fri 9th Nov – The Serapeaum

First today we visit the Imhotep Museum before exploring the Step Pyramid Enclosure. Here we find not only the oldest stone building in the world, the Pyramid of Djoser, but also, later Old Kingdom pyramids with Pyramid Texts and mastaba tombs of the highest standard. A highlight will be entry to the newly opened New Kingdom tombs including that of the General Horemheb. We also have a special permit to enter the Serapeum, the galleries of the tombs of the ‘Apis Bulls’. We take a leisurely lunch at the Sakkara Palm Club before continuing our day of adventure. We head to one of the most impressive of all pyramid fields, that of Dahshur, where we find the Red and Bent Pyramids of Snofru. There is time to enter the Red Pyramid for those who wish, before we make the short journey across the sands to the intriguing Bent Pyramid. With its collapsed lower corners and much of its limestone casing still in place, we are able to closely study the building techniques of the era. (BL)

Day 8 – Sat 10th Nov – Delta

We set out for the Eastern Delta and the ancient city of the cats at Bubastis. Dating from the Old and New Kingdoms, the city was known as ‘House of Bastet’ and the cemeteries and vaulted catacombs were found to be full of feline mummies. Next, we travel to the most impressive archaeological site in the Delta, the massive site of Tanis, known as Zoan in the Bible. We will walk around the ruined Ramesside Temple of Amun with its shattered fragments of fallen colossal statues scattered over the desert sands. A chance to see the tombs of Osorkon II and Psusennes II whose treasures we will have seen in the Cairo Museum. We have a packed lunch today provided by the Movenpick before returning to our hotel. (BL)

Day 9 – Sun 11th Nov – Homeward Bound

We take our private transfer to the airport for our direct EgyptAir flight to London. (B)

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