Discovering Egypt withthe Nile Cruise

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26^th OCT/2008 Fly to Cairo via istanbul Breakfast, check out from hotel and transfer to Izmir airportat 6 a.m 09:00 am flight to istanbul.

10:30 am arrival istanbul and wait for connection flight. 14:25 pm Afternoon flight to Cairo MS 738 16:30 Arrival to Cairo International Airport onboard Egypt Air flight #MS738 from Istanbul. Were Met and assisted through customs and transferred to Giza Pyramid view hotel for check-in. Reached hotel at 7 p.m due to traffic jam. At 9 p.m left to see the sound and light show at the pyramids. Show ended at 11 p.m Back at 12 Overnight in Giza

EGYPT

Situated at the northeastern corner of Africa, Egypt is bordered on the north by the Mediterranean Sea, in the east by Israel and the Red Sea, in the South by Sudan, and to the west by Libya. Cairo lies in the middle of the Upper and Lower Egypt that's why it experiences a moderate climate throughout the year round. Egypt covers 1,001,450 square kilometres and is bounded to the west by Libya, to the north by the Mediterranean Sea, to the south by Sudan, and to the east by Israel and the Red Sea.

Less than 10%!o(MISSING)f the land mass is cultivated or settled, the rest being desert - the Libyan Desert in the west, the Nubian Desert and a portion of the Sahara in the south, and the Arabian Desert to the east.The Sinai Peninsula has sandy desert in the north and mountains to the south, Mt Catherine being the highest peak in Egypt at 2,637 metres. Nearby Mt Sinai is believed by scholars to be where the Old Testament says Moses received the Ten Commandments from God.The thousand kilometre oasis of the Nile River and its delta mouth sustain almost all life in Egypt.There is almost no rainfall in Egypt south of Luxor.

Currency: One Egyptian Pound is divided into 100 piastres.

Cairo, Egypt, the Triumphant City, known officially as al-Qāhirah is one of the world's largest urban areas. It is the administrative capital of Egypt and, close by,at Giza are Great Pyramids of Giza on the very edge of the city. There are also ancient temples, tombs, Christian churches, magnificent Muslim monuments, and of course, the Egyptian Antiquities Museum all either within or nearby the city Shopping: Khan el-Khalili souk, (or bazaar) largely unchanged since the 14th century, modern air-conditioned centers displaying the latest fashions. All the bounty of the
The High Dam created a 30%!i(MISSING)ncrease in the cultivatable land in Egypt, and raised the water table for the Shara as far away as Algeria. The electricity producing capability of the Dam doubled Egypt's available supply.

27^th OCT/2008 Breakfast, check out and began the tour with a visit to Memphis, the ancient capital of Egypt dating from 3100BC which contains the beautiful representation of King Ramsis II through his colossal statue. Memphis was the ancient capital of the first nome of Lower Egypt, and of the Old Kingdom of Egypt from its foundation until around 2200 BC and later for shorter periods during the New Kingdom, and an administrative centre throughout ancient history. Its Ancient Egyptian name was Ineb Hedj ("The White Walls"). The name "Memphis" is the Greek corruption of the Egyptian name of Pepi I's (6th dynasty) pyramid, Men-nefer, which became Menfe in Coptic. The modern cities and towns of Mit Rahina, Dahshur, Saqqara, Abusir, Abu Gorab, and Zawyet el'Aryan, south of Cairo, all lie within the administrative borders of historical Memphis. Memphis was also known in Ancient Egypt as Ankh Tawy ("That which binds the Two Lands"), thus stressing the strategic position of the city between Upper and Lower Egypt.

The ruins of Memphis are 20 km (12 miles) south of Cairo, on the west bank of the Nile.
Hieroglyphs in Memphis with a statue of Ramses II in the background


According to Herodotus, the city was founded around 3100 BC by Menes, who united the two kingdoms of Egypt.

It has also been established that King Menes was most likely just a mythical king, similar to Romulus and Remus, the mythical first rulers of Rome. Most likely Egypt became unified through mutual need, developing cultural ties over time and trading partnerships though it is still understood that the first capital of Ancient Egypt was the lower Egyptian city of Memphis. The story most likely just got passed on to Herodotus. Memphis reached a peak of prestige under the 6th Dynasty as a centre of the cult of Ptah. It declined briefly after the 18th Dynasty with the rise of Thebes and was revived under the Persian satraps before falling firmly into second place following the foundation of Alexandria. Under the Roman Empire, Alexandria remained the most important city. Memphis remained the second city of Egypt until the establishment of Fustat (or Fostat) in 641. It was then largely abandoned and became a source of stone for the surrounding settlements. It was still an imposing set of ruins in the 12th century but soon became little more than an expanse of low ruins and scattered stone. The remains of the temple of Ptah and of Apis have been uncovered at the site as well as a few statues, including two four-metre ones in alabaster of Ramesses II. The Saqqara necropolis is close to Memphis.The Egyptian historian Manetho referred to Memphis as Hi-Ku-P'tah ("Place of the Ka of Ptah"), which he wrote in Greek as Aί γυ πτoς (Ai-gu-ptos), giving us the Latin AEGYPTVS and the modern English Egypt. The term Copt is also believed to be etymologically derived from this name.In the Bible, Memphis is called Moph or Noph. Then we proceeded on to Sakkara where we visited the world-famous Step Pyramid of King Zoser, the oldest known of Egypt's 107 Pyramids. Saqqara or Sakkara, Saqqarah. This is a vast, ancient burial ground in Egypt, featuring the world's oldest standing step pyramid). It is located some 30 km south of modern-day Cairo and covers an area of around 7 km by 1.5 km.While Memphis was the capital of Ancient Egypt, Saqqara served as its necropolis. Although it was eclipsed as the burial ground of royalty by Giza and later by the Valley of the Kings in Thebes, it remained an important complex for minor burials and cult ceremonies for more than 3,000 years, well into Ptolemaic and Roman times. The step pyramid at Saqqara was designed by Imhotep for King Djoser (c.2667-2648 BC). It is the oldest complete hewn-stone building complex known in history. It is also the location of the newly opened (in 2006) Imhotep Museum.It is also where the tomb of King Menes, the first pharaoh of Egypt lies.

The open air-museum of Memphis

The Open Air Museum at Memphis is one of the “must see” sites in Egypt! The trip from Cairo only takes 45 minutes, it is only 20Km to the south, and the entrance fee is 21LE.

Founded in the 1^st Dynasty (3100 B.C) by King Narmar, Memphis was the capital of Ancient Egypt, and the first capital city founded after the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt. It remained as the capital of Ancient Egypt throughout the Old Kingdom. Because of the many necropolises associated with Memphis, many Egyptologists believe that it was once an extremely large city, though no archaeological evidence proves this, at present!

The name of Memphis is derived from the Ancient Egyptian name called Min-Nefer, which the Greeks later called Memphis. Today it is the location of a local village called Mit Rahina. Excavation, of the site of Memphis, has continued for the last 200 years.

The local God of Memphis was called Ptah, who was the God of creation and workmen, and he was worshiped with his wife, the Goddess Sekhmet and their son, the God Nefer-Tom.

Nothing much remains from ancient Memphis, except some monuments from the New Kingdom and later periods. Nearby Sakkara (as well as Dashur and others) was associated with Memphis, as it was the site of one its many necropolises.

Today, in Memphis, you will see an open air Museum, which amongst other artefacts exhibits a limestone colossus of King Ramses II



(an enormous statue carved in limestone, which is about 10m (33.8 ft) long, even though it has no feet!) and a giant alabaster Sphinx, weighting more than 80 tons, which once stood outside the massive temple of the God Ptah. There are also remains of granite statues, of Ramses II, and granite coffins and commemorative tablets from later periods.




Smenkhkare's burial has never been located, and Ramesses VIII seems to have been buried elsewhere.

In the Pyramid Age the tomb of the king was associated with a mortuary temple located close to the pyramid. As the tomb of the king was hidden, this mortuary temple was located away from the burial, closer to the cultivation facing towards Thebes These mortuary temples became places visited during the various festivals held in the Theban necropolis, most notably the Beautiful festival of the valley, where the sacred barques of Amun-Re, his consort Mut and son Khonsu left the temple at Karnak in order to visit the funerary temples of deceased kings on the West Bank and their shrines in the Theban Necropolis.The tombs were constructed and decorated by the workers of the village of Deir el-Medina, located in a small wadi between this valley and the Valley of the Queens, facing Thebes. The workers journeyed to the tombs via routes over the Theban hills. The daily lives of these workers are quite well known, recorded in tombs and official documents. Amongst the events docuument is perhaps the first recorded worker's strike, detailed in the Turin strike papyrus

Exploration of the valley

The majority of the royal tombs were decorated with religious texts and images. The early tombs were decorated with scenes from Amduat ('That Which is in the Underworld'), which describes the journey of the sun-god through the twelve hours of the night. From the time of Horemheb, tombs were decorated with the Book of Gates, which shows the sun-god passing through the twelve gates that divide the night time, and ensure the tomb owner's own safe passage through the night. These earliest tombs were generally sparsely decorated, and those of a non-royal nature were totally undecorated.

The tomb of Ramesses IX, KV6, has been open since antiquity, as can be seen by the graffiti left on its walls by Roman and Coptic visitors Located in the central part of the valley, it stands between and slightly above KV5 and KV55. The tomb extends a total distance of 105 metres into the hillside, including extensive side chambers that were neither decorated nor finished. The hasty and incomplete nature of the rock-cutting and decorations (it is only decorated for a litte over half its length) within the tomb indicate that the tomb was not completed by the time of Ramesses' death, with the completed hall of pillars serving as the burial chamber. Another notable tomb from this dynasty is KV19, the tomb of Mentuherkhepshef (son of Ramesses IX). The tomb is small and is simply a converted, unfinished corridor.
Return back to cruise and evening left the tour, went to the market. Roamed about at leisure.<strong> Within Luxor, there are only three main streets consisting of Sharia al-Mahatta, Sharia al-Karnak and the Corniched, next to the Nile</strong>. The street in front of the train station is Sharia al-Mahatta and runs away from the Nile where it meets the gardens of Luxor Temple. Sharia al-Karnak, or Maabad al-Karnak which means Karnak Temple Street runs along the Nile from Luxor Temple to Karnak Temple. However, Sharia al-Karnak is known as Sharia al-Markaz where it meets Sharia al-Mahatta street, and to the south around the temple it is known as Sharia al-Lokanda. Along this street one will find the colorful signs of restaurants and cafes, as well as bazaars where the usual variety of Egyptian souvenirs can be found. Of interest is the alabaster, which is plentiful along the west bank and miled not far from here. Also look for the clay pots used by the locals for cooking, which are more unusual. After leaving Luxor, head back to Sharia al-Karnak and go north towards Karnak. Down the road, near the police station which is near the tomb is the oldest mosque in Luxor, the El-Mekashkesh Mosque. It contains the remains of a 10th century Islamic saint who rumor has it was a monk prior to converting to Islam. The mosque is a popular pilgrimage destination. Here also is the Franciscan Church and its schools, one for boys and the other girls. Beyond this lies a great Coptic basilica.</p><p>At the Police station, head towards the Nile Corniche. Here, opposite the Mina Palace Hotel you will find the Mummification Museum, which has most anything you would ever want to know about mummifications. From here, head north towards Karnak Overnight onboard Nile Cruise.</p><p> </p><p><strong><u>DAY 16: Aswan to Cairo</u></strong><strong> <u>01^th NOV/2008</u> </strong><strong> </strong></p><p>After breakfast , packed and left luggage in the boat. Then went for a buggy ride, walk along the Nile and the a felluca ride to Banana island. Came back at 6 p.m were picked up at 7 p.m for train back to Cairo. Overnight onboard train in sleeper car, dinner included.</p><p><strong><u>DAY 17 : Cairo Tour</u></strong> <strong> <u>02^nd NOV/2008</u> </strong><br>[center;">Church of St. Sergio ( Abu Serga )[/center;" align="center">Egyptian Museum and Cairo Opera House are the two gems of the Cairo that make this city more fascinating and attractive. The Egyptian Museum:
In 1834 Mohamed Ali decreed an administration for the antiquities. He also ordered constituting the first museum in Al-Azbaquia. In 1858, August Mariette was in charge of the Egyptian Antiquities Institution and he built a museum in Bulaq, which opened in1863. In 1891, the antiquities were transferred from Bulaq to the Palace of Giza (Saray El-Giza). In 1902 the present museum was built. It has about 120,000 objects on display, and several hundred thousand are still in the vaults.



Returned to Hotel at 5 p.m went out and roamed about Cairo streets. Overnight in Cairo.



03^rd NOV/2008 Breakfast, went for a walk along the streets . Packed and left for airport at 11.30 a.m Flight at 3.10p.m from Cairo to Mumbai via Bahrain. Reached Mumbai 6.10 a.m 04 Nov.

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