Egypt

Departure from Montreal airport (P.E. Trudeau) on a flight to Cairo.

Note: Arrival at the airport at least 3 hours before departure.

❖ 5* hotel / Transport: Air-conditioned vehicle.

Arrival in Cairo. Welcome and transfer to hotel for check-in.

❖ Meals included : Breakfast / Accommodation : 5* Hotel / Transport : Air-conditioned vehicle.

Departure for a day of discovery of the famous monuments of ancient Egyptin the capital region:

• Pyramids of Giza Giza Pyramids: a vast funerary complex housing the tombs of the pharaohs and comprising three great pyramids. The pyramid of Cheops, the only one of the Seven Wonders of the World to have survived to the present day, is one of these imposing vestiges of Egyptian antiquity. It seems that the pyramids were erected some 4,500 years ago, and that their construction was facilitated by the existence of a branch of the Nile River, now dried up, which would have enabled the stones to be transported from nearby quarries. However, the engineering challenges involved in their construction still leave many questions unanswered in today’s scientific world.
• The SphinxThe Sphinx, a monument sculpted from limestone, stands in front of the three famous pyramids. It is the largest monolithic sculpture in the world.
• Dahshuranother royal necropolis of the great Egyptian dynasties, housing 2 pyramids built at the request of King Snefru. The first, known as the Rhomboid Pyramid, and the second, known as the Red Pyramid because of the red limestone used in its construction, shared the same ambition and the same challenge. However, only the second project was successful, leading to the construction of the^1st smooth-sided pyramid. The Red Pyramid thus officially became King Snefru’s resting place, after which his son Cheops had Egypt’s largest pyramid built using newly-acquired construction techniques.
• SaqqarahSaqqarah, a vast ancient Egyptian necropolis where royal tombs stand side by side with more modest burials, provides us with a wealth of evidence about daily life in ancient Egypt.

❖ Meals included : Breakfast / Accommodation : 5* Hotel / Transport : Air-conditioned vehicle.

Attractions attractions and places of interest capital :

• The Great Egyptian Museum (GEM), recently built, is the most important museum dedicated to Egyptian antiquity. Its monumental collection is the culmination of decades of archaeological research focused on the country’s history. On display are colossal statues of pharaohs, right down to the most common domestic objects of ancient Egypt.
• Khan el Khelili Bazaarthe best-known market in the Middle East, is a bustling place renowned for its many stores selling local products and souvenirs. (Colorful lamps, fabrics, copper objects, jewelry, spices, perfumes, musical instruments, etc.).
• Al Mo’ez StreetAl Mo’ez Street is an open-air museum, a must-see opportunity to immerse yourself in the Islamic world! This is one of the city’s oldest streets, home to some of the country’s most remarkable Islamic monuments and buildings.

❖ Meals included : Breakfast / Accommodation : 5* Hotel / Transport : Air-conditioned vehicle.

Visitreligious buildings in the capital :

• Mohammed Ali Mosque Mohammed Ali Mosque: Cairo’s most important Islamic sanctuary, built in the heart of the citadel in the ^19th century Ottoman architectural style for Viceroy Mohammed-Ali Pasha, considered the father of modern Egypt. He was responsible for Egypt’s entry into the industrial age, making the country one of the world’s leading cotton producers. He was behind the first initiatives to build railroads and dig canals to transport materials for export. Egypt owes him a debt of gratitude for major social reforms, including the country’s first military, medical and pharmacy schools.
• Al-Rifa’i Mosque Built between 1869 and 1911, this neo-Mamluk mosque also features a number of borrowings from European architecture. Its construction was part of the modernization of Cairo at the end of the ^19th century. A small pedestrian street separates it from the Sultan Hassan Mosque, built five centuries earlier.
• Sultan Hassan Mosque Built in the ^14th century in pure Mamluk style. Originally, this religious complex also housed a Sunni teaching school.
• Coptic CairoCoptic Cairo, a district that bears witness to the city’s Christian life. The Copts belong to the Alexandrian Church of Mark the Evangelist, and form one of the oldest Christian communities in the world.

❖ Meals included : Breakfast / Accommodation : 5* Hotel / Transport : Air-conditioned vehicle.

A grand tour of the El Fayoum region, a refreshing an oasis of freshness an hour south of the capital:

• Discover the Lake Qârun(Moéris), a very important reserve for the region, as well as a body of water much frequented by fishermen and winged fauna.
• Visit the Wadi El Rayan Fallsthe highest waterfalls in the country, offering a view in stark contrast to the surrounding arid landscape.
• Dinner prepared by villagers, featuring Egyptian specialties.
• Sandboard on the sandy plateau, a unique experience!
• Memorable ride in 4X4 in the desert.
• Visitpottery workshopsa local specialty.

❖ Meals included : Breakfast / Accommodation : 5* Hotel / Transport : Air-conditioned vehicle.

Journey to Alexandria and tour of the city’s must-see sites:

• LibraryInaugurated in 2002, the Library of Alexandria is a mecca of modern culture, built on the site of the most famous library of antiquity. Officially trilingual, the current library holds some 8 million books. It is the largest library in the Mediterranean world.
• CatacombsEgypt’s largest Roman funerary site, featuring tombs, statues and archaeological artifacts dating back to the Pharaonic funerary cult.
• Quaitbay Citadel Fortress built in the 15th century on the site of Alexandria’s famous lighthouse to protect the city from the threat of the Ottoman Empire.

❖ Meals included : Breakfast / Accommodation : 5* Hotel / Transport : Air-conditioned vehicle.

Continuing the discovery of Alexandria :

• Visit the Museum of Royal Jewelsfeaturing a collection of necklaces, bracelets, swords, watches and precious and semi-precious stone ornaments that belonged to past royalty. The building that houses it is a small masterpiece built in the ^19th century, when European-influenced architecture prevailed in Egypt’s major cities.
• Visit the St. Mark’s Catholic Cathedral built on the site where the evangelist St. Mark is said to have founded the Christian church of Alexandria in the^1st century.
• Abu el-Abbas el-Mursi Mosque an important Muslim place of worship restored in the ^18th and 15th centuries, but whose origins date back to the early ^8th century, when Islam was first established in Egypt.

Journey to Cairo.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast, lunch and dinner / Accommodation: 5* cruise/ Transportation: Air-conditioned vehicle, plane and boat.

Transfer to the airport for internal flight to Luxor and installation on the cruise ship. Visit of the important monuments of the ancient city of Thebes (now known as Luxor).

• Temple of Karnakthe largest religious complex in the ancient city, with temples, chapels, colonnades and corridors all magnificently decorated and sculpted, and probably the longest building project in history, spanning more than 2,000 years.
• Luxor Templededicated to the cult of Amun, this temple was an integral part of the religious urbanism of ancient Thebes, since the religious ceremonies performed here echoed those of the great temple of Karnak, less than 2 km away. The Opet festival was celebrated here, one of the most sumptuous feasts in ancient Egypt. The sphinx-lined aisle and its large, harmonious colonnades are highly interesting sculptural features.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast, lunch and dinner / Accommodation and transport: 5* cruise.

Departure to discover the majestic monuments of this mythical region:

• Valley of the Kingsstretching along the west bank of the Nile, is a region renowned for housing the tombs of New Kingdom pharaohs (^16th to ^11th BC) and their families. Visit 3 temples with richly decorated tombs.
• Hatshepsut TempleHatshepsut Temple, an ancient funerary temple comprising a well-preserved complex of chapels, galleries, terraces and porticoes carved from limestone. The imposing construction is said to have taken just 15 years.
• Colossi of Memnongiant stone sculptures on the west bank of the Nile, on the road leading to Thebes, the last remains of a huge temple that no longer exists.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast, lunch and dinner / Accommodation and transport: 5* cruise.

• Temple of Edfudedicated to the cult of Horus, god of royalty and protector of the pharaohs. Built in the Pharaonic style under King Ptolemy in the^3rd century BC, this temple is the^2nd largest sanctuary in Egypt after Karnak.
• Temple of Kom Ombodedicated to the gods Sobek (fertility god) and Haroëris (beneficent god and protector of Upper Egypt in^2nd B.C.). Arrival by boat, offering a breathtaking view of the site.
• Sailing to Aswan.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast, lunch and dinner / Accommodation and transport: 5* cruise.

• Temple of Philaédedicated to the cult of Isis, the patron goddess of the home, this site was the last place where this cult was practiced. In fact, it was the last bastion of ancient Egyptian religion, which continued to flourish until the early^5th century CE.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast, lunch and dinner / Accommodation and transport: 5* cruise.

• Discover the Abu Simbel Templesarchitectural jewels carved out of a rocky cliff. Pharaoh Ramses II, himself deified, was the instigator of this great construction project, which was intended to mark his power over the territory and gold resources of Nubia.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner / Accommodation and transport: 5* cruise.

• Aswan High DamThe Aswan High Dam, built on the Nile in the 1960s, is considered one of the world’s largest hydroelectric dams. The project was designed not only to generate electricity for the country, but also to provide a water reservoir and flood control system for agriculture.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast, lunch and dinner / Accommodation and transport: 5* cruise.

• Sailing on the Nile towards Luxor.
• Free time and rest.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner / Lodging: 4* hotel / Transportation: Air-conditioned vehicle.

• After breakfast, disembark and end the cruise.
• AM: Drive to Hurghada, the country’s seaside resort par excellence. World-renowned for its clear waters and coral reefs, visitors come from all over to enjoy diving and windsurfing.
• PM : Guided city tour of Hurghada. Visit Hurghada’s Grand Mosque, harbour and fish market.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner / Accommodation: 4* hotel.

• Free time to enjoy this little paradise on the Red Sea. Beach and optional activities.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner / Accommodation: 4* hotel.

• Free time to enjoy this little paradise on the shores of the Red Sea.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner / Accommodation: 4* hotel.

• Free time to enjoy this little paradise on the shores of the Red Sea.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast / Accommodation: 5* Hotel/ Transport: air-conditioned vehicle and plane.

Transfer to Hurghada airport and internal flight to Cairo.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast / Transport: Air-conditioned vehicle and plane.

• Departure for Cairo airport and international flight to Montreal.

• Cairo: Hotel CONCORDE EL SALAM 5* or equivalent
• Alexandria: Hotel SUNRISE ALEXANDRIE 5* or equivalent
• Nile: 5* cruise (name of cruise ship to be determined, as cruise departure times vary according to the day of the week)
• Hurghada: Hotel FORT ARABESQUE 4* or equivalent

• International flights
• 2 Domestic flights: Cairo-Louxor and Hurghada-Cairo
• Shuttles to and from airports
• Transportation in air-conditioned vehicle with professional driver
• All accommodations (4 and 5 stars)
• 2 meals a day (on average)
• All activities and admissions to sites shown in red on the program and accompanied by a local guide, except admission to Wadi El Rayan Falls, which costs $10 per traveller.
• Visit the Temples of Abu Simbel
• Visit to the GEM (Great Museum of Egypt)
• Certified French-speaking local guide present with the group at all times, except during the beach stay and the Hurghada-Louxor trip
• 4X4 ride in the desert
• Village dinner in El Fayoum
• Sandboarding down the El Fayoum plateau
• All taxes
• 24/7 support
• Organization from A to Z

• Visa
• Some meals
• Beverages
• Tips
• Personal expenses
• Optional activities

• Please note that the itinerary may change at any time for logistical reasons, but that the list of activities and visits on the program is always respected. Please also note that the version of the program appearing on our website takes precedence over any printed version.