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"CLEOPATRA'S DREAM"EGYPTIAN TOUR IS A WIDE-EYED BARGAIN
For the Nile cruise portion of the tour, all passengers who book Tuesday departures through Nubian Nile Cruises will be upgraded to the legendary Nile Crown, flagship of the ISIS fleet on the Nile. The Nile Crown is one of the most luxurious vessels on the Nile. "It is not surprising that the 'Cleopatra's Dream' program is so popular," says Omar Zaher, president of Nubian Nile Cruises. "This extraordinary low price brings one of the world's fabled travel destinations within the budgets of a vast number of travelers. Yet it is a tour that does not cut corners and is packed with all-inclusive extras. It visits the cradle of ancient civilization and includes all of the major sights the Pyramids, sphinx, and temples and also provides a chance to enjoy a luxury cruise down the Nile."
Then comes evening departure aboard an air-conditioned, separate double-compartment sleeper train with early-morning arrival in Luxor. Breakfast is served aboard the Nile Crown followed by an afternoon visit to the gigantic Great Temple of Amon at Karnak and the mighty Temple of Luxor. There is an evening sailing for Edfu, passing through the Esna Locks. At Edfu, passengers climb aboard horse-drawn carriages to clip-clop through town to the Temple of Horus, Egypt's best-preserved temple. Re-embarking on the Nile cruiser, they then sail downstream to Kom Ombo to visit its twin temples. By late afternoon the cruiser reaches Aswan, in time for a sailing by felucca to visit the Botanical Garden. (An optional trip by air to the temples of Abu Simbel, Ramses the Great, and Queen Nefertari is available at $205 per person).
Later, there is a short camel caravan from Aswan to visit a nearby Nubian village. This is an authentic village not a replica designed for tourists where visitors are able to meet the friendly Nubian people. This is the only tour to Egypt that includes this feature. Passing through the Esna Locks, there is a chance to enjoy the scenery as the cruiser passes villages that have changed little since Biblical times. At Luxor, passengers cross the Nile by ferry to tour the magnificent tombs in the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, including the great funerary temple of Queen Hatshepsut. Then comes a return flight to Cairo and transfer to Novotel Cairo Airport for the flight home.
Also included is a 6 days/ 5 nights Nile cruise on the luxurious Nile Crown, including all meals and shore excursions, plus first class (4-star) hotel accommodations. There is a $400 air supplement for departures in June, July, and August. For those who want to extend their stay in the Middle East, extensions to Israel are available with every departure. Nubian Nile Cruises Edited By Shekeria Brown -Updated 5-25-99- |
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Passengers will feel like royalty when they reserve space on
this year's version of
The tour begins in Cairo with a stay at the first-class
superior Pyramids Park Hotel (if you plan to arrive early, extra nights can be
arranged). In Cairo, a comprehensive sightseeing tour includes visits to
Saladin's Citadel, the Alabaster Mosque of Mohammed Ali, and the Egyptian
Museum of Antiquity, housing the world's finest collection of ancient Egyptian
art. Highlights include visits to the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx. Lunch is
provided at a local restaurant.
There is a tour of the Aswan dams, a visit to a red-granite
quarry used in ancient times to view a massive unfinished obelisk, and a visit
to the island temples of Philae. In the afternoon there is a sail on the Nile
by felucca, a sailing vessel that has remained unchanged since the time of the
ancient pharaohs. These fast, narrow sailing vessels still glide down the Nile
as they did when Ramses II stood on its banks and watched them go by.
Departure dates are weekly, year-round (except during the
period Dec 15-Jan 5). The all-inclusive price of $1,659 (per person, double
occupancy) includes round-trip airfare from New York on Olympic Airways via
Athens, sleeper train and domestic airfare within Egypt, most meals, and guided
sightseeing (including entrance fees).