Egyptian Discovery

Itinerary

Day 1 Arrive Cairo

Arrive in to Cairo at any time. There are no planned activities, so check into to the hotel (check-in time is approx 3pm) and enjoy the city. In the late afternoon (approx 5pm) you will meet your fellow group members to go over the details of your trip and for the leader to collect your local payment. Check the notice board (or ask reception) to see the exact time and location of this group meeting. After the meeting we will be heading out for a meal in a nearby local restaurant (optional). If you arrive late, no worries, the leader will leave you a message at the front desk.

Day 2 Cairo

We spend our first morning at the majestic Pyramids at Giza. In the afternoon visit the Cairo Egyptian Museum to see the famous treasures of Tutankhamen’s tomb.The Great Pyramid of GizaJust on the south-eastern edge of Cairo, not more than a few hundred meters from the modern buildings of the suburb of Giza, lie three huge pyramids, built by the Kings of the 4th Dynasty of the Old Kingdom. The tallest and oldest of these pyramids is the Great Pyramid, Cheops or Khufu's pyramid. Built nearly 46 centuries ago to house the tomb of the Pharaoh Khufu, this structure originally stood 147 meters high (481 feet) with each side of its base measuring 230 meters (756 feet - that's 2-1/2 American football fields); its base covers 5 hectares (13 acres).The Great Pyramid once had a smooth limestone covering, but that and the very top of the pyramid (which was probably coated in platinum) have long since fallen away. Still, after over 4500 years it's only lost nine metres (35 feet) in height. Experts estimate that the Great Pyramid contains well over two million limestone blocks, each weighing between two and fifteen tons apiece. A quick calculation (2-1/2 million blocks weighing about 3 tons apiece) brings you to the mind-numbing estimate that the pyramid weighs at least fifteen billion pounds! It took an army of 100,000 workers twenty years (working during the three or four month-long flood season every year) to complete Cheops’ pyramid alone.The SphinxA sphinx is a mythical beast with the body of a lion and the head of a human; its most famous portrayal is the huge statue located just in front of the great pyramids at Giza. Though dwarfed by the pyramids, the Sphinx at Giza is still enormous: its body is 172 feet (52.4 meters) in length while the height to the top of the head is 66 feet (20 meters).The Greeks, as is common with the closely inter-related civilizations of the Mediterranean, borrowed the idea of a sphinx from the Egyptians, and it is the Greek legend of the sphinx with which we are most familiar. In that legend the sphinx asked every passerby a riddle and devoured anyone that failed to answer it correctly. After many travelers were eaten, Oedipus answered the riddle correctly and killed the sphinx.The Egyptians, however, did not seem to have the same sort of legends about the sphinx. Indeed, no one really knows what the Sphinx represented to them. Some Egyptologists think that the Sphinx represented the sky-god Horus, but there is certainly evidence to indicate that the head of the sphinx portrayed the reigning pharaoh. If this is the case then the face staring out eastward towards the Nile is that of Pharaoh Khafre, whose pyramid lies directly behind the great statue.The mystery of the Sphinx at Giza extends to the strange circumstances surrounding the loss of both its beard and its nose. No one seems to know when or why these pieces of the Sphinx fell off. The most common story is that occupying Ottoman (or French, depending on who tells the story) soldiers used the Sphinx for target practice and essentially shot the nose off its face. Or it could just have fallen off with the passage of time. The issue is whether the monument should be restored to its former glory. Of course the question of a face-lift is complicated by the fact that the British snapped up the nose and are keeping it in the British Museum…even though the Egyptians have long demanded its return!The Egyptian MuseumThe Egyptian Museum is one of the most important places in Cairo. Packed to the point of overflowing with more than 100,000 relics and antiquities, it is a feast for the eyes and brain.The Egyptian Museum is a fantastic collection of rooms packed with thousands statues, figurines, jewellery, coffins and sarcophagi, weapons, tools, masks, coins, seals, mummies, cloth, papyrus drawings, stone and clay tablets with hieroglyphics, etc, etc. Wandering from room to room is like taking a stroll through history.It is impossible to see everything in one visit, so start out with the main attraction: the 1,700 or so objects on display from the tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamen. In 1361 BC, a young boy (only about 9 or 10 years old) named Tutankhamen, ascended to the throne as Pharaoh of the New Kingdom. His rule of nine years, until 1352 BC (he died suddenly and without leaving any heirs) was not marked by anything unusual; yet today he has become the most famous Pharaoh of all.In 1922, British Egyptologist Howard Carter, after several years of searching, found King Tut's tomb completely intact and full of treasures--important because all tombs Egyptian pharaohs until now had been looted over the centuries. Even though all tombs were meant to be secret, of the 60 known tombs in the Valley of the Tombs of the Kings, only Tutankhamen’s was left untouched.The most famous of all the objects discovered was the legendary gold mask placed over the head of King Tut's mummy. The mask was just one of 11 layers in which the body was placed, including more masks, body wraps of gold and precious rocks, coffins of different sizes (also made of, or covered in, gold) and large gold-covered wooden shrines. Even his inner organs were kept in four compartments of a beautiful alabaster container. In addition, the body was accompanied by enormous amounts of exquisite jewellery, beds supported by animal sculptures, chairs, boats, chariots, other assorted goods intended to be used by King Tut in his next life.

Day 3 Sarabit El Khadem

An early morning start leads us into the Egyptian desert. Our adventure takes us from Cairo to Sarabit El Khadem via the Suez Canal tunnel, stopping at Hammam Pharaoh (Pharaoh’s bath Sulphur Springs). We arrive in Sarabit El Khadem to set up camp for a night under the Egyptian sky.

Day 4 Wadi Maghara

After a hearty breakfast, a morning mountain trek takes us to the temple of Hathor, dedicated to the Goddess of love and joy. Stopping first for a visit to Wadi Mokatab, we eventually make camp at Wadi Maghara, and sleep on the sand under the desert stars.

Day 5 St. Catharina - Sinai High Mountain

Wake with the sun and break camp before venturing to Wadi Feran. Spend the night in the Sinai High Mountains, at the little mountain town of St. Catharina.

Day 6 Dahab

Early morning trek to watch the sunrise from Mount Sinai (Mount Moses), site of the biblical Ten Commandments. Walk though history at the St. Catherine Monastery, built on the site of the famous ‘burning bush,’ before our adventure finally takes us to Dahab for a last night as a group before the journey ends. The traditional Mount Sinai, located in the Sinai Peninsula, is actually the name of a collection of peaks, sometimes referred to as the Holy Mountains. The mountain was called Sinai, or "the mount of God;" on its southern end is Mount Mousa aka Mount Moses. This peak is traditionally considered to be biblical place where Moses communicated with God and received the Ten Commandments. It also has considerable religious significance to Islam as the place where Mohammed's horse, Boraq, ascended to heaven.Mount Musa is 7,495 feet (2,285 metres) high; the highest peak in the Sinai and Egypt is nearby Mount Catherine, at 8652 feet (2637 metres). There are two routes up Mount Musa: Siket Syidna Musa, a steep stairway consisting of 3,750 steps, known as the "steps of penitence," hewn out of stone by the monks of St. Catherine's Monastery; and the longer but safer route most hikers take at night in order to watch the sunrise from its peak.

Day 7 Depart Dahab

You are free to depart at any time on Day 7, though remember check out from the hotel is at noon.

Trip Details

Accommodation	Hotel (4 nts), Camp (2 nts).
Departure	Departs every Thursday and Sunday, year-round
DepEnd	Thurs-Thurs, Sun-Sun
Group Size	Max 15, Avg 10
Meals Included	6 Breakfasts, 3 Lunches, 3 Dinners.
Recommendation	Want to see more of Egypt? Try the Absolute Egypt DPAE. See p.56
StartFinish	Cairo to Dahab
Transport	Private van, bus, jeep.

When can I go?

Start Date	Finish Date	Places Available
2009-03-08	2009-03-14	7+
2009-04-05	2009-04-11	7+
2009-05-03	2009-05-09	7+
2009-06-07	2009-06-13	7+
2009-07-05	2009-07-11	7+
2009-08-02	2009-08-08	7+
2009-09-06	2009-09-12	7+
2009-11-08	2009-11-14	7+
2009-12-06	2009-12-12	7+
2010-01-03	2010-01-09	7+
2010-02-07	2010-02-13	7+
2010-03-07	2010-03-13	7+
2009-03-08	2009-03-14	7+
2009-04-05	2009-04-11	7+
2009-05-03	2009-05-09	7+
2009-06-07	2009-06-13	7+
2009-07-05	2009-07-11	7+
2009-08-02	2009-08-08	7+
2009-09-06	2009-09-12	7+
2009-11-08	2009-11-14	7+
2009-12-06	2009-12-12	7+
2010-01-03	2010-01-09	7+
2010-02-07	2010-02-13	7+
2010-03-07	2010-03-13	7+

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