We arrive in the Egyptian capital and transfer to our hotel.  As guests’ arrival times may vary greatly, we have no group activities or meals planned.

We meet our fellow travelers and Odysseys Unlimited Tour Director at a morning briefing about the journey ahead then set out for the day.  We begin at Cairo's Egyptian Museum, currently housing some artifacts from the Tutankhamun collection.  We continue on to the Citadel of Saladin, an impressive medieval hilltop fortress.  Tonight: a reception at our hotel followed by a welcome dinner at a local restaurant.

This morning we travel to the Giza Plateau and its three famed pyramids, including the Great Pyramid (or Pyramid of Cheops), which survives as the last of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  A truly awe-inspiring sight, the Great Pyramid was built around 2600 BCE, and stands more than 450 feet tall.  We also see the enigmatic Sphinx, whose leonine body and human face were carved from a single piece of limestone. Next, we tour the exciting (and recently opened) new Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in the shadow of the pyramids, whose collection showcases over 700,000 years of Egyptian history.

Today we visit some of the finest sites in Egyptian antiquity, beginning at the open-air museum at Memphis, Egypt’s first capital. We continue to nearby Sakkara, a necropolis used for more than 3,000 years to bury Old Kingdom royalty – and still largely unexcavated today. This afternoon, we return to Cairo where we visit the colorful Khan El-Khalili bazaar; 5^th-century St. Sergius Church; Coptic el-Mauallaqa, the “hanging church” built over the bastions of a Roman gate; and 10^th-century St. George’s Church.

It’s a very early morning as we fly to Aswan, then connect with a flight to Abu Simbel.  Here desert sands replace the Lower Nile’s cultivated fields, and the Nubian influence still casts an exotic spell.  We see the temples and colossal statues of Ramses II and his wife Nefertari that were dismantled stone by stone and moved to higher ground during the construction of the Aswan Dam.  The site is awe-inspiring; four statues of Ramses each stand 65 feet high, and the temples’ well-preserved pictographs tell some remarkable ancient stories.  At midday, we fly back to Aswan, where we have lunch at a local restaurant then enjoy an afternoon at leisure.

We embark our Nile cruise ship this morning then visit the Aswan High Dam, considered a marvel of engineering when it opened in 1970.  Next, we explore the ruins of the acclaimed Temples of Philae, which were relocated when the Aswan High Dam was completed – after having been submerged by the construction of the Aswan Low Dam in 1906.  This afternoon, we board small feluccas, replicas of ancient Nile sailboats, for a relaxing sail.

This morning, we visit the Nubia Museum, an acclaimed showcase of Nubian art and architecture.  Later we cruise to the site of the ancient trading town at Kom Ombo, which sat on the great caravan route from Nubia.  Here we see outstanding Nile views from an unusual double temple, dedicated both to the crocodile God Sobek and to the falcon God Haroeris.

In Edfu this morning, we tour the Temple of Horus, considered the best preserved of all Egypt’s ancient temples.  Then we cruise to Luxor, once ancient Thebes, the world’s “greatest open-air museum” whose vast temple complexes, tombs, and statues dating from 2755 BCE represent the pinnacle of Egyptian architecture.  We explore Luxor’s East Bank, site of splendid Karnak Temple, which was under construction for some 1,500 years.  We see the temple’s enormous pylons, the Temple of Ramses II, the Great Hypostyle Hall, and the two Obelisks of Hatshepsut.  Next: Luxor Temple, whose builders included both Tutankhamun and Alexander the Great.

We disembark our ship then tour Luxor’s West Bank, including the haunting Valley of the Kings, where we see the magnificent paintings in several of the 34 royal tombs; the Valley of the Queens, where the dramatic Temple of Hatshepsut honors one of the few female pharaohs; and the imposing 3,400-year-old Colossi of Memnon statues, each standing 65 feet high.

We have the choice to rise very early today to see the West Bank from above on an optional hot air balloon ride.  Together we visit Luxor Museum, housing relics discovered at Luxor, including the mummified remains of two pharaohs, items from the renowned tomb of Tutankhamun, and statuary from the New Kingdom era (c. 16^th-11^th century BCE).

Following our morning flight to Cairo, we board our motorcoach bound for Alexandria, Egypt’s second largest city and main port.  En route, we visit the 4^th-century Coptic Orthodox monastery of Deir Anba Bishoi, dedicated to the Egyptian Saint Pishoy.  This afternoon we reach Alexandria, the great city of antiquity founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BCE.

Today’s touring begins at the Catacombs of Kon El Shoqafa, the tri-level “mound of shards” that casts light on Alexandria’s Greco-Roman heritage.  Next: Pompey’s Pillar, a massive freestanding column measuring 67 feet high that was constructed from a single piece of red Aswan granite, then the well-preserved ruin of the ancient Roman theater.  Later we proceed to the Citadel of Qaitbay, built on the site of the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

This morning we visit the site of another wonder of ancient Alexandria, though it too has sadly been lost to time: the Great Library of Alexandria.  Founded in the 3^rd century BCE, the library was considered one of the greatest accomplishments of antiquity.  The Bibliotheca Alexandrina complex we visit today pays tribute to this ancient wonder, with its huge, visually stunning main reading room, with space for nearly nine million books.  Later we tour the National Museum of Alexandria, displaying more than 1,800 items from different Egyptian eras.

On tap today: the Royal Jewelry Museum, with jewelry, paintings, and statues of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty from the 19^th and 20^th centuries.  Then we coach to Cairo and our airport area hotel, where we celebrate our Egyptian adventure over a farewell dinner.

Very early this morning, we transfer to the airport for our return flight to the United States.