#79 best destination in the world
Farafra
- Western Desert of Egypt containing massive chalk rock formations
- Formations are the result of occasional sandstorms
Shunet El Zebib
- Large mudbrick mortuary temple
- Dates back to 2700 BC
- One of the oldest buildings in the world
- Built by the Ancient Egyptian pharaoah Khasekhemwy
Pyramid of Djoser
- Burial built in the 27th century BC
- Was once clad in polished white limestone
- One of the oldest buildings in the world
Meidum
- Archaelogical site containing a large pyramid and several mud-brick mastabas (flat-roofed ancient Egyptian tombs)
- Built in 2580 BC
- One of the oldest buildings in the world
Bent Pyramid
- Tomb that dates back to 2600 BC
- Built under the Old Kingdom Pharaoh Sneferu
- One of the oldest buildings in the world
Red Pyramid
- Tomb built in 2580 BC
- Named for the reddish hue of its red limestone stones
- Believed to be Egypt’s first successful attempt at constructing a true smooth-sided pyramid
- During the Middle Ages much of the white Tura limestone was taken for buildings in Cairo, revealing the red limestone beneath
- One of the oldest buildings in the world
Islamic Cairo
- One of the world’s oldest Islamic cities
- The old walled city is characterized by hundreds of mosques, tombs, madrasas, mansions, caravanserais, and fortifications dating back to the Islamic era (641-969 AD)
- UNESCO World Heritage Site
Saint Catherine’s Monastery
- Eastern Orthodox monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai at the mouth of a gorge
- Built from 548-565
- One of the oldest working Christian monasteries in the world
- Contains the world’s oldest continually operating library
- UNESCO World Heritage Site
Abu Simbel Temples
- Twin rock temples carved out of the side of a mountain in 1264 BC
- Completed under the rein of Pharaoah Ramesses II to commemorate the Battle of Kadesh
- Was relocated in 1968 as necessary to prevent being submerged during the creation of Lake Nasser
- UNESCO World Heritage Site
Karnak
- Complex of decayed temples, chapels, and pylons
- Part of monumental city of Thebes
- UNESCO World Heritage Site
Hathor Temple
- Temple dedicated to Hathor
- One of the best preserved temples in all Egypt
- Includes depictions of Cleopatra and Julius Caesar
Great Pyramid of Giza
- The oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
- Built in 2560 BC
- Was the tallest man-made structure in the world for more than 3,800 years at 481 ft originally
- UNESCO World Heritage Site
Egyptian Museum
- Extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities
- It has 120,000 items, with a representative amount on display, the remainder in storerooms
- Built in 1901
- One of the largest museums in the region
- As of 2019, the museum is open to the public
Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria
- Oriental Orthodox Christian church that follows the Alexandrian Rite for its liturgy, prayer and devotional patrimony
- With 15 to 20 million members in Egypt, it is the country’s largest Christian church
- According to its tradition, the Coptic Church was established by Saint Mark, an apostle and evangelist, during the middle of AD 42
- After AD 639 Egypt was ruled by its Islamic conquerors from Arabia, and the treatment of the Coptic Christians ranged from tolerance to open persecution
- The same century also saw the Copts become a religious minority
- During the 14th and 15th centuries, Nubian Christianity was supplanted by Islam
QV66
- Tomb of Nefertari, the Great Wife of Pharaoh Ramesses II, in Egypt’s Valley of the Queens
- Discovered by the director of the Egyptian Museum in 1904
- Nefertari was Ramesses II’s favorite wife; he went out of his way to make this obvious, referring to her as “the one for whom the sun shines” in his writings, built the Temple of Hathor to idolize her as a deity, and commissioned portraiture wall paintings
- In the Valley of the Queens, Nefertari’s tomb once held the mummified body and representative symbolisms of her, like what most Egyptian tombs consisted of
- Now, everything had been looted except for two thirds of the 5,200 square feet of wall paintings
- In the paintings, her face was given a lot of attention to emphasize her beauty, especially the shape of her eyes, the blush of her cheeks, and her eyebrows
- Some paintings were full of lines and color of red, blue, yellow, and green that portrayed exquisite directions to navigating through the afterlife to paradise
Heracleion
- Was an ancient Egyptian city located near the Nile
- Its ruins are located in Abu Qir Bay, under 30 ft of water
- A stele found on the site indicates that it was one single city known by both its Egyptian and Greek names
- Its legendary beginnings go back to as early as the 12th century BC, and it is mentioned by ancient Greek historians
- Its importance grew particularly during the waning days of the Pharaohs
Nilometer
- Was a structure for measuring the Nile River’s clarity and water level during the annual flood season
- If the water level was low, there would be famine
- If it was too high, it would be destructive
- There was a specific mark that indicated how high the flood should be if the fields were to get good soil
- Records from AD 622–999 indicate that, on average, 28% of the years saw an inundation that fell short of expectations
- In the 20th century, the Nile’s annual inundation was first greatly reduced, and then eliminated entirely, with the construction of the Aswan dams
City of the Dead (Cairo)
- Series of vast Islamic-era necropolises and cemeteries on the edges of Historic Cairo
- Developed over many centuries and contains both the graves of Cairo’s common population as well as the elaborate mausoleums of many of its historical rulers and elites
- Founded in 642 AD
- UNESCO World Heritage Site
Colossi of Memnon
- Two massive stone statues of the Pharaoh Amenhotep III, who reigned in Egypt during the Dynasty XVIII
- Since 1350 BC, they have stood in the Theban Necropolis, located west of the River Nile
Costs
all flights $1,957
food $9/day x 18 days = $153
hotel $19/day x 17 days = $323
tickets (all attractions) $41
TOTAL for whole itinerary $2,474
