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| Egypt
» Egypt Solar Eclipse Tour 2006 |
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TOUR NAME :
EGYPT SOLAR ECLIPSE TOUR 2006
TOUR CODE : |
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SOLAR ECLIPSE 2006 TOUR
HIGHLIGHTS :
A total eclipse of the sun will take place on March 29, 2006,
and pass diagonally through central Africa and finally hitting
the Mediterranean Sea at Saloum, Egypt, on the Libyan border.
Few phenomena have so inspired and humbled humans throughout the
ages as a total solar eclipse. Standing under the shadow of the
moon as it races across the face of our planet is a rare and breathtaking
experience. With fewer than 70 total eclipses per century, the
chance to see one is a once-in-a-lifetime event.
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SOLAR ECLIPSE TOUR INFO:
SOLAR ECLIPSE TOUR DAYS : 8
Days / 7 Nights
Accommodation will be provided on Room with
meals as specified in the itinerary. An extra bed will be provided
in the room for three persons sharing one room. The extra bed
is often a folding bed, much inferior to the existing twin/double
bed.
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| Place Covered |
Nights |
Deluxe Hotels |
| Cairo |
01 Nights |
Grand Hyatt |
| Alexandria |
01 Nights |
Sheraton Montazah |
| Marsa Matrouh |
02 Nights |
El Lido |
| Cairo |
03 Nights |
Grand Hyatt |
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| TOUR ITINERARY: |
| Day 1 (Sunday, March 26) - Cairo |
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Upon arrival in Cairo, you will be met by our
representative and transferred to your hotel for overnight.
Grand Hyatt Cairo, is a new deluxe 5-star property ideally located
on an island in the Nile, in the very center of Cairo
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| Day 2 (Monday, March 27) : Alexandria
(B,L) |
After breakfast drive the Desert Road to Alexandria. This second
largest city in Egypt was built by Alexander the Great on the
site of an old fishing village with a small harbor sheltered
by the island of Pharos. Upon arrival in Alexandria, visit the
Catacomb (Kom El Shoafa), a remarkable example of the Alexandrian
blend of Greco-Roman and Egyptian styles carved into 100ft of
solid rock. Lunch en route.
Next, visit the Alexandria Library. In antiquity, the library
at Alexandria was the largest and most important library in
the world. In April 2003, the library was reopened with the
ambition of reclaiming its former glory and prestige. Continue
to Montazah Gardens, where you will have the opportunity to
see, from outside only, the Montazah palace. Originally built
in 1892, the palace dates from 1926 and was the summer home
of the Egyptian Royal family. Transfer to your hotel for overnight
Sheraton Montazah Hotel, is a 5-star Deluxe property.
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| Day 3 (Tuesday, March 28): Marsa Matrouh
(B, D) |
After breakfast, drive to El Alamein (about 88 miles west of
Alexandria) to visit the War Museum, which commemorates the
defeat of General Rommel on October 23, 1942. Also visit the
Commonwealth War Cemetery. Continue to Marsa Matrouh for dinner
and overnight. Our hotel, EL LIDO, is a standard 3-star property
with basic and clean facilities including private baths.
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| Day 4 (Wednesday, March 29) : Marsa
Matrouh (B, D) |
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After breakfast, we will have an early departure
by our private coach to the viewing site of the eclipse, located
about 140 miles from our hotel towards the Libyan border, near
the small town called As-Sallum.
After the eclipse we will drive back to our hotel for dinner and
overnight.
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| Day 5 (Thursday, March 30) : Cairo
(B) |
Return to Cairo, approximately 7 hours from El Alamein (250
miles). Transfer to your hotel for overnight stay in Hotel Grand
Hyatt.
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| Day 6 (Friday, March 31) : Cairo (B,
L) |
After breakfast your private Egyptologist / tour guide and
driver will pick you up and start your tour. Drive to Giza and
visit the Pyramids. See the Great Pyramid, the Royal Burial
Chambers and the Sphinx. Then visit the Solar Boat, one of the
most amazing Pharaonic discoveries. Continue to Memphis, capital
of the Pharaohs during the Old Kingdom. Visit the recumbent
statue of Ramses II and the 80-ton Alabaster Sphinx. Lunch en
route. Continue to Sakara to see the prototype of the Pyramids,
the Step Pyramid, built for the 3rd Dynasty Pharaoh Djoser by
the exalted architect Imhotep. Return to Cairo hotel for overnight
stay in Hotel Grand Hyatt.
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| Day 7 (Saturday, April 01) : Cairo
(B, L) |
This morning drive to the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities for
a private guided tour. Among other fascinating exhibits, see
the treasures of the Tomb of Tutankhamen and the extraordinary
Mummies Room. Over ten mummies, including that of Ramses II,
are displayed in freestanding glass cases in this climate-controlled
room. Walk around the mummies, examine them from all angles,
and gaze into their incredibly well preserved 3000-year-old
faces. Next, enter Old Cairo and walk back in time. Visit the
Old Coptic Church and the Ben Ezra Synagogue. Lunch en route.
Continue to the Mohamed Ali Mosque and the streets of Khan el
Khalili Bazaar. Return to your hotel for overnight stay in Hotel
Grand Hyatt.
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| DAY 8: Day 8 (Sunday, April 02) :
Cairo (B) |
Breakfast at hotel and then transferred to the airport.
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| OPTIONAL NILE CRUISE (APRIL 01-06,
2006) |
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SATURDAY: APRIL 01 -
NILE CRUISE (Aswan) (B,L,D)
You will be transferred to Cairo airport for your very flight
to Aswan. Upon arrival you will be met by our representative and
transferred to your cruise, Oberoi Philae for lunch. After lunch,
take a felucca ride around Elephantine Island, the largest of
the Aswan area islands, and site of some of the most ancient ruins
in Egypt, some dating to the pre-dynastic period. Continue sailing
around Kitchener Island. From the river you have a nice view of
the Aga Khan Mausoleum, an elegant pink granite structure built
in the late 1950’s. Return to your cruise for dinner and
overnight in Aswan.
SUNDAY:
APRIL 02 - NILE CRUISE (Edfu) (B,L,D)
After breakfast, take a tour of Aswan High Dam, Egypt’s
contemporary example of building on a monumental scale. Next,
proceed to the granite quarries which supplied the ancient Egyptians
with most of the hard stone used in pyramids and temples. The
quarries still hold the Unfinished Obelisk, possibly intended
as a companion to the Lateran Obelisk, originally at Karnak but
now in Rome. It would have weighed over 1,100 tons and would have
been the world’s largest piece of stone ever handled. Continue
by a short motor-boat ride to the Temple of Philae on the island
of Agilka. The temple was dedicated to Isis, sister/wife of Osiris
and patroness of the Ptolemaic rule. Return to your cruise vessel
and sail to Kom Ombo. After lunch on board, visit the Temple of
Sobek, the crocodile-headed god of fertility and creator of the
world. The temple stands at a bend in the Nile where, in ancient
times, sacred crocodiles basked in the sun on the riverbank. Dinner
and overnight on-board the cruise.
MONDAY:
APRIL 03 - NILE CRUISE (Luxor) (B,L,D)
After breakfast on board, set out by horse-drawn carriage to visit
the Temple of Horus, the most perfectly preserved of all the Nile
temples. Horus, also known as Haroeris, was the falcon-headed
solar war god. Sail to Esna. Then cross the lock and sail to Luxor
for dinner and overnight.
TUESDAY:
APRIL 04 - NILE CRUISE (Luxor) (B,L,D)
After breakfast onboard, cross to the West Bank of the Nile and
visit the wondrous Valleys of the Kings and Queens a vast city
of the dead, where the magnificent tombs of 62 pharaohs have been
discovered. The tombs were carved deep into the desert rock, richly
decorated and filled with treasures for the afterlife of the pharaohs.
Visit several of the tombs. Next, visit the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut.
This beautiful monument to the reign of the only female pharaoh
rises out of the desert plain in a series of terraces and merges
with the sheer limestone cliffs that surround it. Next, visit
Medinet Habu (ancient Djamet). This holy ground was believed to
be where the Ogdoad, the four pairs of primeaval gods, were buried.
The ancient temple complex
dates to the New Kingdom. On the way back to your Nile cruise
vessel, stop at the famed Colossi of Memnon, two 66ft, 1 thousand
ton statues of Amenhotep III. These colossal statues were known
by the ancient Greeks to emit haunting voices at dawn. Though
damaged by nature and ancient tourists, the statues are still
impressive. Lunch, dinner and overnight on-board the cruise.
WEDNESDAY:
APRIL 05 - CAIRO (B)
After breakfast disembark from the ship. To the north of Luxor
visit Karnak Temple, called by some “the Temple of Temples.”
It is the largest place of worship ever built. Its ancient name
Ipet-isut means “the most sacred of places.” The temple,
or, more correctly, the complex of temples, was built over more
than two thousand years by generation after generation of pharaohs.
Within the complex, the great “Hypostyle Hall” is
an incredible forest of giant pillars covering an area larger
than the whole of Notre Dame Cathedral. Proceed to the graceful
Temple of Luxor built by Amenhotep III and Ramesses II for ritual
and festivals and dedicated to the god Amun. Then, you will be
transferred to Luxor airport for your flight to Cairo. Upon arrival
you will be met by our representative and transferred to your
hotel for overnight. HOTEL: GRAND HYATT
THURSDAY: APRIL 06 - CAIRO
(B,L)
Breakfast at hotel and transferred to the airport.
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INCLUDES:
Domestic flights in Egypt: Cairo - Aswan / Luxor - Cairo.
1 nights of accommodations with breakfast included.
4-night Nile cruise with all meals onboard ship, and tours included.
All transfers to / from airports and ports.
All entrance fees as per itinerary. |
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Note: Domestic flights are not included in the price.
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TOUR PRICE & DATE
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TOUR PACKAGE INCLUDES:
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| Tour Date : 26 March 2006 |
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7 nights of accommodations. |
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Daily Buffet Breakfast. |
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2 dinners, 3 lunches. |
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Meet & Greet at Cairo airport
by Representative. |
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Arrival & Departure transfers. |
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Service of one English-speaking guide/
during sightseeing tours. |
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6 days of touring in an air-conditioned,
motor-coach |
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Entrances at all sight seeing spots. |
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All applicable taxes |
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| Per Person On Twin Sharing Basis:
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USD 1295.00 |
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Tour Sold Out |
| Optional Nile Cruise: |
USD 1150.00 |
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