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Ancient Treasures of Egypt

October 3 to the 14th, 2023

 Join us on a tour of Egypt where monumental pyramids rise out of the desert and the River Nile weaves through the land providing the country with its extraordinary history. Shifting sands and arid conditions have preserved thousands of years of a remarkable civilization in fascinating detail. Led by Egyptologist and Professor of History, Elaine Sullivan, our trip begins with three nights in Cairo, exploring the Giza plateau where the Great Pyramids and Sphinx have stood for thousands of years, and the newly opened Egyptian Grand Museum. Fly to Luxor for two nights to discover the world’s largest open-air museum before boarding your ship for a four-night cruise “up” the Nile to Aswan stopping at isolated temples en route. Fly to Abu Simbel and marvel at its grandeur and architecture.

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Ancient Treasures of Egypt

Travel Dates: October 3-14, 2023

Program Cost (per person, double occupancy)

Accommodation in hotels as Standard Room: $7240 – SOLD OUT (waitlist is available)

Single Supplement, Standard Room*: $2,090

*Please note this is an additional cost.

Trip Fee Includes:

  1. Accommodation in hotels as listed based on double occupancy
  2. The following economy class flights:
    1. Cairo /Luxor
    2. Aswan/Abu Simbel/Aswan
    3. Aswan Cairo
  3. Meals (buffet or family-style) as listed in the program with mineral water, tea, coffee, and wine at the welcome and farewell dinners
  4. All sightseeing and activities listed in a private a-conditioned vehicle
  5. All private events and speakers as listed, subject to availability
  6. All transfers listed in the program
  7. Bottled water on the bus at all times
  8. The services of a local Egyptian guide who will travel with the group throughout
  9. Porterage
  10. All gratuities to private guide and bus drivers

Does not include:

  1. International airfare to and from Cairo
  2. Passport and visa fees
  3. Any meals not listed
  4. Drinks with meals except those listed
  5. Contribution to staff or museum
  6. Excess luggage charges
  7. Travel Insurance
  8. Items of a purely personal nature
  9. Any item not listed

To book this tour:

If you would like to reserve your place on the Egypt tour, fill out the reservation form on the back of the trip brochure and email it to IEtravel@ucsc.edu.

On receipt of your signed reservation form and deposit, we will, subject to availability, reserve your place on your trip.

Cancellation Policy:
Cancellations are only effective on receipt of written notification
The following per-person fees are applicable on this tour:

Prior to July 3, 2023, deposit is refundable less a $500 cancellation charge per person.

  • July 3, 2023 to August 2, 2023, less 50% of tour cost.
  • August 3 to September 2, 2023, less 75% of tour cost.
  • After September 3, 2023, no refund is possible.

These cancellation fees are also in addition to any imposed by airlines.

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Travel Dates: October 3 to the 14th, 2023

Fly overnight to Cairo, where you will be escorted to your hotel on the Giza plateau overlooking the Pyramids. (Day 1: no meals, Day 2: D)

On day 3, tour Sakkara, a vast burial ground, and the Step Pyramid of Zoser. In the afternoon visit the spectacular Egyptian Museum and its Mummy Rooms before exploring Islamic Cairo at the Citadel. Enjoy a welcome dinner at a local restaurant with your fellow travelers. (B, L, D)

On day 4, wander across the Giza plateau and experience the sheer magnitude of the Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure Pyramids. Standing guard at the Khafre Pyramids is the Sphinx, the earliest known monumental structure of ancient Egypt. Stop at the Solar Barque Museum housing the remains of solar boats thought to have brought the pharaoh’s mummy to the site. End the day at the newly opened Grand Egyptian Museum where the entire Tutankhamun collection will be displayed. (B, L)

Accommodations: Marriott Mena House

Head to the airport for your flight to Luxor. Visit the West Bank where hundreds of magnificent burial temples were built on the flood plains while spendidly decorated tombs hidden in the hills held the bodies and wealth of the rulers. Wander through the Tombs of the Nobles where tombs from the 6th Dynasty to the Greco-Roman period are nestled painted with scenes from daily life still visible today. (B, L, D)

On day 6 return to the West Bank and explore Deir el Medina and Medinat Habu where the workmen, a mixed community of Egyptians, Nubians, and Asiatics, who built the tombs lived with their families. (B, L)

Accommodations: Al Moudira

Board the luxurious Sonesta St. George Nile cruise ship and begin further exploring Luxor at the awe-inspiring Temple of Karnak whose ancient name ‘Ipet Sut’ designates the center of the world where Amun, creator of the universe created himself. Visit the adjacent Temple of Mut where Professor Sullivan has done previous excavations. Wander through the Temple of Luxor, one of the best preserved ancient monuments with large amounts of the structure, statuary, and relief carvings still intact. (B, L, D)

On day 8 return to the West Bank and the Valley of the Kings and the extraordinary funeral temple of Queen Hatshepsut with its imposing terraces. Stop at the Colossi of Memnon, two huge statues of the king seated on his throne before sailing to Esna, home to a strong weaving industry. (B, L, D)

Accommodations: Sonesta St. George

Sailing the Nile, stop at Edfu and, by horse carriage, discover the Temple of Horus, the largest and best preserved Ptolemaic temple in Egypt. After lunch on board set sail to Kom Ombo set on top of a hillock. Wander through the symmetrical Greco-Roman temple dedicated to two gods. The left side of the temple is dedicated to the falcon god Haroeris and the right side to Sobek, the local crocodile god. (B, L, D)

On day 10 cruise to Aswan and explore the Temple of Isis, on the island of Agilkia. Visit the granite quarries which supplied the hardstone used in the construction of the temples and board a typical Egyptian sail boat, a felucca, to cruise around Elephantine Island, Lord Kitchener’s Botanical Gardens, and the Aga Khan Mausoleum. (B, L, D)

Accommodations: Sonesta St. George

Disembark the ship this morning in Aswan and transfer to the airport for a short flight to Abu Simbel which lies just 25 miles north of the Sudan border. Hewn out of solid cliff in the 13th century BC, Abu Simbel features four colossal enthroned statues of Ramses II wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. Following construction of the Aswan High Dam, engineers were tasked with the operation to move the site 215 feet higher to avoid rising waters. After a simple lunch at a traditional Nubian house, fly through Aswan to Cairo for a farewell dinner. (B, L, D)

Accommodations: Four Seasons First Residence

After breakfast head to the airport for your flight home, bringing with you memories of the awe-inspiring ancient sites you have seen during your adventure in Egypt! (B)

B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner

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Elaine, Travel Leader, Egypt

Elaine Sullivan

Associate Professor of History at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Elaine Sullivan earned her M.A. and Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University. She is an Egyptologist and a Digital Humanist whose work focuses on applying new technologies to ancient cultural materials. Her archaeological work in Egypt includes five seasons of excavation with Johns Hopkins University at the temple of the goddess Mut (Luxor), as well as four seasons in the field with a joint UCLA-Rijksuniversiteit Groningen project in the Egyptian Fayum, at the Greco-Roman town of Karanis.

Her recent born-digital publication, Reconstructing the Sacred (Stanford University Press 2020), utilizes a geo-temporal 3D model of the necropolis of Saqqara (near modern Cairo) to investigate questions of ritual landscape at the site. In 2007-2008, she served as project coordinator for the Digital Karnak Project, creating a multi-phased 3D virtual reality model of the famous ancient Egyptian temple complex of Karnak. Sullivan has published extensively on the use of digital technologies for research and scholarship, including recent articles in the Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, and the Bulletin for the Institute of Classical Studies.

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