Extreme Adventures - Egypt: Mummies & the Mystical Desert with Optional Alexandria Extension (2010)
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Itinerary
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- Days 1-2: USA or Canada/Cairo, Egypt
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Fly overnight to Cairo and transfer to your hotel.
Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at the First Residence - Day 3: Cairo
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Travel to the Giza Plateau, the site of the pyramids of Mycerinus, Chefren and the Great Pyramid of Cheops, the only survivor of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The Great Sphinx, measuring 190 feet long and 65 feet high, still stands as centurion over these magnificent royal tombs. You have special access to the Sphinx's foot. Afterward, visit the fascinating Solar Boat Museum. Gather this evening for a welcome dinner.
Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at the First Residence B L D - Day 4: Cairo
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Glimpse relics from the different periods of ancient Egypt during your private visit to the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities — before the museum opens its doors to the general public. Among the prized collections are the golden treasures from Tutankhamun's tomb and the fascinating Mummy Room. Later, drive to Memphis on the edge of the Western Desert, where you see the Alabaster Sphinx and the the beautifully carved statue of Ramses II. From here, drive to Sakkara, the vast necropolis of hundreds of tombs and 14 pyramids, including the famous Step Pyramid built by Zoser I in 2700 BC.
Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at the First Residence B L D - Day 5: Cairo
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Discover Cairo's Islamic heritage, with visits to the 14th-century mosque of Sultan Hassan and the mosque of Refaie. Continue to the medieval citadel of Salah el-Din, containing the Ottoman-style alabaster mosque of Mohammed Ali. From here, embark on an enjoyable walking tour of Khan el-Khalili Bazaar, 17 square miles of souks filled with jewelry, leather, rugs and spices. Stop for lunch at Naguib Mahfouz Restaurant, named after the Nobel Prize-winning Egyptian author, before an afternoon at leisure.
Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at the First Residence B L - Day 6: Cairo/Baharia Oasis
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Depart early this morning for the Baharia Oasis, famous for palm trees, olives and apricots. Intertwined trees provide attractive scenery in contrast to enormous sand dunes. The region is the site of a massive Greco-Roman burial ground. After lunch at a local café, set off in 4x4 vehicles for the drive to your camp in Abou Mouhkarik, where the dunes reach heights of more than 200 feet.
Mobile Camp B L D - Day 7: Baharia Oasis/Wadi Bateekh
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Head to the Djarra Cave, discovered by pure chance in 1872 by geographer Gerhard Rohlfs. The location is so remote that the cave was not visited again for more than a century when a party of German travellers painstakingly retraced Rohlfs' route. Stop for lunch and then explore the cave. Notice the large stalagmites and stalactites; some are so large that they actually touch. Continue to your next campsite via the Wadi Bateekh (Watermelon Valley), a flat landscape dotted with smooth black stones.
Mobile Camp B L D - Day 8: Wadi Bateekh/White Desert
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Continue toward the White Desert to observe its Dali-esque white chalk formations that rise out of the desert sand like huge mushrooms. They are the remnants of a seabed, formed 65 million years ago from the calcium carbonate of bones and shells.
Mobile Camp B L D - Day 9: White Desert
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Enjoy a ride on the sand dunes and learn how they were formed as you head toward the Farafra Oasis, known as Ta-iht or the "Land of the Cow" in Pharaonic times. A short ride away at Bir Setta and el-Mufid Lake, pause for lunch and a chance to bathe in one of the hot thermal springs.
Mobile Camp B L D - Day 10: White Desert/Baharia Oasis/ Cairo
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More than 1,000 mummies rest in the Hall of the Mummies in Baharia Oasia. You are granted special permission to see the 10 mummies on display in the antiquities building. After lunch, return to Cairo. This evening, join fellow travellers for a farewell dinner.
Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at the First Residence B L D - Day 11: Cairo/USA or Canada
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Board your international flight.
B - OPTIONAL EXTENSION TO ALEXANDRIA
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Nov 11-14:
Drive through the fertile delta to the city named for Alexander the Great. Visit the National Museum, the world-renowned Alexandria Library and Qait Bay Fort. From the top, you can see Alexandria's coastline as well as the area where recent underwater excavations have found the lost city of Cleopatra and Napoleon's sunken fleet.
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