DAY 11 – THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27: FLIGHT & ARRIVAL HOME or FLIGHT TO CAIRO & LUXOR, EGYPT
Today about 2/3rds of the group flew home on either a late night last night or an early flight the morning. The end of a great Israel trip! For 16 of us, we would end the day in southern Egypt.
Cairo
After our last breakfast in Jerusalem, we left the hotel at 7:30 and drove to the Ben Gurion Airport. After going through the usual check-in procedures, we boarded our plane to Cairo, Egypt. With sunny skies and clear visibilities, we not only had a nice view of Tel Aviv coastline, but also a spectacular view of Mt. Hermon on the northern border!
“Wow…what a cross cultural experience to be in Egypt! The Egyptian Museum was really incredible to see. Ancient Egypt is a marvel to behold. Can’t wait to see all the sites here in Luxor.” -Tour Member-
Egyptian Museum
We landed in Cairo after about an hour and a half flight. We flew over the green Nile Delta to the north and the desert as we approached Cairo. Temps were about 70. We were greeted by our agent who assisted us through the visa and baggage process. We boarded our bus where we met Lillian, our Egyptian guide. We drove about an hour through the crazy Cairo traffic to the Egyptian Museum. We saw many of the highlights of the artifacts on display here. These included polished carvings from the Old and Middle Kingdom, statues of Thutmose III and Amenhotep II, Hatshepsut, and Ramses II. We also saw the Stele of Merneptah and many of the King Tut treasuries. We also saw a mummy. While the visit was quick, we got a good impression of how extensive the museum is.
Luxor
Once again fighting traffic, we left the museum and drove back to the Cairo Airport for our flight to Luxor. Located about 500 south of Cairo, Luxor served as the capital of the Middle Kingdom (from about 1,500 – 1,000 BC). Once we arrived, we met our bus and drove to the hotel for a late dinner. We are looking forward to spending all day here tomorrow.
DAY 12 – FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28: LUXOR: VALLEY OF KINGS, TEMPLES OF HATSHEPSUT, MEDINET HABU, KARNAK, & LUXOR, EVENING FLIGHT BACK TO CAIRO
