Egypt in
October—The Nile, the Valley of the Kings, Cheops and the Ages of
Humanity
From Egypt the Sahara reaches west beyond Cairo and Giza and beyond the pyramids. Across the breadth of the African continent it stretches hypnotically and seemingly forever.
In Egypt, this fabled river reaches the sea to end a 4,000-mile journey that has taken it nearly four months from its source of Lake Victoria in the heart of Africa. For thousands of years the Nile has nourished civilizations, religions, dynasties and the visions of explorers and empire builders. When you look on the Nile or cruise its waters from the cataracts of Aswan to the great temple of Karnak in Luxor, as we will in October, the traveler is struck by the sensation that here is a history so profound that it is almost beyond grasp. To millions of Africans the Nile seems to have a life and soul of its own.
It’s a feeling that stirs you whether you are entering an excavated tomb in the Valley of the Kings near Luxor, propelled by the Nile’s current beneath you or walking through the magnificent halls of the renowned Egyptian Museum of Antiquities in Cairo, which is filled with the pharaonic treasures of Egypt’s ages.
This
is an invitation to join
us Oct.5 through Oct. 16. For ten days you are a 21st Century
Aladdin. But here no magic lamps are required or flying carpets.
The marvels are more accessible today, by air-conditioned bus that will
be exclusively ours and by a deluxe cruise on the Nile for three
nights. Winter warriors from the American north will find no
trouble adapting to the sun decks by day, floating through the lush
Nile Valley and disembarking to view the temples of Kom 
Ombo
and Edfu,
the latter available to you by horse-drawn carriage. You’ll also visit
the Aswan Dam built in the mid-20th Century and opening up vast new
acreages of this ancient land to irrigation. You’ll also have an option
to fly over the desert to Abu Simbel and the temple of Rameses II,
which was transported block-by-block for miles to make way for the dam.
The history will be supplied by English-speaking guides who will
accompany us throughout the trip.
Ombo
and Edfu,
the latter available to you by horse-drawn carriage. You’ll also visit
the Aswan Dam built in the mid-20th Century and opening up vast new
acreages of this ancient land to irrigation. You’ll also have an option
to fly over the desert to Abu Simbel and the temple of Rameses II,
which was transported block-by-block for miles to make way for the dam.
The history will be supplied by English-speaking guides who will
accompany us throughout the trip.The land cost for this journey into another time will be $3,105. Increasingly, Jim Klobuchar’s Adventures and Travel Beyond of Wayzata, our partner on many of our trips, suggest that you explore travel arrangements of your own. Northwest Airlines as well as several others fly into Cairo. Many who travel with us can call on frequent flyer bonus miles that will enable them cut costs significantly. Travel Beyond’s Suzanne Zapolski, the booking agent for this trip, can assist you in making travel arrangements that can include frequent flyer miles. An early lock-in of flight plans can be important in today’s shifting price schedules and special fare inducements. For those who want to book with Northwest Airlines outside of frequent flyer mileage, the current round trip rate Minneapolis-Amsterdam-Cairo is $1,305.
That total figure, $4,410 land and air, covers all transportation including domestic air in Egypt, transfers and lodging costs, guide service and most of the meals, including all meals while were cruising the Nile. Again, this is a reasonable price at today’s levels. It does not include the $15 entry visa for Egypt, tips and the optional round trip flight and tour of the Rameses II temple at Abu Simbel, which is $275 per person.
The providers in today’s international travel need early commitments to firm up their schedules to and contract their services.
The deposit for this tour, in an itinerary which invariably meets the highest expectations of the traveler, is $1,500, a third of the total cost. It is payable by May 1 and is fully refundable up to July 1.The deposit is required to guarantee your reservation for the trip. Early deposits are encouraged. They are, in fact, necessary. The dates for the rest of the payment schedule will be provided by Travel Beyond. Where possible we’ll try to pair passengers traveling single. For those who prefer a single accommodation, a $650 single supplement is available. If you have questions or want to explore flight options, Suzanne Zapolski at Travel Beyond in Wayzata, 952-540-4109, or 800 823 6063, or at SuzanneZ@travelbeyond.com will be glad to help you.
If you’re seriously interested in joining us, it’s important to decide early in order to secure your air itinerary.. You can make your own flight arrangements—Suzanne can be very helpful there--or include the Northwest Airlines current fare of $1,305.
We’re introduced early on the tour to the celebrated pyramid of Cheops and to the inscrutable Sphinx, a sight that inevitably lifts you back into childhood when you saw it in your geography book and wondered--"what is all of this telling us?” Seeing it in person is stunning—and probably no more revealing. The Sphinx isn’t talking. Never has.
Mystery, of course, is Egypt at the core, including the pyramids at Giza, the step pyramids at Memphis, the glories on exhibit in the museums, the sagas of its dynasties and in the papyrus and alabaster art of its shops.
But always there is the Nile. We are going to see it pouring over cataracts, flowing broadly among the palm groves and the maize and greenery of the irrigated earth that spreads beyond its shores. In the desert dunes you might see camel trains, and to the west when we reach Luxor we’ll see the great uplift of stone and sand that became the funerary of Egypt’s royalty thousands of years ago. We’ll cruise the Nile for portions of three days and very likely sail on it in the saucy little boats called feluccas.
Jim Klobuchar will be your escort on the trip, having traveled in Egypt since 1985, He’ll be glad to answer additional questions or assist you in planning for the trip. He can be reached at 763-258-1371 or (c) 612-998-6005 or at jim@jimklobuchar.com.
Yes, enroll me (us) in the Glories of the Nile trip with Jim Klobuchar,. Oct. 5-16. Enclosed is the deposit of $1,500 per person, made to Travel Beyond. Mail to Travel Beyond, 214 South Minnetonka Ave., Wayzata MN 55391. Attn: Suzanne Zapolski.
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Egypt Day By Day
Oct. 5-- Depart Minneapolis St. Paul on NW 56, leaving 9:15 p.m. and arriving Amsterdam 12:30 p.m. Oct. 6. Depart Amsterdam at 8:45 p.m. and arrive Cairo at 1 a.m.
Oct. 7.—After clearing customs and collecting your luggage, you’ll be transferred to the Hotel Sofitel le Sphinx in Giza near the pyramids. You’ll have plenty of time to sleep and condition to the time change but also have time to explore the area on your own. Hotel Sofitel le Sphinx.
Oct. 8 –Giza. After breakfast you meet your private Egyptologist guide who will be with us in Cairo, Giza, Luxor and Aswan. We’ll travel by bus through the valley of the Nile to the site of ancient Memphis, the first capital of the kingdoms of upper and lower Egypt. It was the city from which the entire world known to the people of the Middle East was governed. Its glory has vanished, but there remains the remarkable necropolis, the Sakkara complex of pyramids that mark the burial ground of generations of pharaohs. From there we travel back to Giza to visit the triad of great pyramids of Cheops, Chephre and Mycerinus, and from there the Sphinx. Overnight Hotel Sofitel le Sphinx. B,L.
Oct. 9—Cairo to Aswan. Fly to Aswan, and enjoy an ambience that blends cultures of north and south Africa. Here you can go for a felucca sailboat ride on the Nile. A short walk will take you to a dramatic view of the cataracts of the Nile. Gain the confidence of the gate man and ask to be allowed to spend some time in the Old Cataract Hotel, where Agatha Christie wrote some of her most gripping thrillers. An option this day is the flight to Abu Simbel in the desert for a tour of the magnificent Rameses II monuments carved into the sandstone cliffs. Movenpick Elephantine Resort. B.
Oct. 10-Transfer to the Movenpick Radamis II for three nights. After lunch aboard the Radamis we’ll ride to the High Dam with its views of the huge reservoir Lake Nasser, then a visit to the famed Unfinished Obelisk, where you learn the techniques of extracting huge blocks of stone in the construction of the great columns that now adorn historic sites in the western world. We’ll then take a motor launch to explore the island temples of Philae and Isis. Then back to our cruise ship for the night. B,L,D.
Oct. 11-Nile Cruise—Aswan to Kom Ombo and Edfu. After breakfast we’re at leisure until departure at 1 p.m. Once settled into the rhythms of the cruise, we’ll visit the Kom Ombo temple built on high dunes overlooking the Nile. Overnight on Radamis II in Edfu. B,L,D.
Oct. 12-Nile Cruise—Edfu to Luxor. After breakfast we’ll board horse-drawn carriages to visit the Temple of the Falcon-Headed Sun God, Horus, the second largest in Egypt after Karnak. We’ll then sail to Luxor via Esna and enjoy afternoon tea on board as we cruise into Luxor. Overnight Radamis II, B,L,D.
Oct. 13-Luxor and Karnak. Disembark after breakfast, checking out at 8 a.m.to begin our tour of the what was the heart of the Egyptian dynasties through thousands of years. We’ll visit the celebrated Valley of the Kings, across the river from ancient Thebes, now Luxor. The Valley of the Kings is a vast network of tombs, many of them discovered in the last hundred years, including that of Tutankhamun. Near the Kings’ necropolis is the Valley of the Queens, its centerpiece the beautiful temple of Hatshepsut, the only woman to rule Egypt as a pharaoh. We’ll descend into one or two of the more ornate of tombs in the Valley of the Kings. In Luxor itself, a busy urban center of shops, restaurants, boulevards and official residences, we’ll visit the most remarkable of all Egyptian temples, Karnak, constructed over a period of 1,300 years. You enter through and Avenue of Sphinxes and find your head swimming from the sheer immensity of the temple with its obelistks, columns, carvings and, ultimately, a lovely pool that adds grace to sheer size. Hotel Sofitel Karnak. B.
Oct. 14—Luxor to Cairo. We’ll fly from Luxor to Cairo in the morning and spend much of our time touring the extraordinary Egyptian Museum of Antiquities. Helnan Shepheard Hotel. B.
Oct. 15 – Cairo. We’ll tour Old and New Cairo, visiting sites of the three great religions that were founded in the Middle East, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, including a house of worship over the site where by tradition the Christian Holy Family lived for a time on their flight to Egypt to escape persecution.We’ll do a little shopping and join in a early dinner to reflect on our visit. Then a few hours of sleep and transfer to the airport. Helnan Shepherad Hotel, B,L.
Oct. 16—Transfer to Cairo airport for 3 a.m. departure. Thanks for the journey, and don’t forget your papyrus etchings at the hotel!