LUXOR & RED SEA ESCAPE
LUXOR & RED SEA ESCAPE
Begin in Luxor, the world's greatest open-air museum. Walk among the colossal columns of Karnak, built over two thousand years by generations of pharaohs and still capable of stopping you in your tracks. Explore the beautifully illuminated Temple of Luxor, once connected to Karnak by a three-kilometre Avenue of Sphinxes, then cross to the West Bank to uncover the legendary Valley of the Kings, where New Kingdom pharaohs were laid to rest in richly painted secret tombs. From there, stand before the soaring white terraces of Queen Hatshepsut's mortuary temple, rising dramatically from the desert floor against towering limestone cliffs.
Your tour includes Egypt entrance visas, accommodation, admissions for sightseeing, and all meals mentioned in the itinerary including mineral water, English-speaking tour guides, and a private vehicle in Luxor. When the historic touring is over, four days on the Red Sea are waiting. Warm water, soft sand, and nothing whatsoever on the agenda.
Day 1 Flight To Luxor
Overnight: Hilton Luxor (or similar)
Meals: Breakfast
Day 2 Luxor - Karnak & Luxor Temples
Visit the Temple of Luxor, which was built by Amenhotep III in 1380 BC and expanded by later pharaohs, its great purpose the Festival of Opet, a celebration that lasted 27 days at its height. A three-kilometre avenue of human-headed sphinxes once linked it to Karnak, and within its grounds the Mosque of Abu'l Haggag still honours a 13th-century saint venerated by the people of Luxor to this day.
Then visit Karnak Temple, a vast sacred complex shaped by generations of pharaohs over 2,000 years. The Hypostyle Hall alone, with its 134 columns rising 23 metres, demands a moment of stillness. So does the Sacred Lake, where priests once purified themselves before rites. At its height, Karnak commanded tribute from more than 65 cities. Lunch at a local restaurant in Luxor.Overnight: Hilton Luxor (or similar)
Meals: Breakfast at hotel, lunch at a local restaurant in Luxor
Day 3 Luxor - Valley Of The Kings, Colossi Of Memnon & Hatshepsut Temple
Ancient Egyptians opted for secrecy over spectacle after tomb robbers stripped the pyramids bare. They began burying their pharaohs in hidden tombs cut deep into the cliffs of Thebes, on what is now the West Bank of Luxor. Go there to see the Valley of the Kings, where those tombs survive remarkably intact, their walls still vivid with painted scenes and filled with offerings for the afterlife.
Pause at the famed Colossi of Memnon, two towering statues of Amenhotep III that once guarded the entrance to his magnificent mortuary temple. Renamed by the Ancient Greeks in honour of their Trojan hero Memnon, the statues later became a Roman tourist attraction. You can still see the graffiti of prominent travellers carved into the sandstone today. Then visit the Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut ? Egypt's only female pharaoh ? whose brilliant white terraces rise dramatically from the desert floor against a backdrop of towering limestone cliffs. Built to honour Hathor, goddess of love, and Anubis, god of the dead, it served both religious and funerary purposes. After her death, her jealous stepson Tuthmosis III defaced her image throughout, in an attempt to erase her memory forever. Lunch at a local restaurant in Luxor.Overnight: Hilton Luxor (or similar)
Meals: Breakfast at hotel, lunch at a local restaurant in Luxor
Days 4-8 Hurghada
Overnight: Hilton Hurghada (or similar)
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
