Trip Summary
Accompanied by an expert Egyptian guide, this singular journey through antiquity reveals a storied land’s many treasures. Your small group of no more than 24 travelers begins its 15-day immersion in Egypt’s unsurpassed historic atmosphere in Cairo and its environs. Tour the acclaimed, and newly-opened, Grand Egyptian Museum; the largest archaeological museum complex in the world with a collection including over 100,000 artifacts. Continue on to splendid Sakkara, royalty’s burial site for 3,000 years, and the astounding Pyramids of Giza guarded by their enigmatic Great Sphinx. Traveling to Abu Simbel, embark on a fascinating three-night Lake Nasser cruise through ancient Nubia. Visit the massive Abu Simbel temple complex overseen by the colossal statues of Ramses II, and watch a dramatic sound-and-light show. After stops to admire the outstanding temples at Amada, Wadi el-Seboua, and New Kalabsha, tour the massive Aswan High Dam – an engineering marvel – and explore the Temples of Philae. Then depart from Aswan on a classic four-night Nile voyage, enjoying a leisurely sail aboard a traditional felucca along the way, and visiting Kom Ombo’s unusual temple and Edfu’s Temple of Horus, Egypt’s best-preserved temple. Cruise on to Luxor, the world’s “greatest open-air museum,” to explore its wonders: the awe-inspiring Luxor and Karnak temple complexes; the haunting Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens; the impressive Temple of Hatshepsut; and the massive Colossi of Memnon. Returning to Cairo for two nights, tour the exotic Khan el-Khalili bazaar and historic Old Cairo.
Discover fabled “rose-red” Petra, ancient Jerash, and Amman with an optional 5-day/4-night post-tour Jordan extension.
Admission to the Dartmouth on Location: Egypt event is included in the trip!
Event Itinerary
Day 1: Depart U.S. for Cairo.
Day 2: Arrive in Cairo.
Days 3: Cairo
Day 4: Flight to Aswan. Embark Lake Nasser Cruise.
Day 5: Lake Nasser Cruising – Kalabsha Temples/Wadi el-Seboua
Day 6: Lake Nasser Cruising – Wadi el-Seboua
Day 7: Lake Nasser Cruising – Amada/Kasr Ibrim/Abu Simbel
Day 8: Disembark from Lake Nasser and embark Nile Cruise Ship.
Day 9: Nile Cruising – Aswan/Kom Ombo/Edfu
Day 10: Nile Cruising – Edfu/Luxor/East Bank
Day 11: Disembark in Luxor/West Bank
Day 12: Luxor/Cairo
Day 13-14: Cairo
Day 15: Depart Cairo for U.S.
Meet Your Faculty Expert
Susan Ackerman
Susan Ackerman is the Preston H. Kelsey Professor in Religion, Professor of Women's and Gender Studies, and Professor of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College. She joined the Religion Department in 1990 after teaching at the University of Arizona and at Winthrop College in South Carolina. She is a specialist in the religion of ancient Israel and the religions of Israel's neighbors (Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Canaan), an interest she first developed as an undergraduate religion major at Dartmouth (A.B., 1980) and continued to explore in graduate school at Harvard (M.T.S., 1982; Ph.D., 1987). In 2006, Professor Ackerman won the Dartmouth College Faculty Award for Service to Alumni Continuing Education, and in 2018, she was awarded the Dartmouth College Alumni Council's Professor John Rassias Award for Faculty Commitment to Lifelong Learning.