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 Egyptian Museum and the open-air museum at Memphis, Egypt’s first capital. 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 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.
Day 1: Depart U.S. for Cairo, Egypt
Day 2: Arrive Cairo
Day 3: Cairo
Day 4: Cairo
Day 5: Cairo/Aswan/Embark Lake Nasser Cruise
Day 6: Lake Nasser Cruising – Kalabsha Temples/Wadi el-Seboua
Day 7: Lake Nasser Cruising – Wadi el-Seboua
Day 8: Lake Nasser Cruising – Amada/Kasr Ibrim/Abu Simbel
Day 9: Disembark/Abu Simbel/Aswan/Embark Nile Cruise Ship
Day 10: Nile Cruising – Aswan/Kom Ombo/Edfu
Day 11: Nile Cruising – Edfu/Luxor/East Bank
Day 12: Disembark/Luxor/West Bank
Day 13: Luxor/Cairo
Day 14: Cairo
Day 15: Depart for U.S.
Moderate; Regular Walking on Uneven Terrain
Faculty
Tarek El-Ariss is the James Wright Professor at Dartmouth College and Guggenheim Fellow 2021-22. Trained in philosophy, comparative literature, and visual and cultural studies, he works across disciplines and languages to examine notions of the subject, community, and modernity in Arabic culture, literature, and art. His research interests include new media and cyber culture; literary theory and digital humanities; Nahda and modernity studies; travel writing and the war novel; sci-fi and utopia studies; 18th- and 19th-century French philosophy and literature; and gender and sexuality studies. He is author of Trials of Arab Modernity: Literary Affects and the New Political and Leaks, Hacks, and Scandals: Arab Culture in the Digital Age, and editor of the MLA anthology, The Arab Renaissance: A Bilingual Anthology of the Nahda.
