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PHOTO CREDIT: Above photo by John Rickman Photography, San Jose, California. |
Egypt Live!
Behind the Sphinx & the Sequins
With Caroline & Shira
Join Caroline Afifi and Shira for a unique adventure into Egypt’s Egypt in June 2011. We’ll introduce you to not only the popular tourist activities that everyone wants to do, but we’ll also provide you with the opportunity to experience a side of Egyptian nightlife and culture that is invisible to most tourists!
Table of Contents
Overview
Dates: Depart the U.S. May 31, 2011, return June 12, 2011 Lasting 11 nights and 12 days, our tour will include:
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What Makes Us Different?
Together, Caroline and Shira can bring you a view of Egypt that tourists rarely get to see, with a special focus on dance.
In addition to shows by the big-name entertainers who perform in popular tourist spots, we can lead you to some sha’abi clubs off the beaten path, showing you the full spectrum of Egyptian dance. With us, you’ll have the opportunity to experience the hottest clubs where Egyptians go to party, and you’ll see dance shows with live music in places no other dance tour leader can show you.
Through our tours we will examine Egypt’s fascinating and turbulent history with an insight to Egyptian life as it is today.
We’re including unscheduled time in our itinerary to give you the freedom to spend time on activities that are most meaningful to you, personally. For example, we could help you make the arrangements to visit the Cairo zoo, go to one of Cairo’s top hairdressers or Hammans, go horseback riding or camel riding in the desert near the pyramids, attend a church service at a Coptic Christian church, visit your favorite costume designer to order a custom-made ensemble, schedule a private lesson with a local dancer, and more.
On board the cruise ship, Caroline and Shira will offer FREE optional dance classes and lectures as we sail down the Nile.
Detailed Itinerary
Extras for Dancers
Any tour company can offer you the usual tourist activities, and we know you want to experience them yourself. But travel with us, and see a side of Egypt that no one else can show you. We’ll help you arrange optional dance-related extras, including:
- Dance workshops, lectures, and discussions with local instructors based in Egypt. See the section Your Free Time in Cairo for a list of possibilities, depending on who is available.
- Opportunities to see dance shows with live music – not only the big-name entertainers who perform in popular tourist spots, but also some sha’abi clubs off the beaten path that other dance tour leaders don’t know how to find, showing you the full spectrum of dance culture in Egypt.
- Opportunities for costume shopping at Eman Zaki, Mamdouh Salama, al-Wikala, and Yasser. Or, use your free time in Cairo to visit other costume designers of your choice.
- On board the cruise ship, Caroline and Shira will offer FREE optional dance classes and lectures for our group members as we sail down the Nile and a dance party with the cruise musicians.
- Professional photo shoot in your costume
Day by Day
IMPORTANT NOTE: Some program details may be subject to small changes.
Day 1, Wednesday, June 1, 2011:
Arrive in Cairo
Included: Arrive at Cairo International Airport where our representative will meet you, help you claim your baggage, and assist you through customs. Our agency will transfer to your hotel for a free evening and overnight.
Day 2, Thursday, June 2, 2011:
Pyramids & Sphinx
Included: After breakfast in your hotel, you will be accompanied by our Egyptologist to visit the awe-inspiring Pyramids and Sphinx at Giza. You will be taken back to the time of the ancient Egyptians, and learn about their life and their power in building such amazing structure for their dead Pharaohs. You will have lunch in a local restaurant and then back to hotel. Rest of the afternoon free.
Optional: Possible dance lesson or lecture. Possible trip to a costume designer’s atelier. Evening, night out and dinner at Cairo’s hottest places.
Day 3, Friday, June 3, 2011:
Egyptian Museum, Shopping at Khan al-Khalili
Included: You’ll have the morning at leisure to rest after the evening’s outing. (Some dance shows end at 4.00 in the morning!) Early afternoon, our Egyptologist guide will pick you up for a fascinating visit to the Egyptian museum, which houses over 100,000 ancient Egyptian artifacts. It comprises the collection of the boy king ‘Tutankhamen’ in addition to the famous royal mummies’ room (extra cost). Lunch in Naguib Mahfouz restaurant in Khan El Khalili, followed by shopping at Khan al-Khalili for the rest of the afternoon. Shira and Caroline will steer our dancer group members to the leading costume vendors here.
Optional: Evening, night out and dinner at Cairo’s hottest places.
Day 4, Saturday, June 4, 2011:
Free Day for Your Own Activities & Dervish Show
The day will be ‘free choice’ day. See the section below titled “Your Free Time in Cairo” for ideas of how you could use this time. Or, if your priority is experiencing the Cairo nightlife, you may want to sleep during the day to recharge for another late night out on the town. Return to the hotel by 4:00 p.m. to rest and freshen up before the evening outing.
In the evening we will dine in one of Cairo’s fine restaurants then go to see the Dervish Tanoura show.
Optional: Daytime activities on your own. See “Your Free Time in Cairo” for suggested possibilities. Visit to a Cairo night spot after the Dervish show.
Day 5, Sunday, June 5, 2011:
Travel to Luxor
Check out from the hotel in Cairo, and spend the morning and afternoon at leisure. More time for resting or enjoying optional activities such as those listed below in the section titled “Your Free Time in Cairo” – there is so much to choose from!
Early evening transfer to Cairo railway station to catch your overnight train to Luxor. Dinner on board. Overnight aboard the train.
Day 6, Monday, June 6, 2011:
Arrive in Luxor
Included: Breakfast aboard the train, and arrive in Luxor. Our agency will meet you at the station in Luxor and transfer you to your hotel. Check in and rest of the day at leisure. You can book optional excursions as you please. Or, relax at the hotel swimming pool and rest. Today, lunch and dinner are not included.
Optional: Possible dance lesson during the day or show in the evening. Optional excursions such as hot air balloon ride, tour of the Valley of the Artisans or Valley of the Nobles, day trip to Abydos, private tours, evening at the Light & Sound show at Karnak, etc. Late afternoon trip to Luxor bazaar, dinner and an evening in one of Luxors nightspots.
Day 7, Tuesday, June 7, 2011:
Karnak and Luxor Temple
Included: Breakfast at hotel and check out late morning. Transfer to your Nile cruise ship and check in. After lunch, visit the fascinating site of Karnak in the East bank of Luxor, a complex of monuments that was built over a thousand years ago by multiple pharaohs. Next, you will visit the beautiful temple of Luxor built by Ramses II in the 12th century B.C. and return to the ship around tea time. This evening, you can rest, or perhaps book an optional activity. Overnight aboard the cruise ship in Luxor.
Optional: Possible dance show in the evening, or optional outing to the Light & Sound Show at Karnak.
Day 8, Wednesday, June 8, 2011: West Bank of Luxor
Included: Early wake up and breakfast. Today is an early departure to visit the west bank of Luxor (Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut’s templeandColossi of Memnon), an awesome site that gathers the graveyards and funeral temples of the greatest and most famous kings and queens in ancient Egypt. This site comprises one third of the ancient antiquities on Earth.
Back on board at noon for lunch. Set sail to Esna, crossing its lock and overnight there.
Day 9, Thursday, June 9, 2011:
Edfu, Kom Ombo, & Aswan
Included: Early morning we will set sail. Breakfast on board. Upon arrival at Edfu, a horse and carriage will take you to the Temple of Horus, which dates back to 237, B.C., the time of Ptolemy III. This is the best preserved and most complete ancient monument in the world. After the visit, you will return to the ship for lunch. In the early afternoon, the ship will sail for Kom Ombo where you will visit the dual temple of Kom Ombo, dedicated to Sobek and Horares. Set sail for Aswan, overnight there.
Day 10, Friday, June 10, 2011:
Aswan & Felucca Ride
Included: Morning at leisure with the opportunity to take an optional trip to the magnificent temples of Abu Simbel, carved by Ramses the Great for himself and his beloved wife Nefertari. In the afternoon, a relaxing felucca sailing trip. Back for tea time, dinner and a second overnight at Aswan.
Day 11, June 11, 2011:
Aswan High Dam & Philae Temple
Included: Breakfast and check out from the cruise ship. We will visit the Aswan High Dam which is the largest rock-fill dam in the world. The work started in 1960 and was inaugurated in 1971. You will also visit the beautiful temple of Isis that once stood upon Philae Island. After the tour, we will have lunch (at your own expense) in a local restaurant and have some free time to stroll along the traditional market of Aswan.
In the late afternoon we will be transferred to Aswan airport to catch our flight back to Cairo. Check in at your hotel. Overnight in Cairo.
Day 12, June 12, 2011: Cairo
Transfer to Cairo International Airport to catch your flight home.
Your Free Time in Cairo
On Day 4 and Day 5, we have allowed unscheduled time in the itinerary. We recognize that our group members will have varied interests, and this allows you all to spend your time on the activities that suit you best. Here are some options that we can help you arrange, but of course you’re also welcome to organize other activities on your own.
Dance-Related Outings
- Dance lessons, lectures, or discussions with local dancers. Although we can’t guarantee who will be in town and available to teach at the time we are there, possibilities might include Mahmoud Reda, Dina, Eman Zaki, Randa Kamel, Camellia, Raqia Hassan, Outi, Caroline Evanoff, and Yasmina.
- Costume shopping at the designers of your choice
- Professional photo shoot in your dance costume
- Night-time outings to sha'abi clubs with live music and dancing where the Egyptian go to party
Other Outings
- Rest during the day so you have plenty of energy to experience the nightlife.
- Return to the Khan al-Khalili for more shopping.
- Return to the Egyptian Museum to explore in more depth.
- Tour the Citadel and Mohammed Ali Mosque.
- Day trip to Memphis and Saqqara to see statues of Ramses at Memphis, the step pyramid of Djoser, the bent pyramid, and the red pyramid. The tombs at Saqqara contain some of the oldest known depictions of dance in the world, and certainly the oldest in Egypt.
- Tour of Old Cairo, including the Hanging Church (one of the oldest Christian churches in the world), and Ben Ezra Synagogue (the oldest synagogue in Egypt).
- Tour of the Gayer Anderson Museum, one of the best-preserved examples of 17th-century architecture remaining in Cairo.
- Cairo zoo
- Outing to the campus of American University in Cairo
- Galloping through the desert on horseback near the pyramids
- Camel ride at the pyramids
- Sunday church service at a Coptic Christian church
- Get your hair or nails done at one of the Cairo area’s top salons
- Enjoy a spa day at a hammam
Pricing
Price: $1,950 land package
(You separately book your own round trip airfare between U.S. and Cairo)
Includes:
- All overnight accommodations (double occupancy), including hotel rooms, cruise ship cabins, and Cairo-to-Luxor train
- Breakfasts at the hotels
- All meals on the cruise ship
- Dance lectures & classes offered by Caroline & Shira on the cruise ship
- Transportation within Egypt except taxicabs (train, buses, Aswan-to-Cairo flight, etc.)
- Egyptologist tour guide & sightseeing at temples & museums, including entrance fees (except for the mummy room at the Egyptian museum)
Does not include:
- Entry Visa fee for entering Egypt
- Round trip airfare from your home to Cairo
- Admission to the mummy room at the Egyptian museum
- Taxicabs
- Tips. We will give you a guideline of whom to tip and how much.
- Lunches & dinners in Cairo
- Lunches & dinners in Luxor & Aswan that are not on board the cruise ship
- Optional night life outings (dance shows, sha’abi clubs, night life)
- Optional dance lectures & classes offered by local dancers
- Personal choice activities such as those suggested above for Your Free Time in Cairo
- Personal purchases
- Travel insurance
- Medical expenses
How to Sign Up
We'll add the booking form soon - until then, contact either Shira or Caroline Afifito let us know you're interested!