Journey with us through Ancient Nubia, located in southern Egypt and northern Sudan. Nubia is the homeland of Africa's earliest black culture with a history which can be traced from 3100 BC onward through Nubian monuments and artifacts, as well as written records from Egypt and Rome. 

This package includes:

• RT Trans-Atlantic Air from JFK to Cairo
  BWI, Washington Dulles add $98; Detroit add $110; San Francisco add $276

• 3 nights at 5* Sofitel Sphinx Hotel

• 3 nights aboard M/S Eugenie in a standard cabin. Upgrades are available.

• All internal air and transfers within Egypt with local hosting

• Transportation provided by air-conditioned motor coach.

• Breakfast daily in Cairo

• All meals and shore excursions from Aswan to Abu Simbel on Lake Nasser, including entrance fees and guidance.

• Sightseeing in Cairo as per itinerary with lunch and including entrance fees and guidance

• Service of an English-speaking Egyptologist during sightseeing

• Airline Fuel Surcharges.

Please note there is an Optional Xmas eve dinner $75.
New Years Eve dinner is mandatory and included in the price for Dec 24 departure.

for Xmas eve dinner (OPT) $75

NYE dinner mandatory $90

Day 1 Wednesday 
Depart US on Egypt Air

Day 2 Thursday
Arrive Cairo, rest of day at leisure, overnight Sofitel Sphinx  

Day 3 Friday
After breakfast at your hotel, fly to Aswan. Arrival in Aswan to board the M/S Eugenie.  Lunch served on board. Visit to Kalabsha temple, Beit El Wali, and the kiosk of Kertassi. Afternoon tea is served in the lounge. Dinner and overnight on board in the Aswan Harbour. (B,L,D)  

Day 4 Saturday
Breakfast on board. Today sail to Wadi El Seboua and cocktail while passing the Tropic of Cancer. Lunch served on boar. Visit to Wadi El Seboua temple, the temple of Dakka and temple of Meharakka. Sail to Amada. Dinner and overnight aboard. (B,L,D)

Day 5 Breakfast followed by morning visit to the temples of Amada and Derr as well as the tomb of Penout. Sail to Kasr Ibrim. Visit the citadel of Kasr Ibrim. (Tour is conducted from the ship's sundeck as entrance to the site is not permitted).

Sailing to Abu Simbel. Lunch served on board. Visit the Abu Simbel temples. Attend the Sound & Light show at Abu Simbel temples (non-compulsory, ticket not included). Candlelight dinner on board and overnight. (B,L,D)

Day 6 Monday 
After breakfast on board, disembarkation and fly to Cairo. Remainder of day at leisure.
Overnight at Sofitel Sphinx. (B)

Day 7 Tuesday
After breakfast at your hotel, visit the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities, which houses the world's largest collection of artifacts from the era of the pharaohs including some belonging to King Tut. Tour Old Cairo, where early Judaism and Christianity flourished in Egypt. Visit sites like the Ben Ezra Synagogue, and the Moallaka Church where the Virgin Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus took refuge. Spend the afternoon at the Great Pyramids of Giza built for Cheops, Chephren, and Mykerinos, and the defending Sphinx. End the day at the bazaar of Khan El Khalili. Optional Sound and Light Show available this evening. Overnight in Cairo, Sofitel Sphinx. (B/L)

Day 8 Wednesday
After breakfast transfer to Cairo airport for your trip home. (B)

History of Nubia

Nubia is located in today's southern Egypt and northern Sudan. The modern inhabitants of southern Egypt and Sudan still refer to themselves as Nubians. They speak the Nubian language as well as Arabic. Thousands of Nubians from the north were forced to relocate from their endangered homelands to be resettled in Egypt and Sudan. This land has one of the harshest climates in the world. The temperatures are high throughout most of the year, and rainfall is infrequent. The banks of the Nile are narrow in much of Nubia, making farming difficult. Yet, in antiquity, Nubia was a land of great natural wealth, of gold mines, ebony, ivory and incense which was always prized by her neighbors. 

The land of Nubia is a desert divided by the river Nile. For want of water and rich soil, most of Nubia has never been able to support a large population for long periods. However, some of Africa's greatest civilizations emerged here, centers of achievement whose existence was based on industry and trade. Because they did not write their own languages until very late in ancient times, we know these centers and their people largely through their archaeology and what the Egyptians and Greeks said about them.

To the ancient Mediterranean world, the land south of Egypt was a territory of mystery and legend. Wealth and exotic products came from there. It was the home of the Ethiopians, whom Homer called blameless and stories about its great achievements endured to tantalize the modern world. This land is one of enormous distances, and its exploration was long impeded by problems of transport and political unrest. In the last hundred years, Nubia has slowly yielded its secrets, its vanished peoples, abandoned cities and lost kingdoms brought to light by the excavator and analysis of inscriptions. This exhibit is a selection of objects recovered over twenty years ago by the Oriental Institute Nubian Expedition in the effort to rescue archaeology from the rising water behind the Aswan Dam.

In the 1960's, a dam was constructed at Aswan, Egypt. It created a 500 mile long lake which permanently flooded ancient temples and tombs as well as hundreds of modern villages in Nubia. While the dam was under construction, hundreds of archaeologists worked in Egypt and Sudan to excavate as many ancient sites as possible. The Oriental Institute worked in Nubia from 1960 until 68. Today, the 5000 Nubian objects in the collection of The Oriental Institute Museum and thousands of objects in other museums are our sole resource for recovering the rich civilization of northern Nubia, for the sites themselves now lie beneath the waters of Lake Nasser. In contrast, expeditions from many countries are working in southern Nubia.

M/S Eugenie

Constructed in 1993 in the style of a turn-of-the-century Nile steamship. It is 74 meters long, with just 52 cabins for maximal comfort, and two luxurious suites. Each cabin has an ensuite bathroom with shower, washbasin, w.c. and hairdryer.

The Upper Deck has 22 twin-bedded cabins each with a private balcony (total space: 21m2). Cabins 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311 and 315 are ‘executive cabins’ available at an additional surcharge per cabin and per night.

The Main Deck has 20 twin bedded cabins, also with private balcony (21m2) and two single bedded cabins, also with private balconies (cabins 201, 202).

The Lower Deck has 8 twin bedded cabins without balconies (21m2); these can also be used for triple occupancy.

Even the connoisseur of Egypt will delight in the virgin landscapes of Lake Nasser. Created as a result of the Aswan High Dam, the lake covers a 500-km2 region known in antiquity as Nubia. To salvage the area's rich archeological heritage, UNESCO launched the Nubian Campaign in 1960, an effort involving 54 countries over a period of 20 years. Today, Lake Nasser and the monuments relocated on its shores are accessible to travelers with a passion for discovery and a taste for comfort - aboard the cruise ships Eugenie and Kasr Ibrim.

Spacious interiors full of warmth and elegance await you on board Eugenie and Kasr Ibrim, the first vessels launched on Lake Nasser. Explore its natural beauty and archeological treasures in a gracious and leisurely atmosphere provided by attentive hosts with 25 years of experience in Nile cruising.