12-night Jordan & Egypt Cruise/Land Packaged: Petra to the Pyramids

Amman has served as the modern and ancient capital of Jordan. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and is built on seven enchanting hills. Gleaming white houses, kebab stalls and cafes are interspersed with bustling markets and the remains of civilizations and ages long past. The greatest charm of Amman, however, is found in the hospitality of its residents who give visitors a warm welcome.

Destination Guide

Amman has served as the modern and ancient capital of Jordan. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and is built on seven enchanting hills. Gleaming white houses, kebab stalls and cafes are interspersed with bustling markets and the remains of civilizations and ages long past. The greatest charm of Amman, however, is found in the hospitality of its residents who give visitors a warm welcome.

Destination Guide

Located 33 mi/54 km north of Amman, the 2,000-year-old Greco-Roman ruin of Jerash, Jordan, is the best-preserved of the Decapolis cities.

The city is nestled in a valley carpeted with yellow mustard flowers in springtime. An urban Greek center in the third century BC, Jerash later flourished under Roman rule for about 200 years.

Today, its theaters, arches, fountains, temples, churches, houses, baths and colonnaded streets are still so magnificent that even jaded travelers who loathe to visit another ruin get excited.

Each year in July and August, the Jerash Festival of Culture and Arts is held.

Jerash can be visited from Amman by taxi, car or escorted day tour.

Destination Guide

Amman has served as the modern and ancient capital of Jordan. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and is built on seven enchanting hills. Gleaming white houses, kebab stalls and cafes are interspersed with bustling markets and the remains of civilizations and ages long past. The greatest charm of Amman, however, is found in the hospitality of its residents who give visitors a warm welcome.

Destination Guide

Mount Nebo is rich with mythical and religious significance. Rising 2,680 feet above sea level, panoramic views of the surrounding landscape can be viewed from the summit - including Jericho and on clear days, Jerusalem. According to Judeo-Christian mythology, this is where Moses had his view of the 'promised land' of the Israelites and is the prophet's burial site. The ruins of Sygaha monastery, dated to the 4th century, are at the mountain's peak. Of modern interest is the sculpture by Giovannai Fontani, the Brazen Serpent monument, also at the top of the mountain.

The prime attractions of Madaba, Jordan—located on the King's Highway, 20 mi/30 km southwest of Amman—are its many sixth-century Byzantine mosaics.

The most famous and most impressive of these mosaics is the enormous sixth-century map of Palestine and Egypt that is located in St. George's Greek Orthodox Church.

A few blocks from the church is the Madaba Archaeological Museum, which contains the remains of several Byzantine churches, including some wonderful mosaics found there and in other parts of the region, as well as other ancient artifacts. The nearby mosaic school was established to teach the restoration of these rare artworks.

Residents of Madaba are reclaiming their once-endangered heritage thanks to efforts, aided by USAID, such as the Madaba Institute for Mosaic Art and Restoration. The area offers many shops for mosaics and other souvenirs. Cafes and restaurants also proliferate.

Madaba is a good base for exploring surrounding sights. You should definitely consider a jaunt to Mount Nebo—it offers an excellent view of the Jordan River Valley, the Dead Sea and (on clear days) Jerusalem. A sixth-century church marks the spot where Moses is said to have seen the Land of Canaan at the end of his life (he, too, enjoyed the view).

Other area attractions include Mukawir (20 mi/34 km southwest of Madaba) or Herod's Fortress, where Salome danced and John the Baptist was beheaded); the beautiful mosaics in the church at Siyagha; and more beautiful mosaics in Umm ar-Rasas.

Near Herod's Fortress is the Bani Hamadi Project, where Bedouin women continue an ancient tradition of making and working with simple looms.

Destination Guide

From Jordan's port on the Red Sea, you can travel to the mysterious lost city of Petra, which was hidden for centuries. At first it looks like a mirage: rugged sandstone hills seem to melt into windows and doorways, columns and gargoyles. But it is not: all the buildings of Petra, except one, were elaborately carved into the rock hills by a nomadic Arabian tribe in the 6th century B.C. It is a remarkable sight. You can also visit Wadi Rum, where Bedouin families set black goat-hair tents at the base of massive, striated "jebels," the sheer-faced hills of the region.

Destination Guide

From Jordan's port on the Red Sea, you can travel to the mysterious lost city of Petra, which was hidden for centuries. At first it looks like a mirage: rugged sandstone hills seem to melt into windows and doorways, columns and gargoyles. But it is not: all the buildings of Petra, except one, were elaborately carved into the rock hills by a nomadic Arabian tribe in the 6th century B.C. It is a remarkable sight. You can also visit Wadi Rum, where Bedouin families set black goat-hair tents at the base of massive, striated "jebels," the sheer-faced hills of the region.

Destination Guide

From Jordan's port on the Red Sea, you can travel to the mysterious lost city of Petra, which was hidden for centuries. At first it looks like a mirage: rugged sandstone hills seem to melt into windows and doorways, columns and gargoyles. But it is not: all the buildings of Petra, except one, were elaborately carved into the rock hills by a nomadic Arabian tribe in the 6th century B.C. It is a remarkable sight. You can also visit Wadi Rum, where Bedouin families set black goat-hair tents at the base of massive, striated "jebels," the sheer-faced hills of the region.

Destination Guide

Wadi Rum or Valley of the Moon, is a valley of sandstone and granite rock situated in southern Jordan. Wadi Rum has been inhabited by nomads since prehistoric times and is currently home to the Zalabia Bedouin people who guide ventures of climbers and trekkers. Eco-adventure tourism is a developing success and their main source of income. Travelers can visit the key spots of Wadi Rum’s desert history: the Thamudic inscriptions of Wadi Rum, Nabatean Temple, and Seven Pillars of Wisdom.

Destination Guide

Aswan is Egypt's sunniest southern city and has a distinctively African atmosphere. The pace of life here in the most beautiful setting on the Nile is slow and relaxing. It is a favorite winter resort spot for Europeans, Middle Easterns and Africans alike - it's a perfect place to get away from it all. Strolling up and down the Corniche, one can watch sailboats glide by. Savor the flavor of locally caught fish while listening to Nubian music or wander in the bazaar and get lost in the sights and sounds of this mystical place. Visit the Aga Khan Mausoleum, the Monastery at Qubbat al-Hawa, the Unfinished Obelisk, The Tombs of the Nobles, Qubbat al-Hawa, the Monastery at Aswan , or the St. Simeon monastery (Anba Hatre), uninhabited and just outside of Aswan.

Destination Guide

Aswan is Egypt's sunniest southern city and has a distinctively African atmosphere. The pace of life here in the most beautiful setting on the Nile is slow and relaxing. It is a favorite winter resort spot for Europeans, Middle Easterns and Africans alike - it's a perfect place to get away from it all. Strolling up and down the Corniche, one can watch sailboats glide by. Savor the flavor of locally caught fish while listening to Nubian music or wander in the bazaar and get lost in the sights and sounds of this mystical place. Visit the Aga Khan Mausoleum, the Monastery at Qubbat al-Hawa, the Unfinished Obelisk, The Tombs of the Nobles, Qubbat al-Hawa, the Monastery at Aswan , or the St. Simeon monastery (Anba Hatre), uninhabited and just outside of Aswan.

Destination Guide

Abu Simbel is a set of two temples near the border of Egypt with Sudan. It was constructed for the pharaoh Ramesses II who reigned for 67 years during the 13th century BC (19th Dynasty).

The temples were cut from the rock and shifted to higher ground in the 1960s as the waters of Lake Nasser began to rise following completion of the Aswan High Dam.

The Great Temple is dedicated to Ramesses II and a statue of him is seated with three other gods within the innermost part of the rock-cut temple (the sanctuary). The temple's facade is dominated by four enormous seated statues of the Pharaoh (each over 20 metres or 67 feet high), although one has been damaged since ancient times.

The Small Temple was probably completed ahead of the Great Temple and is dedicated to Ramesses' favourite wife, Nefertari. At the entrance stand six 10-metre-high (33 feet) rock-cut statues - two of Ramesses and one of Nefertari on either side of the doorway.

Destination Guide

Aswan is Egypt's sunniest southern city and has a distinctively African atmosphere. The pace of life here in the most beautiful setting on the Nile is slow and relaxing. It is a favorite winter resort spot for Europeans, Middle Easterns and Africans alike - it's a perfect place to get away from it all. Strolling up and down the Corniche, one can watch sailboats glide by. Savor the flavor of locally caught fish while listening to Nubian music or wander in the bazaar and get lost in the sights and sounds of this mystical place. Visit the Aga Khan Mausoleum, the Monastery at Qubbat al-Hawa, the Unfinished Obelisk, The Tombs of the Nobles, Qubbat al-Hawa, the Monastery at Aswan , or the St. Simeon monastery (Anba Hatre), uninhabited and just outside of Aswan.

Destination Guide

In Kom Ombo tourists can visit the roofless Temple of Kom Ombo which was built for the falcon and crocodile gods. The Temple of Sobek is another attraction in Kom Ombo where a mummified crocodile can be seen!

Edfu(Idfu) was the Greek city of Apollinopolis Magna located about 33 miles south of Isna and 65 miles north of Aswan. The city is a religious and commercial center that produces sugar and pottery. The Temple of Horus, a preserved cult temple, is located in Edfu.

Aside from visiting the pyramids near Cairo, Luxor and Al Karnak are places not to be missed when in search of ancient Egyptian monuments and artifacts. Luxor is on the southern part of ancient Thebes, Al Karnak on the north. Between the two, visitors can lose themselves for days in the hundreds of temples, chapels, tombs and gardens in the area. Too extensive to list all of them, a few of the tombs not to be missed are the tombs of Nefertari, Amenhotep II & III, several Ramesses and Tutankhamen.

Destination Guide

The Valley of the Kings in Upper Egypt contains many of the tombs of pharaohs from the New Kingdom, including Tutankhamun and Ramesses the Great.

The Valley of the Kings actually has two components - the East Valley and the West Valley. It is the East Valley which most tourists visit and in which most of the tombs of the New Kingdom Pharaohs can be found. (The West Valley has only one remote tomb open to the public, that of Ay who was Tutankhamun's successor.)

Cairo and the ancient monuments of the Egyptian empire have fascinated visitors throughout the centuries. The mystifying Sphinx and the pyramids of Giza, over four thousand years old, stand majestically on the outskirts of the city at the edge of the desert. Cairo's Museum of Antiquities holds one of the finest collections of artifacts in the world, including the astounding treasures of King Tutankhamen's tomb.

Destination Guide

Cairo and the ancient monuments of the Egyptian empire have fascinated visitors throughout the centuries. The mystifying Sphinx and the pyramids of Giza, over four thousand years old, stand majestically on the outskirts of the city at the edge of the desert. Cairo's Museum of Antiquities holds one of the finest collections of artifacts in the world, including the astounding treasures of King Tutankhamen's tomb.

Destination Guide

Giza is located only a few kilometers south of Cairo, several hundred meters from the last houses in the southernmost part of the city proper, where a limestone cliff rises abruptly from the other side of a sandy desert plateau. The ancient Egyptians called this place imentet, "The West" or kher neter, "the necropolis".

Though the three Great Pyramids are the most famous and prominent monuments at Giza, the site has actually been a Necropolis almost since the beginning of Pharaonic Egypt.

Saqqara is a special spot because its monuments cover every period of ancient Egyptian history, from the first dynasty to the Ptolemaic and Persian periods. It is located 22 mi/33 km south of Cairo, on the west bank of the Nile.

Start your visit to Saqqara with the Step Pyramid in Zoser's mortuary complex. Enter it via the Hypostyle Hall, which has 40 pillars ribbed to resemble stalks of papyrus. In the Great South Court, a rebuilt section of wall features a frieze of cobras, and in the center of the court are stone altars representing the thrones of Upper and Lower Egypt.

The Serdab, a stone structure in front of the pyramid, contains a wooden box with two holes drilled into it. Look through them and you'll see Zoser himself: Inside is a painted life-size statue of the king (a copy of the original statue, which is in the Egyptian Antiquities Museum). The Serdab was designed so that the pharaoh's ka (spirit) could communicate with the outside world.

The Pyramid of Unas has been declared structurally unsound and is closed. Teti's pyramid, though less beautiful than Unas, has some of the same famous, perfectly carved pyramid texts. The tombs of Ti, Ptahhotep, Mereruka and others are carved with hieroglyphs and are beautifully decorated with scenes of oxen and other animals, musicians and dancers, and many still retain some of their brilliant colors. For those who really like to explore ancient sites, few places in Egypt offer more beauty for the buck than Saqqara.

Not far from Saqqara is Dahshur. It is a good place to see how pyramids were constructed—without having to battle crowds while looking. There are two fourth-dynasty stone pyramids and three 12th-dynasty mud-brick pyramids. The most famous ones are the "red" and "bent" pyramids. If you like to sing, musicologist Gundula Schultz wrote that the three chambers in the red pyramid are "connected as in a musical instrument."

The best way to visit Saqqara and Dahshur is with a private tour from Cairo. Allow at least four hours for the excursion.

Destination Guide

Cairo and the ancient monuments of the Egyptian empire have fascinated visitors throughout the centuries. The mystifying Sphinx and the pyramids of Giza, over four thousand years old, stand majestically on the outskirts of the city at the edge of the desert. Cairo's Museum of Antiquities holds one of the finest collections of artifacts in the world, including the astounding treasures of King Tutankhamen's tomb.

Destination Guide

Cairo and the ancient monuments of the Egyptian empire have fascinated visitors throughout the centuries. The mystifying Sphinx and the pyramids of Giza, over four thousand years old, stand majestically on the outskirts of the city at the edge of the desert. Cairo's Museum of Antiquities holds one of the finest collections of artifacts in the world, including the astounding treasures of King Tutankhamen's tomb.

Destination Guide