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Ethiopia & Egypt Safari (18 days)18 days duration Egypt is home to some of the most recognisable landmarks in the world: the Pyramids of Giza, the Sphinx, Tutankhamun's Gold as well as the Nile River and the fabulous temple of Ramses II at Abu Simbel, undoubtedly the grandest temple in all of Egypt.
On arrival in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, you are met and taken to your city hotel for a two night stay.
After breakfast you will undertake a very interesting city and surrounding area tour starting with a visit to Mount Entoto where the churches of Mariam and the Archangel Raguel are located. It also affords a panoramic view of the capital and surrounding countryside. This is followed by a visit to the National Archaeological Museum, which houses the 3.5 million-year-old bones of ''Lucy" as well as many other interesting exhibits.
At the Institute of Ethiopian Studies, once the Genete Palace of Emperor Haile Selassie, you can view exhibits of clothing from different regions, along with artefacts, household utensils and paintings reflecting the history and culture of the country. This will be followed by a visit to Menelik's Mausoleum, where Etege Taitu and Queen Zauditu are buried.
Your final stop is the Mercato, the largest market area in Africa, where virtually every possible commodity is on sale, from livestock to computers. (BL)
This morning you will fly to Gondar where you set off north to Debark by road. In Debark you visit the Simien Mountains National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which presents perhaps the most dramatic scenery in Africa.
Great volcanic plugs, formed 40 million years ago, have over the aeons eroded into fantastic crags, pinnacles and flat topped mountains (''the chess pieces of the Gods'', one writer describes them) tower over precipitous gorges, river valleys and plains stretching all the way to Eritrea. There are many peaks over 4,000 metres, and Ras Dashen at 4,620 metres is the highest in the country and the fourth highest in Africa. Here you should see the endemic Gelada or ''Bleeding Heart Baboon'' and if you are very lucky, the Walia Ibex and the Simien Wolf. The park is also famous for its Afro-Alpine flora, meadows and grasslands punctuated by Giant Lobelia and flowering Red Hot Pokers. (BLD)
Today you return to Gondar with a visit to the former Felasha or Bait Israel Village at Wolleka on the way.
Gondar was the Imperial Capital from the 17th to 19th Centuries. Here you visit the Royal Enclosure or Fasil Gibbi, which gives you an idea of what it must have been like in its hey day. Within the compound are the castles of the various Gondarene Emperors along with a banquet hall, stables and churches. You also visit the Bath of King Fasilides, where at Timkat (Ethiopian Epiphany) a nearby river is diverted to fill an area the size of a small swimming pool! Here worshippers plunge into the cold water in a re-enactment of Christ's baptism in the River Jordan. Although most of Gondar's churches were destroyed in the 1880's, one very fine example survived, Debre Berhan Selassie, with its walls and ceiling completely covered in murals. The angels' faces on the ceiling of the church have become a common motif in Ethiopian Design. Gondar is the perfect place for experiencing Ethiopian tradition of Azmari Music, where a couple of wandering minstrels entertain their listeners with songs about life, the world and their audience. (BLD)
This morning you are taken to the airport for your flight to Lalibela, where on arrival, you will be met and transferred to your guesthouse for two nights. At the end of the 12th and start of the 13th Centuries, King Lalibela of the Zaghwe Dynasty built a series of rock hewn churches - the ''New Jerusalem'' as he called it - now rightly acknowledged to be one of the Wonders of the World.
After checking in to your guesthouse you will visit the churches which are divided into two groups, the division being the River Yordanos or River Jordan. (BLD)
After breakfast you set off by mule or on foot to the Church of Ashetun Mariam. Enroute you pass through villages and there are wonderful views of the surrounding countryside from the top of the mountain where the church is located. You return to the guesthouse for lunch before heading off by road to the cave church of Yemrehane Christos, built by the king of the same name before the reign of King Lalibela. The church is constructed inside a cave, in Axumite Style, similar to the church at Debre Damo, with alternating levels of wood and stone.
You return to your guesthouse in Lalibela for the night. (BLD)
Today you fly to Axum, your home for two nights. From around 200 BC to 700 AD, Axum was the seat of an Empire which extended across the Red Sea to Arabia, traded with India and China, minted it's own coinage and had its own alphabet and notational system and was considered in the 4th Century to be one of the four great powers of the ancient world.
After lunch you start your tour of this fascinating area with a visit to the museum and stelae followed by a visit to the Caslte of King Kalab, passing Mai Shum (Bath of the Queen of Sheba) on the way. On your return to town you will see the Tomb of King Basen, visit the small museum inside the church grounds and end the day with a visit to the site known locally as ''Queen of Sheba's Palace''. (BLD)
Today you will undertake a tour to Yeha, Ethiopia's first city where settlement dates back more than 2,800 years. Here you visit the remains of a temple dedicated to Ilmuqeh, the Moon God, next to which is the church of Abune Aftse, one of the "9 Saints" who did much to spread Christianity in Ethiopia.
During today's drive you come to the top of a hill where you will be confronted by the dramatic mountain backdrop of the ''Teeth of Adua'', the striking mountain scenery where in 1896 King Menelik II defeated the invading Italian Forces. Afterwards you return to your hotel in Axum for the night. (BLD)
This morning you are taken to the airport for your return flight to Addis Ababa, where you are met and taken to your hotel for full day use of a room. Later this evening you are returned to the airport for your flight to Cairo.
Early this morning you arrive at Cairo International Airport where you are met and taken to your hotel for two nights. You have the remainder of the day at leisure. (B)
After breakfast you will return to the Giza Plateau where you visit the Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) as well as the Great Sphinx for a daytime viewing of these famous monuments. Napoleon Bonaparte summed them up in the following statement to his troops before the Battle of Giza in 1798: "From atop these pyramids, forty centuries look down upon you". They are arguably the most recognisable landmarks known to man and in addition, is the only one of the "Seven Wonders of the Ancient World" still standing today.
In the afternoon you will visit the Step Pyramid at Saqqara which pre-dates the Pyramids of Giza, but which also form part of the Memphis Necropolis. Memphis was founded around 3,100 BC by Menes, the king who united Upper and Lower Egypt. (BL)
After breakfast you will be transferred to the airport for your morning flight to Luxor. On arrival in Luxor, sometimes called the "world's greatest open air museum", you undertake a visit to the impressive Karnak Temple. Karnak was constructed over a period spanning thirteen hundred years. It is the largest temple complex in the world and is made up of three main temples, some smaller enclosed ones and several outer temples.
You are then taken to your Nile Cruise boat for lunch. In the afternoon you visit the West Bank of the Nile, known in ancient times as "The Place of the Dead", where you visit the Valley of the Kings. Due to the Pharaohs' fearing that structures such as the Great Pyramid of Giza would be plundered, they changed their thinking and started hiding their tombs as they have done in the Valley of the Kings. Two of the most well known Pharaohs buried here are Rameses II and Tutankhamun. (BLD)
Today you depart Luxor and sail to Esna. While travelling up the Nile you will witness the local people farming the banks of the river as their ancestors have done for many thousands of years. (BLD)
Today you visit the Temple of Horus in Edfu. Edfu was also known as the Greek City of Apollinopolis Magna and was a religious and commercial centre. The Temple of Horus, located on its outskirts, was dedicated to the Falcon Headed God and dates back to 237 BC.
After visiting the temple you will rejoin our cruise boat and sail to Kom Ombo, "City of Gold". (BLD)
This morning you visit the Temple of Kom Ombo, which is actually made up of two identical temples. One was dedicated to the Crocodile God, Sobek, and the other to the Older Falcon Headed God, Haroeies.
After our visit you complete the final leg of your voygae to Aswan where you will be in port for the night. On arrival you visit the Philae Complex, situated on a small island in the Nile River and dominated by the Temple of Isis. This is followed by a visit to view the unfinished Obelisk, located in the Northern Quarry where it has remained for centuries following a crack that formed in it at the time it was being fashioned. Later you sail to the Botanical Gardens on Kitchener's Island in the middle of the Nile before returning to the cruise boat for the night. (BLD)
This morning you will be met and taken to the airport for your short flight to Abu Simbel in Nubia. Abu Simbel is home to the famous Temples of Ramses II and his wife Nefertari. These temples are arguably the most impressive temples in Egypt. On arrival you undertake a tour to let you thoroughly appreciate the complexity and enormity of the temples. In the afternoon you fly back to Aswan where you board the night sleeper train to Cairo. (BLD)
On arrival in Cairo you are met before undertaking a very interesting tour to the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities. Opened in 1902, it is world renowned for its Tutankhamun Gold Collection and the mummies of eleven of Ancient Egypt's Pharaohs or their wives, housed here. In addition, it has an impressive collection of large and small statues, jewels, coins and other artifacts.
This will be followed by a visit to the Khan el-Khalili Market, founded in 1382 to control goods moving between the East and the West. Here we have an enjoyable lunch. We then have the opportunity to wander around this fascinating market. In the evening you will be taken to the Pyramids of Giza for dinner and a spectacular Sound & Light Show. (BLD)
Today you are taken to the airport where your tour comes to an end. (B)
Please note: At all of the places visited outside of Addis Ababa, the best hotels are used but they are fairly basic and would be considered as two-star, except in Addis Ababa. The meals offered are also fairly basic outside of Addis Ababa. Itinerary may vary due to road conditions in the areas being visited.
Inca Tours does not own any of the hotels, lodges or service providers utilised in making up the tours. As a result Inca Tours is only acting as an agent for the operators and as such does not accept responsibility for any negligence, omissions, errors or differences in standard experienced by passengers when utilising the operators' products or services. Please Note: for full booking terms and conditions please see the back of our booking form.
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