abu simbel sun festival 2009

chase the sun - 9 days

Tour Information
Starts in: Cairo
Ends in: Cairo
Departure: Sunday 18th October 2009
Prices:  Click Here
Local Payment Required: No 
Breakfast: Daily, Lunch: 2, Dinner: 2
Hotel rating: 4 - 5
Egyptian Tour Guide escorted: Yes

Day 1: Cairo
Sunday 18th October. Welcome to Egypt and the start of an amazing holiday. Arrive Cairo airport and included transfer to your hotel. If arriving before 10am, you are welcome to join our tour of the Egyptian Museum, alternatively you can undertake your included tour of the Egyptian Museum on day 9. Overnight - Cairo.

Day 2: Pyramids of Giza & Saqqara
Cairo - Aswan - breakfast. Visit to the famous pyramids and lion-headed Sphinx at Giza Plateau. Sole survivors from the ancient Greek-listed Seven Wonders of the World, the pyramids are the planet’s oldest tourist attraction! Gaze in awe at Cheops (Khufu), the largest of the three great pyramids. Constructed from over 2.5 million limestone blocks it is thought to have taken more than 20 years to construct. Continuing to Saqqara, we can explore the myriad tombs and temples at this site and see Zhoser’s step pyramid - constructed by Imhotep, the pharaoh’s chief architect in 27 BC! We later enjoy a chance to relax, freshen up and have dinner. Overnight train to Aswan. Upgrade to a sleeper cabin are available, should you require. Overnight - train.

Day 3: Aswan souq & time to explore
Aswan - breakfast box. Arrive Aswan and transfer to our hotel. The afternoon offers time to relax and enjoy the hotel facilities. Later this evening we'll head to the colourful local souq (market) for a little bargain hunting. The lively night market offers comic entertainment as the sellers go about the business of hocking their wares. The market also offers an extensive array of cotton products, spices, wooden and copper ornaments, alabaster statues, beaded jewellery and mother of pearl trinkets at some of the best prices in the country. Remainder of the evening at leisure.
Overnight – Aswan.

Day 4: Aswan & Philae temple
Aswan - breakfast. This morning we enjoy a visit out of town to the mighty High Dam. A modern feat of engineering, the by–product is Lake Nasser, the world’s largest artificial lake! Continuing, we enjoy a short boat trip to Agilika Island for Philae Temple, dedicated to the goddess Isis. Later, free time to explore Egypt's southern most city on your own. Consider taking a walk along the majestic Nile corniche, framed by rolling sand dunes of the Sahara Desert or with a drink in hand, pull up a seat Nile for an amazing sunset.

There is time to rest before departing in the wee hours of the morning on our journey toward the Grand Temples of Abu Simbel. In readiness we await for the first rays of golden sunlight to touch the temple gate  signifying the start of the Sun Festival of the mighty King Ramses II. Overnight - coach journey to Abu Simbel.

Day 5: SUN FESTIVAL - TEMPLE OF KING RAMSES II - ABU SIMBEL

Abu Simbel – Aswan – Nile Felucca Cruise - breakfast. Possibly the most awe-inspiring temple of all ancient Egypt, with its gargantuan rock-cut façade, the great Sun Temple of King Ramses II at Abu Simbel was created to revere the mighty pharaonic ruler King Ramses II. Ramses the Bold, Ramses the Great, Ramses the Narcissist are perhaps all apt titles for one of ancient Egypt’s most powerful rulers. Celebrating a life that spanned nearly a centenary, Ramses had plenty of time for his more than 200 wives and concubines who produced him some 96 sons and 60 daughters.

Built by Ramses II to demonstrate his political clout and divine backing to the ancient Nubians, Abu Simbel is an awesome self-tribute. Guarding the entrance to the temple (built between 1290 and 1224 BC) hewn into the side of a mountain are four famous colossal statues of the pharaoh himself, which sit majestically staring out across the desert, seemingly since time began. Over the centuries, the desert sands imperceptibly shifted until the temple was all but lost to humanity. It was rediscovered by chance in 1813 by a Swiss explorer called John Lewis Burkhardt. Only one of the heads of the pharaohs was showing and only a small part of the rest of the colossal temple peeked above the desert sands. It wasn’t until the British happened upon Abu Simbel and starting excavating, that the full glory of the temple of Abu Simbel was revealed to the modern world. The other rock cut temple at Abu Simbel is the Temple of Hathor, which is fronted by six massive standing statues. Four of them represent King Ramses II, whilst the other two are of his beloved wife, Queen Nefertari.

The temple was dedicated to the deified Pharaoh, King Ramses II, known also as the great builder and the gods Amun-Re, Re-Herakhte and Ptah. In a fit of precision and architectural egotism, Ramses II had the entire temple carefully angled and oriented in order that the sun’s rays would align twice a year on his date of his ascension to the throne (21 February) and on his birthday (21 October) and illuminate the inner sanctum of the temple. This incredible natural phenomenon provides for a most spectacular sight, which has come to be referred to as the Sun Festival of King Ramses II. Crowds pack in to the temple before sunrise and watch the shafts of light slowly creeping through the rock hewn inner Hypostyle Hall (replete with further statues of the king) and through to the Sanctuary. Significantly, the sun illuminates statues of Amun-Re, Re-Herakhte and Ramses the god, whilst the statute of Ptah - the god of darkness - remains in the shadows.

Famously, the temple was re-located in a multi-million dollar operation in 1972, further up from the shoreline of Lake Nasser, which had threatened to erode the foundations of this monolithic temple complex. For this reason, the sun now strikes a day later than Ramses had originally planned, though the event this morning itself is no less stunning. After the event, there will also be plenty of time to explore and take plenty of pictures of the Sun Temple of King Ramses II and the Temple of Hathor and take plenty of pictures.

Arriving back to Aswan we board our Nile felucca for a 2 night voyage downstream on the River Nile. Afternoon sailing, late lunch, dinner and overnight - felucca.

If sailing by felucca does not appeal, navigate the River Nile on board a 5 luxury Nile Cruiser with private cabin and ensuite bathroom. Upgrading to a 5 Nile Cruiser is available on our 10 day Jewel of the Nile Sun festival departure.

Day 6: Felucca Sailing
Nile felucca cruise - breakfast. Relax, go for a swim or just chill out in the sun on deck. Let your troubles melt away, as the felucca plies its route. Lunch, dinner and overnight - felucca cruise.

Day 7: Kom Ombo Temple & Edfu temple
Nile Felucca Cruise - Kom Ombo - Edfu - Luxor – breakfast. Disembarking our felucca, we visit the riverside Temple of Kom Ombo and continue onward to the Temple of Horus at Edfu, before driving north to Luxor. Home of the legendary Valley of the Kings and Temple of Karnak, 4000 year old Luxor is ancient Egypt at it’s best. Enjoy some rest and relaxation. Tonight, we have the optional excursion (minimal cost/ book and pay locally) to explore the Temple of Luxor - by night. Transport is by traditional horse and carriage with a restaurant dinner afterwards. Spend the remainder of the evening your way. Overnight - Luxor.

Day 8: Valley of the Kings
Luxor - Cairo - breakfast. An early start with an optional hot air balloon flight over Luxor. See the temples or tombs or villages from high above as we drift over ancient Thebes. Starting early to avoid the heat, we venture to the awesome Valley of the Kings. Highlights of our visit include the Colossi of Memnon, a massive pair of statues that stand silent against a backdrop of history, the legendary Valley of the Kings and the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut. The Valley of the Kings is studded with often highly decorated tombs, constructed to once house the regal sarcophagi enclosed mummies of the mighty pharaohs awaiting their passage into the after-life. Later this afternoon after time to relax, we visit the Temple of Karnak, a spectacular temple on a gigantic scale dedicated to the Theban gods. Karnak is ancient Egypt at it’s very best. You’ll feel like an extra in a Hollywood epic, as you stroll around this place. Tonight, we return to Cairo by train, (Sleeper cabin upgrade available) Overnight - train.

Day 9: Cairo & The Egyptian Museum
Cairo – hotel breakfast. Arriving at a centrally located Cairo hotel a few rooms will be available (as we are not offically checking in) for our group to shower and freshen up. Mid morning we'll depart for our guided tour the Egyptian Museum. See the famous Tutankhamen Gallery and opt to see the Royal Mummies. An optional city tour and visit to a scented oil perfumery will also be available if time permits. Our tour ends upon returning to our hotel at approx 16:00 and onward departure transfer to the airport.

To make the most of your time in Cairo and not miss any of today's touring, be sure to arrange your onward international flight after 18:00, alternatively an additional nights accommodation can be pre-purchased should you require.

We also offer the chance to see the phenomena in conjunction with our 5 star Jewel of the Nile Sun Festival tour departing on 16 October 2009, 13 day Sun Chasing tour departing 18 October 2009 and Ramses Sunrise departing 15 February 2010.