Pictures from Egypt

An Exodus Pilgrimage

The Nile, Cairo and the Sinai

Led by:

The Rev. Deborah Hunley
Christ Episcopal Church
Roanoke, VA

February 27 - March 11, 2010

Trip map

DAY 1, Saturday, February 27, 2010 - We depart from Roanoke to Dulles International Airport to connect to Frankfurt, Germany where we make our last connection to CairoMeals on board. D

DAY 2: Sunday, February 28, 2010 - We will arrive at the Cairo Airport where we will clear immigration and meet our guide who will be with us until the end of our journey.  We will be taken to our hotel near the area of the pyramids where we will have dinner and overnight.  Breakfast and lunch on board the aircraft and dinner at our hotel. BLD

DAY 3: Monday, March 1, 2010 - This morning we will see the famous Pyramids of Giza and enter the Cheops Pyramid.  We will visit the Solar Boat Museum at Giza located next to the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops).  The reconstructed boat inside the museum was meant to carry Cheops in the afterlife.  We continue on to the famous Sphinx, carved out of a single block of rock.  From there we will drive to the ancient capital of the Pharaohs, Memphis, and see the exotic decorations with which it is adorned.  We will continue on to Sakkara, probably one of the earliest Pharonic sites, where we will see the Step Pyramids.  Dinner and overnight Cairo. BLD

DAY 4: Tuesday, March 2, 2010 - We explore Old Cairo to see the Church of Abu Sraga, built to commemorate the Flight of the Christ Child to Egypt.  We see the Ben Ezra Synagogue and other sites in Old Cairo.  Our explorations will take us to the Coptic Museum where, among the thousands of artifacts, we will see ancient textiles, religious and secular artifacts, and the first stone pulpit.  We will visit the magnificent Egyptian Museum where we can marvel at the Tutankhamun Exhibit as well as the multitude of other artifacts that are on display.  Dinner and overnight Cairo. BLD

DAY 5: Wednesday, March 3, 2010 - We will have an early morning flight to Aswan where we will board our Nile cruise boat, our home for the next three nights.  We will begin with a visit to the High Dam at Aswan, Egypt’s most southern city.  The dam helps the Nile provide the water for all of Egypt.  We will see the Unfinished Obelisk which was probably intended to join the Lateran Obelisk in front of the Temple of Tuthmosis III at Aswan.  After lunch on board our boat, we will sail by felucca, the open sailboat which is reminiscent of ancient Egyptian boats, to visit the Islands of Aswan.  Dinner and overnight on board. BLD

DAY 6: Thursday, March 4, 2010 - We will arrive at Kom Ombo where we visit the temple Kom Ombo to visit the Temple of Haroeris and Sobek.  The temple is famous for its bisymmetry with its twin entrances and sanctuaries and the halls that divide the building in half.  The left side is dedicated to Haroeris and the right side is dedicated to the crocodile god, Sobek.  We will continue sailing today to Edfu to visit the Temple of Edfu and continue sailing to Luxor.  Overnight on board. BLD

DAY 7: Friday, March 5, 2010 - We will depart the ship very early to try to beat the crowds as we visit the West Bank of the Nile to visit the Thebes Necropolis also known as the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens.  These royal burial sites contained magnificent treasures but only the Tomb of Tutankhamun was found intact.  We will visit the magnificent Deir el-Bahri (Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut).  Hatshepsut was one of the few female pharaohs.  We will see the two Memnon Colossi, both 64 feet high which originally guarded the gates of the Mortuary Temple of Amenophis III.  After lunch on board our boat, we will explore the East Bank of the Nile.  Here we will find Karnak which surpasses every other complex of pharaonic temples.  The site at Karnak encompasses 100 acres and is the most magnificent temple complex in Egypt and maybe even in the world.  We will overnight on the boat in Luxor. BLD

DAY 8: Saturday, March 6, 2010 - We will disembark and transfer to the Luxor airport for our flight to Sharm el Sheikh where we begin our desert experience.  Sharm el Sheikh, located at the very southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, is surrounded on the west by the Gulf of Suez, on the east by the Gulf of Aquaba and on the south by the Red Sea.  We will take 4 wheel drive jeeps into the desert for time to relax and enjoy the atmosphere and beauty of the desert.  Visits with Bedouins in their tents will be part of our explorations today.  Dinner and overnight in the Sinai Desert. BLD

DAY 9: Sunday, March 7, 2010 - We worship together this morning and then explore as we drive to the Greek Orthodox Monastery of St. Catherine, believed to be the oldest continuously inhabited monastery in the world.  Pilgrims have traveled here as far back as the 4th century.  The monastery is perched between Gabel Musa (Mt. Sinai) and Gebel el-DeirMt. Sinai is held by most Christians to be the place where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God.  We will watch the sun set from our valley between the mountains.  Dinner and overnight at St. Catherine’s Guest House. BLD

DAY 10: Monday, March 8, 2010 - Early morning climb to the top of Mt. Sinai (for those who wish, there will be camels available to ride).  Once we reach the summit, we will celebrate Holy Eucharist.  Once we descend the mountain, we explore the 5th century St. Catherine’s Monastery, commissioned by the Byzantine emperor Justinian in AD 530 to protect those of Greek Orthodox faith.  We see the Church of the Transfiguration (now called the Church of St. Catherine) where some of the rarest icons in the world are displayed along with the relics of St. Catherine.  We continue our desert journey as we travel north to Wadi Feiran, the oasis mentioned in the Bible, where the Israelites camped.  We drive along the Red Sea to visit Eun Mussa Springs, continue to our crossing under the Suez Canal and finally to Zafarana for our overnight. BLD

DAY 11: Tuesday, March 9, 2010 - We explore Deir Anba Antunius (the Monastery of St. Anthony), founded by his followers in 356 and thought by some to be the world’s oldest monastery.  The monastery compound is surrounded by high walls within which we find the Church of St. Anthony with paintings and murals dating to the 13th and 16th centuries.  Hearty souls amongst us may wish to climb to the Cave of St. Anthony from which you will be rewarded with wonderful views of the Red Sea.  We continue to Deir Anba Bula (the Monastery of St. Paul).  Inside the Church of St. Paul, we find the cave where St. Anthony found St. Paul and the sarcophagus said to contain Paul’s remains.  Dinner and overnight at Zafarana. BLD

Day 12: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 - We return to Cairo stopping at the Citadel as we make our way into the city.  We will stop to visit the Citadel, the walls of which along with the minarets of Muhammad Ali’s Mosque, tower over the city of Cairo.  We will see the breathtaking views of the city from the Citadel and, time permitting visit other Islamic sites nearby before we return to our hotel near the airport.  We will have a “farewell to Egypt” dinner and overnight in Cairo. BLD

DAY 13: Thursday, March 11, 2010 - We will have an early wakeup call and travel to the airport for our return flight to the USA arriving in Roanoke this afternoon.  B and meals on the aircraft. BLD

Price: $3,399.00 Price is based on double occupancy plus airline taxes estimated at $375 +.  Roundtrip air from Roanoke, VA airport.  Air transportation available from other cities.  Single supplement $699.00.

Final Payment due January 10, 2010

Cancellation Penalties
◊ Deposits $200.00 due by November 20, 2009.
◊ Until November 25, 2009 - $100.00 per person.
◊ November 26, 2009 – January 10, 2010 - $200.00 per person.
◊ After January 11, 2010: NO REFUND

An application for travel insurance will be included with the receipt for your deposit.  We strongly recommend that you seriously consider this coverage.

Meals: B Breakfast, L Lunch, D Dinner, S Snack

The itinerary is subject to change due to local conditions or at the discretion and direction of the leader or guide.