Lebanon & Egypt Encounters

We spend the first 8 days of this tour exploring Lebanon, located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. Though small, Lebanon is rich with history, culture and was the site of some of the world's oldest human settlements. You will visit Tyre and Sidon, great ancient Phoenician cities; Byblos, the world’s oldest continually-inhabited city; and Heliopolis, the Middle East’s best-preserved temple. Lebanon also abounds with natural phenomena and landscapes, and you will visit many fascinating natural sites. These include the Baatara Gorge Waterfall, the Jeita Grotto, the Ksara Caves, and the Barouk Cedar Nature Reserve. With sites such as the birthplace of Khalil Gibran, and the Lebanon cedar mentioned in the Old Testament, Lebanon provides the ideal combination nature, culture and history. Moving on to Egypt we start in Cairo with tours of the Pyramids and Sphinx at Gisa, and the world famous Egyptian Museum which has a huge collection of ancient artefacts including of course, the King Tutankhamun display. Next, we take the overnight sleeper train south to Aswan, where the Nile is at its most picturesque. We'll explore a local Nubian village, take a boat trip to the beautiful island temple of Philae. You also have the option to visit the amazing temples to Abu Simbel which were dismantled and rebuilt when Lake Nasser was flooded. We leave Aswan on a traditional Nile felucca. These sailing boats have plied the waters of the Nile for centuries and make for a really relaxing and enjoyable way to spend time seeing more of the Nile and rural Egyptian life as you sail upriver. We sleep on the deck of the boat, with mattresses and blankets provided, and the Nubian crew will entertain us and prepare a hearty meal in the evening. A support facilities boat will join up with us from time to time during the day and moor with us at night to provide a clean toilet & shower and hygienic kitchen. If you prefer you can opt to upgrade to the Aswan hotel instead of stay on the felucca. We leave the felucca reluctantly and head via the temples at Edfu. There are a huge number of ancient sites to see here, and we'll tour both the east and west banks of the Nile. Sites visited include underground Pharaonic tombs in the Valley of the Kings, Queen Hatchepsut and Medinat Habu temples, and the immense Collosi of Memnon. We also tour the huge temple complex at Karnak and see Luxor temple beautifully lit up at night. We leave the Nile Valley now and head to the Red Sea coast at Hurghada for some welcome rest and relaxation in a 5-star beach resort. The snorkelling and scuba diving in Hurghada is excellent and there are many other watersports available too, or you can just relax by the beach. If you wish you can extend your time here, or return on the flight back to Cairo with the rest of the group. The tour ends with a free afternoon in Cairo when you can take another optional city tour before we take a walking tour through the back streets of the Khan-el-Khalili bazaar. 4 & 5-star hotels Guesthouse Monastery Felucca sailboat Sleeper train