Day 1 – To Cairo: Fly from London to Cairo with bmi. Transfer to the Safir Cairo for 4 nights. Evening welcome dinner. (D)
Day 2 – Old Cairo: Today, explore old Cairo, which forms the historic link between Egypt’s Pharaonic and Islamic civilisations. Once known as Babylon, this part of Cairo predates the coming of Islam and remains to this day the
seat of the Coptic Christian community. Visits will include the Hanging Church, the Monastery of the Virgin Mary and the Coptic Museum. (B)
Day 3 – Islamic Cairo: Today, explore Islamic Cairo, one of the oldest cities in the Muslim world. Visit the Mosque of Ibn Tulun, Gayer Anderson House, Amir Taz Palace, the Islamic Museum, Bab el-Zuweila and the new textile museum in Sabil of Ismail Pasha. (B)
Day 4 – Coptic Cairo: This morning, visit Abu Sefein monastery, the largest in the district of ancient Babylon. Continue to the Monastery of St Simon the Tanner, which contains seven churches and chapels hidden in a series of
caves in the Mokattam Hills. Finally, visit the churches and convents of Harat Zuwaila. (B)
Day 5 – To Alexandria: Drive to Alexandria via the historic Coptic Christian monasteries of Wadi Natrun. Visit the monastery of St
Macarios, the Monastery of the Syrians and the Monastery of the Romans. Stay 2 nights at the Sheraton Montazah Hotel. (B)
Day 6 – Alexandria: This morning, explore Kom el-Dikka, a Roman amphitheatre where excavations have uncovered baths and a villa. Travel to the Villa of the Birds, a rarely visited and carefully restored Roman home, with a large mosaic of a dozen birds. Continue to the tombs of Mustafa Kamel and the catacombs of Kom al-Shoqafa, which are decorated in a blend of Pharaonic, Greek and Roman art. Finally, visit the new Alexandria Library and its
archaeological museum. (B)
Day 7 – To Cairo: This morning, drive to the ancient Roman port city of Leukaspis, with villas, an agora and tomb ruins. Continue to the monastery of St Menas, in an isolated desert area very close to the archaeological site of Abu Mena, which is one of the oldest Christian sites in Egypt (dating from between the fourth and seventh centuries AD). On arrival in Cairo, stay overnight at the Safir Cairo. (B)
Day 8 – To Zafarana: Drive to Zafarana to visit St Paul’s monastery, founded over the cave where St Paul the Anchorite lived for 80 years. Continue to the St Anthony monastery,a Coptic Orthodox monastery hidden deep in the Red Sea mountains. Stay overnight at the
Jaz Little Venice Hotel. (B, D)
Day 9 – To St Catherine: Drive to St Catherine, visiting the Seven Girls monastery en route. This Greek monastery is located where it is believed that Joshua defeated the Amalekites while Moses and Aaron gave prayerful support.
Icons from here were displayed in the RA’s Byzantium exhibition. Stay overnight at the Wadi Al Raha Hotel. (B, D)
Day 10 – To Cairo: This morning, visit St Catherine’s monastery. Built on the site where Moses encountered the burning bush, St
Catherine’s is a wonderfully remote monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai. Transfer to Sharm el Sheikh and fly to Cairo with Egyptair. Stay overnight at the Sonesta Cairo Heliopolis Hotel. Evening farewell dinner at the hotel. (B, D)
Day 11 – To London: Morning transfer to the airport. Fly from Cairo to London with bmi. (B).
Meal Basis: (B) = Breakfast, (L) = Lunch, (D) = Dinner, (N) = No Meals
Extensions: If you wish to extend your stay in Egypt to discover the history and culture of Pharaonic Egypt independently or to enjoy a Nile cruise, please contact Cox & Kings for further details.
