DAY 1 - AMMAN Wednesday - Weekly-Year Round

Our staff greets you at Amman International Airport, or at your international border crossing point, and escorts you to your hotel in Amman. Visa fee is included in our rate .
This visa service is limited to a specific number of nationalities such as : USA , Canada, Australia, NZ, EU, Japan, etc.

DAY 2 - MADABA, KERAK & PETRA Thursday (BLD)

Guide escorts the tour at all times from Amman . We drive south along the King's Highway, an ancient caravan route, to Madaba to visit the church containing the oldest known map of the Holy Land. Continuing to Mount Nebo, we enjoy the panoramic view of the Promised Land the way Moses saw it for the first time. Farther on, at Kerak, we tour the ruins of its romantic Crusaders' castle of Renaud de Chatillon, one of a line which stretched from Aqaba to Turkey. Lunch is included enroute . Finally, we arrive in Petra, and settle in at our hotel, where dinner and comfortable beds await you .

DAY 3 - PETRA Friday (BD)

Today the fabulous Nabatean city of Petra awaits us. Made famous in the Indiana Jones movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark," its ancient temples, tombs and striking Khazneh (Treasury) were hewn right from the pink and violet sandstone. We spend a full day here, and another night.

Saturday, Day 4 -Petra - Bosra - Damascus (BL)
Morning departure for the Syrian borders and Bosra .
Bosra was mentioned in Egyptian 18th-dynasty records as Busrana. It became part of Seleucid domains after Alexander's conquests and was seized by Judas Maccabeus in 163 BC. When the Nabatean kingdom rose to local prominence in the 1st century BC, Bosra came within the North reaches of their control. In 106 AD, the Romans extended direct rule and established "Provencia Arabia." It became heavily influenced in its cultural and civic life by Roman models. Bosra was made the hub of an important network of trade routes linking Egypt, Red Sea, Syria and the Mediterranean, Mesopotamian regions. It retained its importance through the Christian era of Later Roman Empire, it was however a Monophysite center and thus often on bad terms with Constantinople.

On the Jordanian Syrian borders , our local rep will assist with your visa to Syria .
Please make sure to scan your passport info page and e.mail, or mail to us ate least 45 days prior to departure to allow us to have the visa ready for you . This service is limited to a specific number of nationalities such as : USA , Canada, Australia, NZ, EU, Japan, etc.
Proceed to your hotel. You can begin your exploration of this "Arabian Nights" city just after you arrive. Welcome fruit basket awaits you in your room .

Sunday, Day 5 - Damascus (BL)
Today we explore the Syrian capital, visiting the National Museum, with treasures dating from the 1400s BC; the bustling Old Bazaar, the Eastern Gate (Bab ash-Sharqi) in the Roman city walls; the Street Called Straight (Via Recta); the house of Anania; and the chapel with very the window from which disciples lowered St. Paul so he could escape those who sought to kill him (Chapter 9:24-25) Lunch at a local restaurant is included.

Monday, Day 6- Palmyra - Damascus (BLD)
We drive to ancient Palmyra (Tadmor), in a desert oasis on the trade route between the Mediterranean and Mesopotamia, to visit its museum, the temples of Bel, Baal Shamin and Nebo, the Roman baths, the Tetrapylon, Diocletian's camp, and the Valley of the Tombs, before returning to Damascus. Lunch at a local restaurant is included.

Complimentary Dinner is included at a local home:
We are proud to be the only ones that are able to afford you such window on the true warm and hospitable Syrian people , come and meet the locals, you may wish to bring token gifts to exchange with the host family ( T shirt , small souvenirs of your home town):
This evening we'll venture where few ordinary visitors ever tread . . . right into the homes of some of the people of Syria l! You'll be invited to a family dinner, and while you enjoy wholesome home-cooked specialties, you'll learn about and appreciate the outlook, aspirations, and way of life of your hosts. Be assured, as curious as you may be about your new friends, they're sure to have questions about your own background. Once the ice is broken, you'll enjoy a lively evening, and find that you have more in common than you ever suspected. As some have inquired after they returned , feel free to ask about the recipes for the local dishes you will enjoy tonight , please let us know in advance of you prefer vegetarian meals.

Of course, you may enjoy a quiet evening with your travel companions, by letting us know your preferences.

Tuesday, Day 7 - Damascus (BLD)
Full day mix of walking as well driving around Damascus to get to know the city , the local souks , bazaar, and even meeting the locals. Lunch at a local restaurant is included.
Dinner is included at a local home:
Meet the locals, you may wish to bring token gifts to exchange with the host family ( T shirt , small souvenirs of your home town)
This evening we'll venture where few ordinary visitors ever tread . . . right into the homes of some of the people of Cairo ! You'll be invited to a family dinner, and while you enjoy wholesome home-cooked specialties, you'll learn about and appreciate the outlook, aspirations, and way of life of your hosts. Be assured, as curious as you may be about your new friends, they're sure to have questions about your own background. Once the ice is broken, you'll enjoy a lively evening, and find that you have more in common than you ever suspected. Of course, you may enjoy a quiet evening with your travel companions, by letting us know your preferences.

Wednesday, Day 8 - Damascus and Cairo (B)
Our staff escorts you to the airport for your flight to Cairo, Egypt. Your air ticket is included in our rate and will be delivered to you in Damascus by our local representative. In Cairo , our local representative will assist with your entry visa at no additional charge for American & Japanese citizens only , your passports must be valid for at least 6 month upon arrival, then escort you to your hotel.

Visa will be issued upon arrival.
As you exit the gate, you will pass through a door or two , down some stairs , then walk for 2-5 minutes , until you pass the duty free shops, at the end of a wide corridor , you will see the security officers. There you will be met by a local representative, who will be holding a sign with the name you prefer to use for the sign .

Our local representative will then take your passport to obtain a stamp from the cashier / bank window and escort you to speak with the passport officer. He will escort you through another last check on your passport as you exit the passport control, into customs area, he will assist you in collecting your luggage and clearing customs . After exiting the terminal, our local representative will escort you (private vehicle) to the hotel

Thursday, Day 9 - Cairo (BL)
This is a full day tour of Cairo, including the Egyptian Museum, the Pyramids of Giza, the Sphinx .Lunch is included at a charming local restaurant .

Friday, Day 10 - Luxor and Nile Cruise (BLD)
Early morning flight to Luxor ( or Aswan) ( air fare is included in our rate in economy class )
Arrive at Luxor in the morning and board our Nile cruise, (Deluxe) or similar, in time to get rested up for visits to Luxor and Karnak Temples. In the afternoon we visit the Valley Of the Kings, including King Tut's Tomb , Queen Hatshepsut Temple, and Clossi of Memnon. Evening departure sailing for Esna Locks.

Saturday, Day 11 - Edfu, Kom Ombo(BLD)
On Saturday we'll sail further south to Edfu, climb aboard horse-drawn carriages, and clip-clop through town to the Temple of Horus, Egypt's best preserved temple. Then we'll re-embark, and dock at Kom Ombo for the night.

Sunday, Day 12 - Aswan (BLD)
Visit the twin temple at Kom Ombo then re-embark and sail to Aswan. We'll have an afternoon leisure cruise on the Nile by felucca and a visit to the Philae Temple.

Monday, Day 13 - Camel Caravan , Aswan, Cairo (B)
We'll join an early morning camel caravan to a nearby Nubian Village for tea with the local villagers before heading for Aswan Airport and your flight back to Cairo , and transfer to your hotel in Cairo.

Tuesday, Day 14 - Cairo (BLD)
Morning tour of the Citadel of Saladin, Mohamed Ali Alabaster Mosque, and El Rifai Mosque.
We break for lunch at Naguib Mahfouz restaurant, before we go on a treasure hunt and wander through the alleys of the legendary Khan El Khalili old district.

one more Dinner at a local home this time in Egypt:
Meet the locals ! You'll be invited to a family dinner, and while you enjoy wholesome home-cooked specialties, you may enjoy a quiet evening with your travel companions, by letting us know your preferences.

Wednesday, Day 15 - Departure (B)
Our representative escorts you to the airport for your flight.

Bon Voyage, Salaam

Inclusions :

• Entry visa into Egypt and Syria , valid only for a limited number of nationalities such as : American , Australian, NZ, Mexicans EU, &  Japanese citizens, passports must be valid at least for 6 month beyond arrival date.
  Very important note for Syria : If you have an Israeli visa stamp in your passport, then Syria will not issue your visa, if you have an Israeli stamp in your passport, you may wish to get another new passport
  
• Damascus Airport Departure Tax.
  
• All transfers in Egypt and Syria .

• Guided sightseeing as per itinerary including all entrance fees.

• Meals as listed: cB: Continental breakfast, L: preset menu lunch,    D: Dinner

• Domestic air ticket within Egypt, in economy class , tax included
  
• Nile cruise as per itinerary including all meals and guided shore excursions.
  
• Hotel accommodation as indicated , including all tax and service  charges.
  
• Local guides escorting the group at all times during sightseeing at all times in Egypt and Syria .

General Hotel Listing

Not included are:

• Travel Insurance , please ask us for the flyer
  
• Tips to driver/guide

• International air fare from / to your home country

• Any beverages. i.e. Bottled water etc.

• Any services not mentioned above

 

Syria
Once a vast Roman province, now a surprisingly friendly Arab country, Syria is finally being discovered by travelers. Names on the map of modern Syria positively ring with history: Aleppo, Damascus, Latakiya, Palmyra, the Euphrates, the Orontes. Travelers come to see all these and more. Expecting only desert, they find a varied country of plains, mountains,  valleys, rivers‹and yes, plenty of desert.  The climate is typical for the eastern Mediterranean: dry in summer with hot days and cool nights, mild and rainy in winter. The great Omayyad Mosque (705) in Damascus is wonderful. At Palmyra (Tadmor), a hundred miles east of Homs, are the extensive ruins of a fabulously wealthy Roman City ruled by the famed Zenobia. Its theater, Great Colonnade, monumental arch and various temples are on everybody's list of must-sees. While you're here, don't forget to meet the Syrians. Many visitors consider them the friendliest people in the eastern Mediterranean. Come see for yourself