Turkey, Greece, Egypt
A
14-Day East Mediterranean Grand Tour
we
show you the top sights in these three historic countries in a 12 day
grand tour.
This tour cover Athens and Day cruise in Greece,
to add more Greek Isles , please click here
Compare
with the 15 day Greece and
Egypt . Compare with the 17 Day
Version
DAY
1 - USA , Thursday - Weekly departure ,year Round.
Board your comfortable wide body jet at JFK International Airport. Overnight
across the Atlantic.
We keep the right to use any of the international air carriers : KLM
. SWISS , Lufthansa, British, Egyptair, Turkish Airline etc.
Handling your own air, please click here
Add-on air fare is available from major cities in the USA.
For West Coast passengers , you need not
to fly via JFK, you 'll board LH, BA, KL, AF from LAX, SAN, SFO, SEA
etc, non-stop to Europe then one stop to connect with another non-stop
to Athens .
Day 2 ISTANBUL - Friday (D)
Our staff greets you at Istanbul's airport and escorts you to your hotel.
The rest of the day is yours to explore the Turkish metropolis as you
like. Dinner awaits you at your hotel
DAY 3 - ISTANBUL Saturday (BD)
Welcome to the City of the Sultans! We visit the top sights in an all-day
tour, including the Blue Mosque, the Byzantine Hippodrome, the Turkish
and Islamic Arts Museum with its collection of priceless oriental carpets,
and legendary Topkapi Palace Museum, the imperial residence of the sultans
for centuries. Dinner at the hotel
DAY 4 - ISTANBUL Sunday (BLD)
"Imperial
Constantinople in the Belle Epoque" (late 19th century), the exotic
romance of the "Paris of the East:"
Morning walking tour : We start with our guide in Karaköy where the
foreign bankers and shipping companies had their headquarters, then take
the Tünel up to istiklal Caddesi; stop in the whirling dervish tekke,
and walk past the various old embassy buildings (now consulates), and
point out the architecture.
Stop for tea (included) at the famous Pera Palace Hotel.
Walk at least as far as Galatasaray Square, and have lunch in the
Çicek Pasaji (Flower Passage); then walk up to Taksim Square and be picked
up for the afternoon tour.
In the afternoon the tour visit Yildiz Palace Park and the Ihlamur Kasri,
a mini-palace south of Yildiz, and finish up with a visit to the Military
History Museum in Harbiye in time to hear the "Mehter," or Ottoman military
band (mid-afternoon).
Dinner at the hotel
DAY
5 - ATHENS- Monday (B)
Today we fly south (air fare is included between Istanbul & Athens)
and west across the Sea of Marmara and the deep blue of the Aegean
to fabled Athens. (International airfares are included in the
tour rates.) Upon arrival, our staff meets you and escorts you to your
hotel in the Greek capital. The rest of the day is yours: Athens awaits
you!
Day
6 Mon, Athens - Tuesday (BL)
Ride
the new Athens Subway alongside the locals today ( always escorted with
your English speaking Guide) ! We take pride in affording you this experience,
entirely by public transportation, with orientation by our English-speaking
representative. You'll get to tour Athens fascinating vegetable &
fruit markets by subway and/ or taxi. Tour
as well the Jewelry museum (LALAOUNIS)
Enjoy lunch at a charming local restaurant before we head back to the
hotel . Markets days/dates are subject to change, we may have to change
your program in Athens to accommodate such changes.
Or
if you prefer you may choose instead to tour one of the following tours:
BYZANTINE CHURCHES
Russian Orthodox Church at Filellinon & Amalias
Athens cathedral (Mitropolis) at Mitropoleos
Kapnikarea at Ermou
Saint Theodore at Klafthmonos
HISTORICAL INTEREST- Museum Tour :
BENAKI MUSEUM - (closed on Tuesdays)
Covering the history of Greece from Paleolithic (pre-historic, 60000
B.C.) till present. Can easily spend over 4 hours in there. There is
also a cafeteria for breaks.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL INTEREST
Temple of Olympian Zeus / Dionissos Theatre/ Ancient Agora/ Roman Agora
Above are only suggestions , you may discuss with the guide and modify
(add/subtract) according to what you are most interested in. The guide
will advise you on what is feasible to cover in a half-day. Or add another
half day : additional $$$ apply
DAY 7- One day GREEK ISLANDS CRUISE Wednesday (BLD)
We drive to the Marina Trocadero and board a boat for a tour of the
saronic Gulf and its islands Aegina, Poros and Hydra.
After our delightful day at sea, the evening brings us to a local tavern
for traditional Greek dancing and entertainment.
DAY
8- ATHENS - Private Tour - Thursday (BL)
A half-day private city tour shows you this
great city's layout: we visit Syntagma Square, the heart of Modern Athens,
drive by the parliament, and climb up to the Acropolis. The afternoon
is yours to explore Athens as you like. Take in some shopping, or relax
at a real Athenian cafe in the Plaka, lunch is included in a charming
Greek restaurant .
DAY 9- Athens / Cairo Friday (BD)
Morning at leisure, maybe to enjoy a last minute shopping at the Plaka,
later in the day
we drive to Athens airport for our flight to Cairo airport, airfare
included ;Upon arrival in Cairo, we drive up to our hotel.
Complimentary
Visa is issued upon arrival at Cairo Airport , this is valid for American
& EU citizens as well as Australia, NZ & Japan. Dinner
awaits you at 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
DAY 10 - CAIRO Saturday (BL)
On our first day in the Egyptian capital, we show you the Egyptian Museum,
Citadel of Saladin & Mohamed Ali Mosque, made of alabaster. You
will enjoy a delicious lunch at a local restaurant.
DAY 11 - CAIRO- Royal Palaces - Home Hosted Dinner Sunday
(BL)
Half day tour of the Abdeen Royal Palace, the seat of power in Egypt
for the Royal family for almost a century. The Palace rivals Versailles
with its treasures of art. On To Manial Palace , Nilometer, and Cairo
Tower. Lunch at a charming local restaurant.
You'll
have one more opportunity to experience the excitement of this great
city and, of course, do some last-minute shopping.
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 dinner in a quiet restaurant with your travel companions,
by letting us know your preferences.
You may wish to bring token gifts to exchange with the host family (
T shirt , small souvenirs of your home town).
DAY
12 - DAHSOUR - Monday (cBL)
After breakfast, we'll motor to the edge of Cairo, to the mysterious
Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza.
Those
who are fit and adventurous enough may wish to penetrate into the heart
of the Great Pyramid, to the King's Chamber your ticket is included
with our compliments (or the interior of Kephren Pyramid). Taking
a camel ride (Included) is entirely your own choice!
Continue
to Dahshour, the newly-opened pyramid field south of Cairo. We
visit the great pyramid of Senfru, father of Cheops, and other structure:
The "Discovery" of Dahshour:
For almost half a century, the great field of huge pyramids near the
desert village of Dahshour, 25 miles south of Cairo, has been off limits
to the public. Confined within the perimeter of a military base were
many pyramids, including the great 4500-year-old pyramid built by Senfru,
father of Cheops. Senfru's pyramid, the largest in Egypt until his son
built Giza's Great Pyramid, is rhomboidal in shape: it tapers more distinctly
on its upper half. All the pyramids were coated in thick plaster at
one time. Most have lost these protective, decorative sheaths, but Senfru's--miraculously--is
still in place.
Lunch is included at a local restaurant or at your hotel.
Evening Sound and Light show by the Pyramids.
DAY
13 - Cairo Fayoum -Tuesday (cBL)
On
Desert Safari for the Day - Fayoum Oases - And you thought the Pyramids
were old
The
wilds of the desert begin right on the outskirts of Cairo, and continue
for hundreds of miles to the east and west, through sands, rock, mountains,
oases, and a surprising variety of scenery and inhabitants.
Join
us for a day ranging across the desert like modern nomads. In place
of camels, we’ll travel in comfortable, reliable four-by-four
Toyota Land Cruisers. Your guide and drivers will meet you at your hotel,
and soon you’ll leave bustling Cairo behind as you undertake the
drive toward the Oasis of El Fayoum, 150 kilometers to the southwest.
Hard as it is to believe, a great inland sea once covered these sands.
It was a holy reserve of sacred crocodiles, symbolized by the god Sobek.
We’ll
visit the temple of Kom Oshim, drive over ancient lake beds, and alongside
the waters of today’s Fayoum Lake to reach the fishermen’s
village of Chak Chouk. There we’ll stop for a lunch of fish caught
fresh that morning. There will be time to wander the village lanes and
discreetly watch the everyday activities of baking flatbread, irrigating
crops from the lake’s waters, and bringing in the catch. We’ll
also include the craft and pottery museum where the best works of local
artisans are on display.
Then
it’s into our four-by-fours again, for an off-road adventure!
We’ll head alongside and across desert washes, between dunes,
and over ancient lake beds for 35 kilometers to the Valley of the Whales
( In Arabic : Wadi-El-Hitan) . Incredibly, these great mammals once
thrived - almost forty million years ago- in waters surrounded by sands.
We’ll stop and gaze in amazement at their fossilized remains alongside
smaller sea creatures that remain in stone.
This valley was discovered in 1936 , by the German geologist George
Schweinfurth in the northwestern corner of Wadi El-Rayan.
The valley provides evidence of one of the major changes in this mammal
evolution has been declared by the UNESCO to be a World Heritage Site.
It is believed that these land based whales once had feet that may have
helped them somewhat while ashore . A team from the University of Michigan
discovered in the late 80's that these Zeuglodon whales did have rudimentary
feet , this was a startling discovery , suggesting that whales of Wadi
-El-Hitan had recently started living in water as well , these whales
were not related to any of the whales we have today , rather a more
slender body and may grow up to 75 feet long. Several skeletons of whales
are exposed in the sand. George Schweinfurth named this extinct specie
the Zeuglodon Isis Whales .
In
the evening, you’ll return to your hotel in Cairo. Land
transportation in air-conditioned four-wheel-drive Toyota Land Cruiser
with the services of driver and English-speaking driver. Lunch is included
DAY 14 - DEPARTURE
-Wednesday (B)
Our staff escorts you to Cairo airport for your flight home.
Bon Voyage
RATES per person in US$
| From
JFK in Economy Class
|
Tourist
Class
Hotels |
First
Class
Hotels |
Deluxe
Hotels |
| Sharing
in Triple Occupancy |
US$
4010.00 |
US$
4350.00 |
US$
5465.00 |
| Double |
US$
4120.00 |
US$
4490.00 |
US$
5511.00 |
| Single |
US$
5025.00 |
US$
5510.00 |
US$
6420.00 |
A
%15 supplement will apply from Dec 15,through Jan 5.
Rates
include:
- Air
fare from JFK, (if you wish to handle your own air fare please deduct
$500 : For JFK / Istanbul & Cairo / JFK ), add on from most West
Coast cities : $300.
Atlanta , Detroit , Chicago, Miami , Denver : $ 250 . Summer
air fare supplement of $300 ( May -Aug) this supplement will
not apply when you handle your own air fare. Please deduct $500 when
you handle your own air fare
- Hotel
accommodations (Deluxe ,first class & tourist as per your request),
including tax, service charge and continental breakfast daily.
- As
well as sightseeing tours and entrance fees as per itinerary, locally
escorted in each country.
- All
transfers in Greece, Turkey & Egypt.
- Airfares
between ISTANBUL, ATHENS & CAIRO in " Y " economy class
.
- Visa
fee for Egypt, valid for American & EU citizens as well as Australian,
NZ, Singaporean & Japanese .
- Meals
as listed : B/L/D preset menu breakfast/lunch/dinner
.
- Complimentary
entrance ticket to the Harem quarter at the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul.
Not Included :
- Tips.
- Any
Travel Insurance (Please ask your insurance agent ).
- Visa
fee for Turkey.
- Any
beverages.
[ Eastern Med Odyssey ]
[ The Ancient World in Ultimate Style ]
[ Ancient World of Greece and Egypt ]
[ Triangle of Ancient Lands ]
[ Ancient Isles & Treasures ]
[ Legends of the Greek Isles and Nile ]
Complimentary
entrance ticket to the Harem quarter at the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul.
|
