14 Nights / 15 Days Holy Sights and Beach

Cairo: Pyramids and Great Sphinx of Giza, Egyptian Museum, Khan El Khalili Bazaar, Salah El Din Citadel, Alabaster Mosque, Sultan Hassan Mosque, Mosque of Ibn Tulun, Bayt al Suhaymi, Al Azhar Mosque, St. Mark’s Cathedral, Babylon Fortress, Hanging Church, Abu Serga Church, St. Barbara’s Church, Coptic Museum - Monasteries of the Wadi Al Natrun - Alexandria: Qaitbay Citadel, Montazah Palace, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Pompey’s Pillar, Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa - Abu Mena and the Monastery of St. Menas - Zafarana: Monasteries of St. Paul and St. Antony - Taba - Mount Sinai, St. Catherine’s Monastery - Jerusalem, Bethlehem (Israel)

Day-by-Day-Itinerary:

1^st Day: Cairo – Arrival

After your arrival at Cairo International Airport our representative will meet you in front of the exit door after you will have passed the passport control and the customs and claimed your luggage. Then we will transfer you to your hotel for the check-in and give you all necessary information for the following days. You will have dinner in your hotel.

Dinner included. Overnight in Cairo.

2^nd Day: Sightseeing Tour Cairo & Giza

We will start our program in Giza where you will see the last remaining of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Pyramids of Cheops, Chephren and Mykerinos, as well as the Great Sphinx. After lunch in a local restaurant you will visit the Egyptian Museum, one of the most interesting museums in the world, featuring more than 120,000 ancient Egyptian artifacts, among the countless pieces of jewelry, statues, sarcophagi and mummies. Finally you will enjoy strolling about the Khan El Khalili Bazaar, one of the oldest and biggest bazaars in the Middle-East where you can find all your heart desires. The evening will be at your own disposal

Optional activities (against supplement):

Camel Ride around the pyramids

Entrance to the Great Pyramid in Giza

Entrance to the Small Pyramid in Giza

Visit of the Solar Boat Museum in Giza

Mummy Room in the Egyptian Museum

Pyramids Sound and Light Show in Giza

Visit of the Cairo Tower providing you a great view of the nightly city

Dinner cruise with oriental show on the River Nile

Breakfast, lunch and dinner included. Overnight in Cairo.

3^rd Day: Wadi Al Natrun Monasteries

After breakfast we will take you to the Wadi Al Natrun, also known as Scetes. It is considered to be one of the most sacred Christian regions. Today, only four of the ancient monasteries still exist, now more than 1,600 years old. They resemble small fortifications with large strong walls, as the monks had to be protected from attacking Berber and Bedouin tribes. They have been a home to countless monks during their history, among them important Coptic saints and popes. The Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great was founded in around 360 AD by Saint Macarius of Egypt who was the spiritual father to more than four thousand monks of different origin. It has been continuously inhabited by monks ever since and contains relics of many saints; during the restoration works, two crypts have been discovered, supposed to belong to Saint John the Baptist and the Prophet Elisha. The Paromeos Monastery, founded around 335 AD, is probably the oldest among the four existing monasteries and has been preserving much of its ancient character. It has five churches, also containing some relics. The oldest one, dating back to the 6^th century AD, is considered to be the oldest still existing church in Scetes. The Monastery of Saint Pishoy was founded in the 4^th century AD. Its main church contains, among other relics, the body of its founder, Saint Pishoy, that is said to have remained in incorruption until today. It contains further a spring which is known as the Well of the Martyrs. The Syrian Monastery is supposed to have been founded in the 6^th century AD. Inside there is a large door known as the 'Door of Prophecies'. It is covered by symbolic diagrams depicting the past and the future of the Christian faith how they were expected by the monks who were living here in the 10^th century. Also there is the miraculous ‘Tree of Saint Ephrem’. The Syrian monastery provides besides a great opportunity to study Coptic wall paintings and frescos, and it is still surrounded by large walls. The evening will be at your own disposal in Alexandria.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner included. Overnight in Alexandria.

4^th Day: Abu Mena, Monastery of St. Menas, Alexandria

After breakfast you will visit the ‘Lourdes of the ancient world’, Abu Mena. The ancient pilgrimage site was destroyed during the Muslim conquest in the 7^th century. Saint Menas, maybe the most well-known Egyptian saint, is said to have been buried here after his martyrdom, and his burial place was known as a destination from sick people from all over the ancient world who came to be cured miraculously. Numerous little clay bottles with the saint's name and picture have been found by archeologists in diverse countries such as Germany, Italy, Croatia, France, the Sudan and Israel, remaining from the believers’ pilgrimage. The city which had grown during this time contained a great basilica as well as dwelling houses, workshops and baths. The remains are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Near the ancient city you can visit the great modern monastery, the Coptic Orthodox Monastery of Saint Menas, one of the biggest and most famous monasteries in the country, built in 1959 under Pope Cyril VI close to the ruins of Abu Mena. After lunch we will take you to Alexandria where you will attend a city tour before returning to Cairo. You will see the strong and well preserved fortification, the Qaitbay Citadel, and the Montazah Palace, the former royal summer residence with its fabulous castle and the idyllic gardens. Further you will visit the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the newly inaugurated library which shall be a worthy processor of the legendary old library and houses countless books and copies, museums, scientific facilities and a reading area for 2,000 people. And you will see Pompey’s Pillar, a Roman triumphal column and one of the largest monolithic columns that have ever been erected, and finally the Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa, a widespread underground cemetery. The evening will be at your own disposal in Cairo.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner included. Overnight in Cairo.

5^th Day: Zafarana - Monasteries of St. Paul and St. Antony

After breakfast in your hotel we will take you to the Monasteries of St. Paul and St. Antony near the small village of Zafarana at the Red Sea coast. First we will visit St. Antony’s Monastery. More than 1,600 years ago the hermit Antony lived in a cave up on the mountain; a staircase with around 1,000 steps leads to his hollow. If you climb up to the saint’s cell you can see writings and drawings. On the foot of the mountain Christian monks founded the monastery immediately after his death in 356 A.D. It is considered to be the beginning of Christian monasticism. It covers a huge area of 6 ha, surrounded by an around 1,200 meters long and 12 meters high wall which once protected the sacral area against Bedouin attacks. You can see here the ancient Coptic church where the holy man is buried and well preserved medieval paintings. Its library contains precious antique manuscripts. After lunch we will take you to the other side of the range; in the end of a rough valley we reach to St. Paul’s Monastery, constructed above the cave of the holy St. Paul, a Christian hermit who died in the 4^th century A.D. He preferred an ascetic life in the desert to the comfort of a city and dedicated his life to the worship of God. Visit the beautiful crypt decorated by colorful frescos. Beneath sacral items you can also find things of practical use, such as an old chain-block and an olive press, and, a surprising element in the desert, freshwater springs. After this visit you will be transferred to your hotel in Taba at the Red Sea on the Sinai Peninsula where you will have dinner and spend the night.