A Trip to Jordan and Egypt

The only time I have really been in the Middle-East is a 1-night stopover in Doha, Qatar, on the way back from Kathmandu, Nepal, to the US.  I would love to visit Israel and the surrounding countries but that is impossible with the war going on in Gaza.  The nearest I can get to is Egypt and Jordan.

I have asked others about this trip to Jordan and Egypt by Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT).  They all raved about it. I know very little about Egypt, other than the pyramids and the pharaohs.  I learned about the fertile Nile Valley in high school.  Whatever knowledge I have is very shallow.  It will be nice to know more about this great ancient civilization and understand Egyptian Culture.

Map of the itinerary

On most trips, OAT has a pre- and post-trip.  In this case the pre-trip is to Jordan and the post-trip to Alexandria, Egypt.  I heard and read a lot about Petra in Jordan.  It's one of the New 7 Wonders of the World and an UNESCO World Heritage Site.  However, its claim to fame is being featured in the movie "Indian Jones and the Last Crusade."  The pre-trip is a perfect opportunity for me to visit Petra.

I also signed up for the post-trip to Alexandria.  Why?  Because I know nothing about it and an extra 6 days is not a big deal for me.  I don't know when I will be back in this region so I might as well take advantage of it.  Besides, the cost is quite reasonable.

Here's an overview of the itinerary of each section of the trip:

Pre-Trip:  Jordan

My trip starts in Amman, Jordan.  We stay here for 3 nights before driving south to Petra, where we stay for 2 nights.  The highlight of this trip is visiting Petra. Then we fly to Cairo, where we start the main part of our trip.

Egypt:

We start with 3 nights in Cairo, where we'll be visiting the new Grand Egyptian Museum and the Pyramids in Giza.  Then we fly to Aswan, where we will visit the High Dam and the Spice Market.  Then we drive to Abu Simbel, where we will spend only 1 night.  Here we'll visit the famous temple of Abu Simbel plus a light and sound show at night.

We then drive back to Aswan where we'll embark on our dahabeya, a small ship built for cruising the Nile River.  We stay on the dahabeya for 5 nights, staying at various interesting places along the shore on the Nile river.  We end our cruise in Luxor.

We visit the Luxor and Karnal temples in Luxor plus a visit to the Valley of the Kings. In Luxor we have an optional hot-air balloon ride.  We have our farewell dinner in Luxor, as we'll be flying back to Cairo early the next morning.  Some will be returning to the US that evening after we return to Cairo, or the next morning.

Post-Trip:  Alexandria:

Four of us signed up for the post-trip to Alexandria.  Visits here include the Library of Alexandria, the Jewelry Museum, the Rosetta Stone, the Catacombs, and the Greco-Roman Museum.  We stay at the same hotel for 4 nights.  On our last day we drove back to Cairo and stay one more night before flying home.