2 Day Alexandria and Cairo Tour from Sharm el Sheikh
This 2 day excursions will take you around Cairo and Alexandria's best sights and give you a fantastic opportunity to explore more of Egypt at a great price. Cairo is a must-do tour if you�re visiting Egypt on your vacations, and although not as popular, Alexandria is an amazing City with a rich history to be explored.
Day 1 - Cairo Tour
We'll pick you up from your hotel in Sharm El Sheikh around 1am and drive to Cairo (about 6 hours) in a large air-conditioned coach. Upon arrival, you will be met by our knowledgable and friendly English speaking tour-guide who will join you during your day tour in Cairo.
Museum of Egyptian Antiquities
We'll start the tour of Cairo at the Egyptian Museum. Inside this huge, world-famous museum you'll find some of the most important treasures from Ancient Egypt civilization anywhere in the world, from Pharaonic antiques to the treasure found in the tomb of Egypt's best known King, Tutankhamen.
Spanning two floors, each section of the museum is dedicated to specific Kings, or time periods, even if you're not usually particularity into Egyptian history we find everybody finds it fascinating and a powerful experience to be so close to such historically important artifacts.
Built in neo-classical style, designed by the French architect Marcel Dourgnon the museum exceed 120,000 masterpieces ranges from pre-dynastic era, Pharaonic era to the Greco-roman period in Egypt and includes the treasures of the child King Tutankhamen, Pharaonic Gods and Goddess.
You can also visit the mummies room at the Egyptian Museum for a background about the Egyptian civilization and the mummification art in ancient Egypt.
Lunch on the Nile
Next up is a break for a delicious lunch on the Nile, a large buffet with foods to cater for all tastes and ages. This is a great opportunity to relax and take in the sights and smells of busstling Cairo before going to visit the world-renowned Museum of Egyptian Antiquities.
Cairo Tour to the Great Pyramid of Giza
The oldest of the seven wonders of the ancient world and sadly the only one that still remains largely intact, the Pyramids of Giza are the very reason a lot of people come to Egypt, and seeing them close-up never disappoints.
Composed of over 2.3 million blocks of granite weighing 25 - 80 tonnes each and constructed over a 20 year period concluding around 2560BC, the pyramids of Cairo was the tallest man-made structure for over 3,800 years, to this day we still do not know for sure exactly these amazing structures were built, although there are many theories.
During the Cairo tour we will give you much more information on the amazing Pyramids of Giza, and any questions you may have will be gladly answered by your professional, friendly Egyptologist tour guide.
The Sphinx
After you have seen the pyramids of Cairo, your next stop will be the Sphinx. The Great Sphinx of Giza is a mythological creature, formed of a lions body and a human head.
Standing over 73metres long and 20metres high, the The Great Sphinx of Giza is the oldest known monumental sculpture, and is commonly believed to have been built by ancient Egyptians of the Old Kingdom in the reign of the pharaoh Khafra.
During your tour of Cairo, you will find out how the nose of the Sphinx was broken off by Napoleon's soldiers, which can still be seen today. There are also theories of kings actually being buried inside the Sphinx!
Back to Your 4* Cairo Hotel
After a fantastic day seeing Cairo's most impressive sights you'll go back to your comfortable 4 star hotel in Cairo for the night.
Day 2 - Alexandria Tour
Your tour guide will pick you up from your Cairo hotel after breakfast at 7am and check out, then drive to Alexandria for about 2 hours.
Greaco-Roman Museum
The Graeco-Roman Museum of Alexandria in Egypt was created in 1892. It was first built in an 5-room apartment, inside one small building in Rosetta Street (later Avenue Canope and nowadays Horriya).
Housed within an historic building whose beautiful neo-classical facade of six columns and pediment bears the large Greek inscription, `MOY�EION`, the Museum consists of 27 halls and an attractive garden, which offer an excellent introduction to the Greek and Roman art of Egypt.
Pompey Pillar
After leaving the museum you will visit Pompey Pillar. Pompey's Pillar is a Roman triumphal column in Alexandria and the largest of its type constructed outside of the imperial capitals of Rome and Constantinople. The only known free-standing column in Roman Egypt which was not composed of drums, it is one of the largest ancient monoliths and one of the largest monolithic columns ever erected.
The monolithic column shaft measures 20.46 m in height with a diameter of 2.71 m at its base. The weight of the single piece of red Aswan granite is estimated at 285 t. The column is 26.85 m high including its base and capital. Erroneously dated to the time of Pompey, the Corinthian column was actually built in 297 AD, commemorating the victory of Roman emperor Diocletian over an Alexandrinian revolt.
Alexandria Roman Theatre
Beyond the Street of Facades lies the Theatre, which was constructed in the early 1st century AD by Nabataeans and enlarged and improved by the Romans shortly after their annexation of the Kingdom in 106 AD. They accomplished this by ruthlessly gouging away a street of houses or tombs in order to extend the rear of the auditorium, which could then accommodate 3000 people.
This also improved the acoustics of the theatre and supported a drain, which took the run-off water around the sides of the theatre. The standard Roman-design theatre today lies open to the Outer Siq, but would originally have been enclosed by a wall and completely cut off from the street.
Lunch in the City
After seeing the sights of Alexandria we go to the city centre for lunch/p>
Chose how you end the day
After a delicious lunch you'll get the option to visit either the Catacombs of Al-Shukafa or National Museum of Alexandria or Royal jewellery museum.
Then Drive back to your hotel in Sharm el Sheikh.
Jay Townson
