Trip

October 17th to 28th, 2008

Baltimore / Luxor / Alexandria Sister City Committee
Conducts a Journey to the Land of the Pharaohs
with welcome dinners hosted by the
Governors of Luxor and Alexandria
and special guest
Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon

$2540 per person/dbl occupancy
+$400 for single room
+ $2000 for business class

Based on Min. 20 persons
and Max. 50 persons

• Features and Program	• Itinerary
• Contacts	• Terms and Conditions

Features and Program-Including

• Round trip airfare BWI/CAIRO/BWI.
• Domestic flight
• All transfers and domestic transportation by air-conditioned motor coach.
• 4 Nights in Cairo at Hilton Ramsis Hotel (5 Stars).
• 3 Nights on board M/S Jasmin Nile cruise ship (5 Stars)
• 2 Nights in Luxor at Sheraton Hotel (5 Stars).
• 1 Nights in Alexandria at Helen Palestine Hotel (5 Stars)
• 3 meals a day for the entire trip
• All sightseeing per itinerary, all entrance fees, and all taxes and service charges
• English-speaking professional guide throughout the tour.
• Accompanied by members from the Baltimore-Luxor-Alexandria Sister City Committee.
• A day with Luxor community including dinner with the Mayor of Baltimore and the Governor of Luxor
• A day with Alexandria community including dinner with the Mayor of Baltimore and the Governor of Alexandria

Not Included::
• Gratuities. Drivers and Hotel Staff: suggested $10 per day
• Egypt entrance VISA-currently $15.
• Travel Insurance
• Personal expenses

The Baltimore-Luxor-Alexandria Sister City Committee is volunteer group which operates in partnership with the Baltimore City Mayor’s Office. This cultural diplomacy program is fully organized and staffed by the volunteers of the Baltimore-Luxor-Alexandria Sister City Committee.

Travel arrangements provided by:

Baltimore-Luxor-Alexandria Sister Committee
c/o Mayor’s Office of International and Immigrant Affairs
345 City Hall, Baltimore, MD 21202

410-396-4905

Email : info@BaltimoreEgypt.org

www.BaltimoreEgypt.org
www.BaltimoreCity.gov/government/intl

Wings
Nile Cruise

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Itinerary

Friday October 17, 2008	Depart BWI to Cairo.
Saturday October 18, 2008	Arrive in Cairo International Airport, and transfer to Hilton Ramsis Hotel. Welcome orientation and dinner in the hotel’s Restaurant.
Sunday October 19, 2008	This morning you will visit 7,000 years of history at this museum that houses the world’s largest collection of ancient Egyptian art, including treasures of King Tutankhamun. Have lunch along the Nile at Sofitel Cairo Hotel. This afternoon take a fascinating tour of Old Cairo, including the beautiful and graceful Mohamed Ali Mosque and the ancient Citadel, a spectacular medieval fortress perched on a hill above the city. Originally built by Salah El-Din in 1176 to fortify the city against the Crusaders, the Citadel was modified and enlarged over the centuries by subsequent rulers. Later, visit the Hanging Church – the most famous Coptic church in Egypt. Return to the hotel and relax before a traditional Egyptian dinner at "Abu El Seed" Restaurant. Overnight at your hotel in Cairo.
Monday October 20, 2008	Transfer in an air-conditioned vehicle to Cairo Airport for flight to Aswan. Upon arrival, transfer to the pier for M/S Jasmin cruise ship embarkation and on board lunch. This afternoon, tour by felucca around Elphantine Island, the Botanical Garden and the Agha Khan Mausoleum. Dinner and overnight aboard ship.
Tuesday October 21, 2008	In the morning your Egyptologist guide will escort you to visit the Aswan High Dam, Egypt's contemporary example of building on a monumental scale and the unfinished Obelisk. Take a short motorboat ride to visit the romantic and majestic Philae Temple on the Island of Agilka. Lunch & Afternoon Tea on board while you continue cruising to Kom Ombo. This afternoon visit the Temple of Kom Ombo, dedicated to the crocodile-god Sobek. The temple stands at a bend in the Nile where in ancient times sacred crocodiles basked in the sun on the riverbank. Continue sailing to Edfu. Dinner and overnight aboard the cruise.
Wednesday October 22, 2008	Today, explore the largest and most completely preserved Pharaonic-albeit Greek-built-temple in Egypt, the extraordinary Temple of Horus at Edfu. Sail to Esna Lock to Baltimore’s sister city Luxor, one of Egypt’s greatest attractions for the sheer grandeur of its monumental architecture and excellent preservation. Dinner and overnight aboard the cruise
Thursday October 23, 2008	This morning, explore the Valley of the Kings, a vast City of the Dead where magnificent tombs were carved into the desert rocks, decorated richly, and filled with treasures for the afterlife by generations of Pharaohs. Rising out of the desert plain in a series of terraces, the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut (ancient Egypt's only female Pharaoh) merges with the sheer limestone cliffs that surround it, as if nature herself had built this extraordinary monument. On the way back to the river Nile, your road passes by the famed Colossi of Memnon, known in Ancient Greek times for their haunting voices at dawn. Have lunch at Winter Palace Hotel’ Restaurant. In the afternoon your Egyptologist will guide you through the strikingly graceful Temple of Luxor --dedicated to the god Amun. Then proceed to the Temple of Karnak, built over more than a thousand years by generations of Pharaohs. The great "Hypostyle Hall" is an incredible forest of giant pillars, covering an area larger than the whole of Notre Dame Cathedral. Transfer to Sheraton Hotel in Luxor. Then have special dinner with Luxor residents and dignitaries. Overnight in the hotel in Luxor.
Friday October 24, 2008	Today, the Luxor-Baltimore Sister City Committee will play host as we spend the day with the Luxor Community. Tonight, a formal dinner is hosted by the Governor of Luxor. Overnight at Sheraton Hotel in Luxor.
Saturday October 25, 2008	In the morning, transfer in air-conditioned vehicle to Luxor Airport and board your charter flight to Baltimore’s second Egyptian sister city, Alexandria. Upon arrival, visit the Alexandria National Museum, the collection in this newly opened museum includes thousands of items spanning from the Pharaonic Era and Greco-Roman times, to the Modern Era. Have lunch at the Fish Market restaurant overseeing the Mediterranean Sea and the Fortress. In the afternoon, visit Qaitbey Fort, constructed by Sultan Al Ashraf Qaitbey around 1477over the original foundation of the Pharaohs. Old stone blocks from the lighthouse were salvaged during the construction of the fort. Beyond the double ramparts the courtyard is dominated by three storied keep whose entrance portal is surrounded by five red Aswan granite pillars recycled from the Pharaohs' ruin. Then visit the Roman Amphitheater and Complex. Originally a fort excavated since 1960s by Polish and Egyptian mission. The Amphitheater and its immediate surroundings reveal the complex historical layering of the Greco-Roman, Arab, and Modern periods that underpin the contemporary city. Transfer to Helen Palestine Hotel where the Governor of Alexandria will host a dinner in your honor. Members of the Alexandria-Baltimore sister city will join us. Overnight at Helen Palestine Hotel in Alexandria.
Sunday October 26, 2008	Spend the day with the Alexandria Community organized by the Alexandria-Baltimore sister city committee. It will include a visit to the Library of Alexandria. Built on the original site of the ancient Library, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina is more than a library, but also a stunning, modern, integrated cultural complex, with libraries, museums, exhibition areas, educational centers, and international conference center. Later, drive to Cairo and overnight at Hilton Ramsis Hotel in Cairo.
Monday October 27, 2008	In the morning, visit the famous Giza Pyramids and Sphinx, embark on an unforgettable tour of the Great Pyramids of Giza for the Pharaohs Cheops, Chephren and Mycerinus. They were constructed about 2500 BC with blocks of limestone from the plateau and from the Turah hills on the outskirts of Cairo. The Great Pyramid of Cheops alone, the only present-day blocks of stone, weighs about 2.5 tons each. At the base, it covers 13 acres of land. Then visit the Valley Temple, housing the mysterious Sphinx, located in what was once a quarry to the east of Chephren's pyramid. Its human face is thought to represent that of thousand years after its construction, King Thutmose IV place a stela between the front paws. It describes how the Sphinx had spoken to the prince in a dream, promising him kingship other legends surrounding this timeless and regal figure. Have lunch at Sphinx Restaurant overseeing the Pyramids. After lunch, tour Memphis, the ancient capital of Egypt and the legendary city of Menes, the King who united Upper and Lower Egypt. Continue to its necropolis of Sakkara, where you will see the famous Step Pyramid of King Zoser, the first freestanding stone structure in the world. In the evening attend a farewell dinner with bally dancing and other performances at Alaa Eldin Restaurant of Cairo Sheraton Hotel. Overnight at Hilton Ramsis Hotel in Cairo.
Tuesday October 28, 2008	Transfer by air-conditioned vehicle to Cairo International Airport. Upon arrival your travel agent representative will assist you through customs to board your flight back to U.S.

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Terms and Conditions

Deposit and Payment:
$350.00 deposit is required to guarantee booking. The balance is due 60 days prior to departure.
Send a check payable to:
Baltimore-Luxor-Alexandria Sister City Committee (BLASCC)
and mail it to:
Mr. Paul Trattner
2221 Clove Terrace
Baltimore, MD 21209
.
Cancellation Penalties:
All cancellations must be in writing:
- Up to 90 days prior to departure: $50.00 cancellation fee
- From 89-61 days prior to departure: $150.00 cancellation fee
- From 60-46 days prior to departure: $250.00 cancellation fee
- From 45 days prior to departure date and on: 100%

Passports:
Your passport must be valid for at least 3 months after arrival in Egypt

Fuel Surcharge note:
Please note that in this period of escalating fuel price, we have been advised by the airlines that they may be adding fuel surcharges prior to travel. If this occurs, these charges will be passed on to each traveler
.
Insurance Note:
Travel insurance is highly recommended.

Disclaimer:
BLASCC, and/or its agents and their representatives aboard, act only as agents for the tour participants in making arrangements for hotel, transportation, touring, restaurants, or any other services in connection with the itinerary. They will exercise reasonable care in making such arrangements. However, they do not assume any liability whatsoever for any injury, damage, loss, accident, delay or irregularity to person or property because of any act or default of any hotel, carrier, restaurant, company, or person rendering any of the services included in the tour. The tickets, coupons, tariffs, rules or contracts currently in use by any carrier, hotel, restaurant, or other contractor rendering services shall constitute the sole contract between such contractor and the tour participants. BLASCC, and/or its agents and their representatives abroad, accept no responsibility for any damage, delay, or injury due to sickness, pilferage, labor disputes, machinery breakdown, government restraints, hostile acts, terrorism, weather, acts of God, or any other cause beyond their personnel control. BLASCC, and/or its agents and their representatives abroad are not responsible for loss of or damage to your luggage, accidents en route, or ill health which may require travelers to miss parts of the tour or to return home without the group. No carrier shall be responsible for any act, omission, or event during the time tour participants are not on board its own conveyance. The tour programs are planned in advance. If between planning time and actual tour operation, circumstances beyond control require changes, BLASCC, and/or its agents and their representatives abroad reserve the right to vary itineraries and substitute components of tour programs. In the event it becomes necessary or advisable for any reason whatsoever to alter the arrangements of the itinerary, such alterations may be made without penalty to the operators. The right is reserved to accept or refuse any person as a member of the tour.

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