MEGALITHOMANIA
PRESENTS
THE
ORIGINS OF ANCIENT
EGYPT TOUR
November
18th - 30th 2023
Join
a host of Megalithomaniacs on the ultimate ‘Grand Tour’ of Egypt. We
will see the most remarkable, the most magnificent and the most megalithic temples,
pyramids and sacred sites, with private 2-hour access visits inside the Great
Pyramid and the enigmatic Osireion at Abydos, as well as 5-star hotels and luxurious
Nile cruise. Explore the mysteries of the first female pharoah Sobekneferu accessing
rarely visited temples with special guest Andrew Collins, who has unlocked many
secrets of ancient Egypt.
 The Qasr el-Sagha Temple in the northern Fayum | VISIT THE EL FAYYUM OASIS
We
visit Egypt’s el-Fayyum Oasis to explore one of Egypt’s greatest puzzles
– the construction and function of the mysterious Qasr el Sagha megalithic
temple. Built using polygonal blocks and cyclopean masonry, its origins remain
obscure, with its only link being to the reign of Sobekneferu, Egypt’s first
female king. We go in search of the temples and ruins associated with Sobekneferu's
reign, showing their relationship to the stars of the northern night sky. |
Sobekneferu's
reign was brief. It was just four years long. She lived around 1800 BCE shortly
before one of Egypt's dark days, the Second Intermediate Period. As Andrew Collins
shows in new book The
First Female Pharaoh without Sobekneferu's reign Egypt's New Kingdom might
never have existed, for she was able to initiate a dynasty, the Thirteenth, that
carried with it the flame of Egyptian nationalism that enabled its successor,
the Seventeenth, to rise up again its Hyksos oppressors and initiate a united
Eightenth Dynasty, marking the commencement of the New Kingdom. Sobekneferu's deeds and actions would eventually be suppressed by those who followed her, although the potency of her achievements and the religious cult ignited in her name would ripple down through the ages. Sobekneferu would reemergence during the Victorian age as a Gothic icon and occult inspiration through her role as the antagonist in Bram Stoker’s Egyptian novel The Jewel of Seven Stars (1903) and, through its influence, in various horror films including 1980's "The Awakening" and 2017's blockbuster “The Mummy” starring Tom Cruise. For more information on Sobekneferu see the following article by Andrew Collins |
|
Tour
Costs:
Tour
Cost $6595 US
Based
on double occupancy
Single occupancy supplement: $1700 US
(if you want your
own room)
Tour deposit: $700 US
Plus
Tip Kitty of $300 per-person to be paid before tour to avoid hassle from sellers
in Egypt. The hosts pay it too! See details below.
Please
email: info@megalithomania.co.uk
for more info, or any queries.
Click
to pay deposit to confirm your place.
Megalithomania Egypt Tour Deposit
You will be directed to 'Megalithomania' to place your secure payment via paypal or credit cardDetailed Itinerary
Day
1: Arrival Cairo – Welcome to the Land of the Pharaohs!
Arrival at Cairo
International airport; our friendly representative will be waiting for you! Claim
your luggage and he will escort you to the beautiful 5-star Hotel near Giza. Introductory
lecture with the speakers/hosts. Sleep well and get ready for the start of your
tour. Meals: Dinner / Overnight: Steinenberger Hotel.
Day
2: Medinet el-Madi temple / Pyramid and Labyrinth of Hawara,
In the morning
travel by bus to the el-Fayyum Oasis. See the Pyramid of Hawara, built for Amenemhet
III, and visit the site of the fabled Egyptian Labyrinth built by the king and
completed by his daughter Sobekneferu, who went on to become pharaoh herself.
Lunchtime at hotel. In the afternoon visit the Medinet el-Madi temple, built also
by Amenemhet III and his son Amenemhet III and dedicated to the snake goddess
Renenutet and the crocodile god Sobek. See the final ruins of the temple of Sobek
and royal palace of Amenemhet III and Sobekneferu at Widan el-Faras at the heart
of Medinet el-Fayum. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner. Overnight in el-Fayyum
Day
3: Qasr el Sagha temple / Lake Moeris / El-Fayoum Oasis
Journey north into
the El Fayum desert, lying beyond the Birket Quran, the Lake Moeris of classical
times. Arrive at the Qasr el Sagha temple. Built using cyclopean masonry, this
mysterious megalithic structure remains an enigma. Devoid of any inscriptions
and constructed using polygonal blocks more familiar to pre-Incan Peru than Egypt,
it has links with the cult of the crocodile god Sobek, as well as with the female
pharaoh Sobek-neferu. Spend the day looking for clues as to who built it, when,
and why. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner. Overnight Giza
Day
4: Saqqara / Serapeum / Red and Bent Pyramids
Saqqara. See the enigmatic Serapeum,
a labyrinth of underground catacombs housing gigantic sarcophagi once containing
mummified bulls. Inspect evidence of advanced technologies behind the construction
of these massive granite sarcophagi. Visit the Pyramid of Teti to see the Pyramid
Texts, recording the journey of the pharaoh into an afterlife among the stars,
and see also the Step Pyramid, built for the pharaoh Djoser around 2675 BCE. Explore
its underground chambers and see its enormous sarcophagus. Visit the Pyramids
of Dashur. Return to Giza. Overnight: Giza.
Day
5: Giza Plateau / the Sphinx / Private Visit inside Great Pyramid
Visit the
Sphinx enclosure, the Valley Temple of Khafre, see the exterior of the three main
pyramids and enjoy the panorama view of the whole plateau. Later, experience a
private visit of the Great Pyramid. Return to Giza. Meals: Breakfast, lunch &
dinner. Overnight Giza.
Day
6: Egyptian Museum / Fly to Aswan
Visit the massive Egyptian Museum. We will
point out some fascinating evidence of advanced ancient technology, and visit
the Akhenaten section, as well as see some rare pieces including an elongated
skull that is hidden at the back of an obscure display case. After lunch we head
to Cairo airport for a short flight to Aswan. Arrival and transfer to your selected
hotel where you will enjoy a magnificent view of the Nile. Meals: Breakfast &
Lunch / Overnight: Movenpick Aswan Resort.
Day
7: Aswan Quarry / Temple of Isis / Nubian Museum with Nabta Playa Stone Circle
/Afternoon Felucca ride
Today we will return to the source of all, the Great
Mother, to receive the blessings of Isis at her beautiful island temple at Philae.
This isle represents a fusion of three great civilizations: Egyptian, Greek and
Roman. It is also here that numerous giant skeletons were unearthed in 1901, including
one that was over eleven feet tall. We will continue our leisurely morning as
we sail. Enjoy a felucca boat ride. Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner. Overnight:
on board Nile Cruise.
Day
8: Visit Horus Temple at Edfu / Temple of Kom Ombo
Today we will visit Edfu
Temple of Horus one of the most well-preserved Temples in Egypt. The side chambers
of the Temple show the complexity of ancient rites. They include a healing chamber,
a perfumery, and singers’ rooms. One chamber, called the House of Life, stored
all of the sacred texts used in seasonal and daily rituals. Horus is associated
with higher vision and clarity. The eye of Horus greatly relates to his myth and
power. The builders were influenced by the legendary Followers of Horus, a predynastic
elite who occupied Egypt, who were thought to have written the Edfu Building Texts
that describe dates going back tens of thousands of years. Sail to Kom Ombo, by
sunset we will visit the only dual temple in Egypt. This dramatic temple poised
between the edge of the river and the encroaching desert sand was dedicated to
two gods - Sobek the crocodile god of strength, fortitude, fertility and rebirth,
and Horus the hawk-headed son of Isis and Osiris. The duality of light/ dark,
yin/yang, conscious/unconscious is obvious in this ancient site. One of the most
powerful places in Kom Ombo is the Seat of Neutrality, which is placed on the
exact centerline between the parts of the temple that are dedicated to Horus /
Sobek and Light/Dark. Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner / Overnight: on board
Nile Cruise.
Day
9: Karnak Temple / Luxor Temple
After breakfast, we head to the East Bank and
explore the ancient city of Thebes (Luxor), the Avenue of Sphinxes leading to
the much larger Karnak temple site. After exploring Karnak , including the immense
Obelisks and the secret rooms with the powerful Sekhmet statue, we make our way
to Luxor Temple; one of the most powerful temples in ancient Egypt, the deity
of the site being Amun or Amun-Ra. Beginning in the New Kingdom period, the power
of Amun’s priesthood rivalled that of the Pharaoh. Meals: Breakfast &
lunch. Overnight: on board Nile Cruise.
Day
10: Abydos and Osirion Private Entrance
After a delicious breakfast we visit
the sacred and ancient city of Abydos, the Seti l temple and its famous Kings
List, as well as the strange hieroglyphs that some say depict modern technology
and flying vehicles! We will descend to the Osirion Temple, discovered in 1903,
with the flower of life burnt into the huge stone uprights. The megalithic stonework
here is the largest in Egypt and the temple is now free of water so we have arranged
private special access for our Megalithomania group to examine this stunning megalithic
masterpiece in detail.We continue to the rarely visited site pre-dating the Giza
pyramids and the largest mud-brick structure in the world, where a giant 8.ft
6in tall Pharaoh called Khasekhemwy once ruled, who was connected to both Saqqara
and Byblos in Lebanon. Breakfast & Dinner. Overnight: Abydos House of Life
Hotel
Day
11: Dendera Temple
Visit Dendera, one of the best-preserved complexes, will
reveal the famous carvings of the light bulbs in an underground chamber, and many
beautiful statues and carvings of Hathor, with a quick hello to the dwarf god
'Bes'. Meals: Breakfast, packed lunch & dinner. Overnight in Steigenberger
Nile Palace Hotel, Luxor.
Day
12: West Bank / Colossi of Memnon / Ramesseum / Valley of the Kings
Morning
visit to Valley of the Kings, to see the tombs of the pharaohs inscribed with
sacred transformative texts, including the Books of knowing light and dark, the
book of what is in the underworld, the book of caverns, and naming and taming
the hours of the night, and many others. We will visit the Colossi of Memnon and
the Ramsseum, both with the largest known megalithic statues in Egypt. Meals:
Breakfast, lunch & dinner. Fly to Cairo. Overnight Le Meridien Airport Hotel,
Cairo.
Day
13: Departure
Breakfast at hotel or breakfast box (if you leave early). Flight
back home. Meals: Breakfast / End of service.
Egypt
Tour Price includes
-
All hotels
- Domestic flight tickets Cairo / Aswan / Cairo
- Private visit
inside the Great Pyramid
- Private Visit at The Osirion at Abydos
- Pick
up airport transfers
- Drop off airport transfers
- Daily breakfast starting
the second day
- Breakfast, lunch & dinner meals while on board cruise
-
Meals as indicated on each day
- Farewell dinner in Cairo included
- English
speaking Egyptologist / Tour guides
- Private arrangements throughout
-
Well trained drivers and Luxury air conditioned Vehicles
Price does not include
-
Entry visa, international flight tickets.
- Entry of the Royal Mummies room
at the Egyptian Museum
- Tipping Kitty To be paid to Soul Of Egypt Travel in
advance: USD $300.00, per person. They will take care of tipping everyone on your
behalf (staff at hotels, Nile cruise, guards, drivers, reps, …etc.). This
is standard procedure in Egypt. This tipping excludes your tour guide.
- Pocket
money, personal expenses, laundry, phone calls, optional tours, etc.…
-
Tipping for your Egyptologist tour guide
- Any un-mentioned item.
- Drinks,
meals other than included above.
- Wi-Fi
- All kind of tips at hotels, portage
, tour guide …etc.
- Travel Insurance
- Any other unmentioned items.
For
more information on Megalithomania's Origins of Ancient Egypt Tour click here
