Sacred Tour to Egypt - February 11 - 22, 2010

Itinerary

Day 1. Wednesday, February 11 Depart New York City's JFK airport in the early evening. In flight over night.

Day 2. Thursday, February 12. (D) Arrive Cairo noon, local time. Transfer to Sofitel Sphinx Hotel and check in.
Later afternoon group meeting. Welcome dinner at the hotel. Overnight Giza.

Day 3. Friday, February 13. (B) AM: Transfer to airport; flight to Luxor; arrive and transfer to hotel. Lunch on your own.
PM: Karnak Temple, with Sekhmet Chapel & visit to perfumery. Dinner on your own. Later Evening: Luxor Temple Overnight Luxor.

Day 4. Saturday, February 14 (B/L/D) Full Day Motor Coach to Abydos and Dendera, with box lunch. Return to Luxor and board Cruise Ship. Overnight Cruise Ship.

Day 5. Sunday, February 15. (B/L/D) Early AM: Optional Tour: Hot Air Balloon Trip, AM: Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut's Temple. Return to cruise ship. PM: Sail to Edfu. Overnight Cruise Ship.

Day 6. Monday, February 16. (B/L/D) AM: Edfu. PM: Kom Ombo. Arrive Aswan. Overnight Cruise Ship.

Day 7. Tuesday, February 17. (B) AM: Temple of Isis & Nubian Museum. Disembark; transfer to Movenpick Hotel and check in. Lunch on your own. PM: Free time or Optional Tour: Elephantine Island and Nubian home next door to the hotel. Dinner on your own. Overnight Aswan.

Day 8. Wednesday, February 18. (B) AM: Flight to Abu Simbel. Return to hotel. Lunch on your own. PM: Rest, free time or visit to the marketplace. Dinner on your own. Overnight Aswan.

Day 9. Thursday, February 19. (B/L) AM: Transfer to airport; flight to Cairo. PM: Lunch at restaurant near the museum. Visit to Cairo Museum & Mohammed Ali Mosque. Check in at Sofitel Sphinx Hotel in Giza. Dinner on your own. Overnight Giza.

Day 10. Friday, February 20. (B/L) AM: Giza Plateau: Valley Temple of the Sphinx; View Sphinx from causeway; visit to Great Pyramid (no entry). Lunch at restaurant near Sakkara. PM: Red Pyramid & Sakkara. Return to hotel. Dinner on your own. Overnight Giza.

Day 11. Saturday, February 21. (B/D) AM: Free time. Lunch on your own. PM: Private Entrance into Great Pyramid
Farewell Dinner at the hotel. Overnight Giza.

Day 12. Sunday, February 22. (B) AM: Transfer to airport. Assistance checking in for international flight. Depart to USA. Arrive JFK same day

Guides

Anne, director of The Ananda Yoga & Healing Arts Center in New Canaan, CT is a teacher of Yoga, Meditation, Nutrition and Energy work. She has traveled extensively throughout the world, having lived in Paris, London, Tokyo and New York. Her interest in traveling to spiritual places began at a young age with travels to Peru, Haiti and Mexico. Anne is certified and has studied various forms and styles of Yoga and meditation. She holds a Masters in Clinical Nutrtion and is certified in Touch for Health Kiniesiology, Reiki II and The 5 Elements of Chinese Herbs. Anne is currently in the advanced practioner's program with Healers Who Share, a form of healing using vibrational remedies that work on an energetic, emotional and physical level. Anne will lead the group in meditation at many of the temples and pyramids througout Egypt. Meditation is a practice and there will be discussion and sharing on the many ways in which we can find stillness in our lives. Egypt is a land of history, a source of knowledge and energy. As the "cradle of civilization" one may sense an energetic, spiritual, emotional and even physical connection. A sense that one has come home. Please join us as we return to this ancient and peaceful place of wonder.

Vivian has a PhD in Archaeology, with over 16 years experience guiding groups throughout Egypt. Having worked with people on spiritual pilgrimages for several years, Vivian is extremely knowledgeable at the sites which we will visit. She is the ultimate professional whose connections and experience will assist us to enter into the sacred places at the temples for ceremony and meditation. Vivian is warm, friendly and helpful to all of our group members, exhibiting the qualites of love, compassion and caring.

Accomodations

 

Sofitel Sphinx in Cairo: www.sofitel.com/gb/hotel-1789-sofitel-le-sphinx-cairo/index.shtml

1 Alexandria Desert Road P.O box 16 Pyramids 12556 GIZA, EGYPT
+20 233776444, E-Mail: H1789@accor.com

Thursday, February 12

Thursday, February 19, 21, 22

Winter Palace in Luxor:

www.sofitel.com

/gb/hotel-1661-sofitel-

winter-palace-luxor/index.shtml

Corniche el Nile street

0 LUXOR, EGYPT

Phone: +20 95/2380425

E-Mail: H1661@sofitel.com

Friday, February 13

Movenpick Hotel in Aswan:

www.moevenpick-hotels.com

/en/pub/your_hotels/worldmap/

aswan/location__arrival.cfm

Elephantine Island, Egypt

Phone:+20 97 230 34 55

E-Mail: resort.aswan@

moevenpick.com

February 17, 18

Nabila Nile Cruise:

Saturday, February 14, 15, 16

 

Great Pyramid & Sphinx

Detailed Itinerary

 

Day 1. Wednesday, February 11 Depart New York City's JFK airport in the early evening. In flight over night.


Connect from your home airport to New York City's JFK airport. Our international flight departs early evening for Cairo. During the overnight flight you can rest, relax, snooze, and perhaps dream about your upcoming sacred journey.

Maat, the Neter of Truth

Day 2. Thursday, February 12. (D) Overnight Giza.
We arrive Cairo International Airport at noon. After passing through Immigration, we claim our luggage, go through Customs, and exit the terminal to meet our Tour Director. We board our private motorcoach for our transfer to our elegant hotel in Giza, near the Great Pyramid and Sphinx. Check in and settle into your room to rest and relax.
In the later afternoon we gather for our group Introductory Meeting and our first meditation. As we begin connecting with the powerful energies that have drawn us here, we'll spend time exploring the energies of Maat, the Neter of Truth, Justice and Universal Order: Maat is depicted as a woman wearing a crown surmounted by a huge ostrich feather. Her name translates as "that which is straight." it implies anything that is true, ordered, or balanced. A very ancient goddess, together with her consort Thoth (Djehuti), they charted the daily course of the sun God Ra. She is sometimes called the 'Eye of Ra' or the 'Daughter of Ra'. In meditation, one might ask Her to bring the balance and order needed. To help us let go of beliefs and non-truths that that cloud our best and highest good in life. To help us chart safely and effortlessly during this sacred journey here in ancient Khemit ("the Black Land"). Afterwards we enjoy our Welcome Dinner, a buffet of traditional Egyptian cuisine, at the hotel.

Sekhmet - Holy of Holies

Karnak Temple

Luxor Temple at Night

Day 3. Friday, February 13. (B) Overnight Luxor. AM: Transfer to airport; flight to Luxor; arrive and transfer to hotel. Lunch on your own. PM: Karnak Temple, with Sekhmet Chapel & visit to perfumery. Dinner on your own. Later Evening: Luxor Temple.

After breakfast we check out of the hotel and transfer to the airport for our short flight to Luxor, a modern city that stands on the site of the ancient city of Waset, which became known as Thebes in dynastic times. Today it draws millions of visitors yearly, as it's considered to be the largest open-air museum in the world! Arrive and transfer to our hotel. Free time. Lunch on your own. After lunch, we travel by motorcoach to the incomparable Sekhmet Chapel, located in the Temple of Ptah. Sekhmet is one of the oldest of the Neters. Her name means "Mighty One" or "Powerful One" and is derived from the Egyptian word 'Sekhem', which means "power" or "might". She was the patroness of physicians, surgeons and healers. Because of Her power, She is sometimes portrayed only in a negative way. This could be due to the legends of how She, as the destructive Eye of Ra, was sent forth to punish humanity for its mockery of Her Father, Ra. As the counterpart of the cat goddess Bast, they represent a duality of good and evil; yet Sekhmet herself is portrayed as having both good and evil sides. Her qualities as Healer, Mother and Protector are often overlooked by traditional Egyptology. Sekhmet's black granite statues show Her standing with a scepter in the shape of the papyrus, heraldic plant of Lower Egypt. As with the Goddess Isis, Sekhmet seems to have recently been reinvented, and to some people She has become the symbol of the modern woman. She is still approached as a healer, bringer of justice and as a guardian or protector, but the emphasis has shifted so that She has transformed from what was almost a force of chaos into an icon of immanent female power. During our Sacred Ceremony we'll connect with the powerfully protective Unconditional Love of the Mother that Sekhmet embodies, as well as Her transformative energy that destroys the ego to bring you into alignment with your Higher Self. During our meditation time, one might ask if She will enfold you in Her loving arms and bless you with an initiation that will gift you increased empowerment of the Divine Feminine in your Being!


Afterwards, during our guided visit to the main areas of the largest columned temple in the world, we'll explore the Temple of Amun. One of ancient Egypt's most complex theologies was the worship surrounding Amun, and later, Amun-Re. Amun represented absolute holiness, and in this regard, he was different then any other Egyptian deity. He was so holy that He remained independent of the created universe. He was associated with the air as an invisible force, which facilitated His growth as a supreme deity. As the Egyptian creator deity par excellence, He was self-created and was thus hidden from humanity. However, the addition of "Re" to His name revealed Him. Re was the common Egyptian term for the sun, thus making Him visible. Hence, Amun-Re combined within Himself the two opposites of divinity, the hidden and the revealed. The consort of Amun-Re was Mut, the mother goddess. She was originally a local goddess from the delta area, but became a national goddess during the New Kingdom. She was associated with the vulture. This link between vultures and motherhood led to her name being the ancient Egyptian word for mother - mut. The vulture mother and her child remain closely bonded together. Pairing, bonding, protecting, loving are essential attributes associated with a vulture. Because of its immense size and power and its ability to sore high up in the sky, the vulture is considered to be nearer to God. Also, the wide wingspan of a vulture denotes all-encompassing love and protection for its infants. The vulture will defend her young against all odds, using force if necessary. All these qualities inspired the imagination of the ancient Egyptians, as they adopted what seemed to them at the time to be motherly qualities, the qualities of protecting and nurturing their young, and applied them to the vulture as the symbol of the mother. As Amen became the god of the pharaohs, Mut became their symbolic mother and was identified with the queens. Their adopted son was Khonsu, the moon god, and the three were worshiped as a triad in Thebes at Karnak. In the Holy of Holies,you have the opportunity during meditation to tune into the masculine principle of Amun, the Hidden One, and the feminine principle of Mut, the Mother Goddess, to take them in to your Self for balance and harmony.
We then visit the Festival Hall of Tuthmosis III, where some Rosacrucians believe their spiritual tradition originated. Some researchers indicate that it was here where Tuthmosis III reorganized the ancient Mystery Schools of Thoth and founded the Royal School of the Master Craftsmen, which came to be known as the Great White Brotherhood. Take a few quiet minutes to invite in the energies of this ancient Order that still exists on the higher planes today, and receive any messages that might be bestowed upon you.
At the Sacred Lake, walk slowly around it, in a silent meditation to invite in the energies of purification. What do you need to purify? Give it symbolically to the waters, knowing that it will be taken in and transmuted.
We return later to our hotel or an optional visit to a perfumery. Dinner on your own and a later evening visit to The Luxor Temple. for a guided visit with Vivian to explore and connect with the ancient energies of this magnificent temple under the stars.

Abydos - place of Flower of Life

Temple of Nut at Dendera

Day 4. Saturday, February 14 (B/L/D) Overnight Cruise Ship. Full Day Motor Coach to Abydos and Dendera, with box lunch. Return to Luxor and board Cruise Ship.

We leave early morning in our private convoy and head for Abydos and Dendera.

Abydos, cradle of the oldest dynasties and the holy city dedicated to Osiris, Neter of Renewal and Wholeness. Ancient Egyptians were required to make a pilgrimage here at least once in their lifetimes; today we make ours!

We will have a long and thorough visit with our Egyptologist Vivian to the various rooms that are temples to the Neters, with some of the most well preserved colors on the walls in all of Egypt. One of the highlights of our visit will be to the mysterious Osireion, built with gigantic stones not found anywhere else in Egypt. Built with no mortar, this powerful building resembles many of the other ancient megalithic sites around the world, more than it does those in Egypt. On one of the pillars in the temple we will see the ancient symbol of the Flower of Life. We'll explore the meaning of this symbol with, according to Sacred Geometry, is the building block of all life! As well as who painted it on the pillar here, another mystery to unravel!

On our way back to Luxor, we stop at Dendera, the magnificent temple dedicated to the Neter Hathor. She was venerated in very ancient times and became the Neter of Motherhood, with titles such as "The Great Cow Who Protects Her Child" and "Mistress of the Sanctuary of Women". Her priests and priestesses were oracles who predicted the fate of the newborn; as well, they were also the midwives who delivered them. As the Protectress of Dance, Hathor was associated with percussive music, in particular the sistrum. Her traditional votive offering was two mirrors, the better with which to see both Her beauty and your own. Her head was used to decorate sistrums and mirrors. She was also the Neter of Joy who was deeply loved by the general population. She was very revered by women, who aspired to embody her multifaceted role as wife, mother, and lover. Her worship was so popular that more festivals were dedicated to her honor than any other Egyptian deity, and more children were named after Her than any other.

The name Dendera is a Greek transliteration of the Egyptian Enet-t-neter ("Home of the Goddess"). Also known as "the Lourdes of ancient Egypt", in ancient times the temple was a healing center and sacred place of initiation into the mysteries of male/female balance and sensual love. Hathor's priestesses and priests offered miraculous cures, practicing all types of magical and psychological therapies. During your time at Her temple, in Her role as the great Goddess of Earthly Love and Healing, Hathor will bestow upon you the energies that will take you deeper into unconditional love.

Hathor held titles such as "The Great Cow Who Protects Her Child" and "Mistress of the Sanctuary of Women". Her priests and priestesses were oracles who predicted the fate of the newborn; as well, they were also the midwives who delivered them. As the Protectress of Dance, Hathor was associated with percussive music, in particular the sistrum. Her traditional votive offering was two mirrors, the better with which to see both Her beauty and your own. Her head was used to decorate sistrums and mirrors. She was also the Neter of Joy who was deeply loved by the general population. She was very revered by women, who aspired to embody her multifaceted role as wife, mother, and lover. Her worship was so popular that more festivals were dedicated to her honor than any other Egyptian deity, and more children were named after Her than any other.

In the Crypt we'll explore some of the controversial theories about the amazing panels on the walls. Do the light-bulb like objects (Crooke's Tubes) represent an ancient technology of electricity, or some other form of energy known to and utilized by the ancient Khemetians? Or, are they symbols esoteric teachings about spiritual evolution? In ancient times entrance into these underground chambers was limited to only the highest initiates, as the wall panels contain very esoteric information pertaining to alchemy, prehistory, and ancient wisdom. Here, in the transformational energies of this sacred site, we'll experience an Initiation into the Greater Mysteries of the Divine Feminine. In one of the upper rooms we'll view the replica of the famous Dendera Zodiac, the only complete working Zodiac that survives from antiquity! (The original one resides in the Louvre Museum in Paris.) The zodiac is referred to by many researchers who have studied it for years as "intentional art", a work of sacred art deliberately encoded with information. It's one of the most well-known sacred calendric artifacts in the world, on the level of Stonehenge and the Aztec calendar. Showing the positions of the stars and planets as they would have been seen at 50BCE, it nevertheless projects its messages forward to 2216 CE! Afterwards we'll visit the Mammisi or Per Sa (House of Breath of Life, or Birth), where women went to give birth, with the Priestesses of Hathor as midwives. Here you can connect with Hathor as the Divine Midwife during private meditation time.

Queen Hatshepsut's Temple

Day 5. Sunday, February 15. (B/L/D) Overnight Cruise Ship. Early AM: Optional Tour: Hot Air Balloon Trip, AM: Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut's Temple. Return to cruise ship. PM: Sail to Edfu.

Optional Hot Air Balloon Trip that leaves early morning and soars over Luxor. Beautiful sailing high and low along the belt that divides the red from the black land.

We depart in the morning to the Necropolis of Thebes, along the West Bank of the Nile. In the Valley of the Kings we explore the Mysteries of Death and Resurrection as we visit ancient tombs of the pharaohs, vibrant with scenes of ancient daily life and esoteric teachings about the afterlife. It is here that King Tut lies (if not on tour).

The next stop is Queen Hatshepsut's magnificent Temple to Amun at Der el Bahari. The 5th Pharaoh of the18th dynasty, Hatshepsut or Maatkare ("Truth is the Soul of the Sun God") was of one of the most famous of the few handful of the female Pharaohs. Her mortuary temple, Djeser Djeseru ("Splendor of Splendors"), is one of the most dramatically situated in the world and was designed by her architect Senenmut. We visit the Birth Colonnade, the Anubis Chapel, the Punt Colonnade, the Chapel of Hathor and the Upper Terrace, where the Sanctuary of Hatshepsut and the Sanctuary of Amun are located. Find an out-of-the-way area to sit and meditate for a few minutes to connect with the energies of this remarkable Pharaoh, inviting in the Divine Feminine.

Lunch aboard the cruise ship where we enjoy our launch off to Edful. Enjoy time this afternoon as we sail on the Nile's sacred waters, blessed by Hapi, God of the Nile. Take some time to sit up on the upper deck, enjoy the cool breeze and warm sun, and maybe even take a dip in the swimming pool.

Ancient Khemit (The Black Land)

Day 6. Monday, February 16. (B/L/D) Overnight Cruise Ship. AM: Edfu. PM: Kom Ombo. Arrive Aswan.

After an early breakfast we depart for our morning visit to Edfu Temple, dedicated to Horus, son of Isis and Osiris, the falcon-headed Neter who is the symbol of the Higher Self. The temple complex is one of the finest examples of Ptolemaic art in Egypt and perhaps one of the best preserved of the entire ancient world. We will explore the various temples with our Egyptologist, viewing the richly decorated important scenes related to the divinities associated with the cult of Horus: Osiris, Isis, Sokar, and Khonsu.

Return to cruise ship for lunch. Free time in the afternoon to enjoy sailing. In the early evening we round a bend in the Nile and behold Kom Ombo, a magnificent edifice of energy-filled ruins overlooking the river. Our visit will take us through this famous dual temple dedicated to the Neters Sobek and Haoeris, (Horus the Elder), an early form of Horus. You will have meditation time to receive your initiation to balance the Light & Dark within yourself. Call upon Sobek to help you to overcome an fears that are keeping your from uniting with the energies of Horus, symbol of your Higher Self.

We return to the cruise ship for dinner on board and sail to Aswan, where we arrive late evening. Overnight Cruise Ship.

Temple of Hathor at Temple of Isis

Holy of Holies, Temple of Isis

Nubian Village

Day 7. Tuesday, February 17. (B) Overnight Aswan. AM: Temple of Isis & Nubian Museum. Disembark; transfer to Movenpick Hotel and check in. Lunch on your own. PM: Free time or Optional Tour: Elephantine Island and Nubian home next door to the hotel. Dinner on your own.

After an early breakfast we depart to the Island of Agilkia, the small island where the temples that were on the Island of Philae were moved to when the Aswan High Dam was completed in 1970. The name Philae comes from the ancient Egyptian word Pilak, meaning “the remote place.” This southernmost site in Egypt was the last outpost of the 4,000 year-old ancient Egyptian spiritual tradition that venerated Isis, the Neter of Healing and Magic, wife/sister of Osiris, and mother of Horus.

Isis may be the oldest deity in Egypt, and certainly the oldest to survive in much the same form as in ancient times. She may also be the most important, as She was worshipped almost universally by all Egyptians. As the major Goddess of the Egyptian pantheon, with many of the same attributes of other Mother Goddesses found all over the world, She was revered as the great protector, prayed to for guidance, and beseeched for peace in the world. Her Egyptian name was Auset, which meant "female of throne", i.e. Queen of the Throne. In the matriarchal and matrilineal Khemetian culture, the woman was the power behind the throne. During the Greco-Roman period, this sacred island was the main cult center of Isis. Her worship lasted here until the 6th century CE, when it was outlawed by the Emperor Justinian. Though it died out here, Her influence spread to Greece and Rome and on throughout Europe. Some researchers believe that the Black Madonnas were representations of Isis and Her son Horus.

We'll enter the Temple of Isis, where we visit Her shrine in the Holy of Holies, as Her priestesses and priests did in ancient times. Isis bestows upon us a sacred Initiation into Divine Mysteries, supporting us to develop our healing powers for any new projects that we're bringing into manifestation, as well as to connect with Her Unconditional Love of the Divine Feminine. Afterwards we have a guided visit to the various areas of the temple with our Egyptologist, then free time to explore on your own.

On the way home, we will stop at the recently opened Nubian Museum. A beautiful museum that offers a glimpse of all the temples that were moved during the building (and subsequent flooding) of the Aswan Dam.

Return to the hotel. Enjoy the spa and dinner on your own.

Optional Tour: Visit spectacular Elephantine Island, named for the Greek word meaning 'elephant'. The more common name for the city by ancient Egyptians was Sehel, which also meant 'elephant'. The name describes the city's function as a gate to the South, since elephants were basically brought from the south towards Nubia. Here we will explore the ancient Temple of Khnum, the main cult center of the ram-headed creator god. Khnum was the Neter of fertility, water and the Great Potter who created children and their ka (the double that lingered on in the tomb inhabiting the body or even statues of the deceased, but was also independent of the body and could move, eat and drink at will), at their conception. Khnum is believed by some experts to have been a pre-dynastic god. He was the guardian of the source of the Nile, and was originally a Nile god who became a helper of Hapi. Then his role changed from the river god to the one who made sure that the right amount of silt was released into the water during the Nile's annual inundation. He worked with the silt, the soil that the ancient potters used, and thus became the great potter who not only molded men and women, but who molded the gods themselves and even the world. We'll take time for meditation, during which you'll receive an Empowerment Initiation from Khnum.
We'll see a huge granite shrine, yet another smoking gun for advanced machining techniques used by the ancient Egyptians! We can also surmise what natural catastrophe in the distant past could have knocked this huge box over on its side. Time allowing, we will also visit both the old and new museums, which are full of many interesting artifacts, including a mummified ram of Khnum.

 

Day 8. Wednesday, February 18. (B) Overnight Aswan. AM: Flight to Abu Simbel. Return to hotel. Lunch on your own. PM: Rest, free time or visit to the marketplace with Vivian. Dinner on your own.

This morning we travel by motorcoach to the local airport to fly and visit the temples at Abu Simbel, accompanied by our Egyptologist. Located near the southern border of Egypt with Sudan. The Great Temple is dedicated to Ramesses II and Queen Nefertari, the love of his life. The temple's facade is dominated by four enormous seated statues of the Pharaoh, each over 67 feet high. The temples were shifted to higher ground in the 1960s as the waters of Lake Nasser began to rise following completion of the Aswan High Dam. Return to Aswan, lunch on your own. There is an internet cafe in Aswan, a great bookstore and a wonderful marketplace.

Inside Mohammed Ali Mosque

Day 9. Thursday, February 19. (B/L) Overnight Giza. AM: Transfer to airport; flight to Cairo. PM: Lunch at restaurant near the museum. Visit to Cairo Museum & Mohammed Ali Mosque. Check in at Sofitel Sphinx Hotel in Giza. Dinner on your own.

We travel by plane back to Cairo and board a motorcoach. After lunch at a local restaurant, we visit The Citadel that was for 700 years the strategic stronghold for Cairo, overlooking the city, and easy to defend. In it there are some museums, palaces, and three mosques, including The Mohammed Ali Mosque, or Alabaster Mosque, one of Cairo's most famous landmarks. Later visit the Cairo Museum with our Egyptologist for a look at much of the contents in King Tut's tomb along with many other extraordinary antiquities.

The Spinx

resting at the "Hospital"

Step Pyramid

Red Pyramid

Day 10. Friday, February 20. (B/L) Overnight Giza. AM: Giza Plateau: Valley Temple of the Sphinx; View Sphinx from causeway; visit to Great Pyramid (no entry). Lunch at restaurant near Sakkara. PM: Red Pyramid & Sakkara. Optional Camel Ride. Return to hotel. Dinner on your own.

After breakfast we depart for our morning on the Giza Plateau. First we visit the Valley Temple of the Sphinx. With its alabaster floor and gigantic block walls, its unique construction makes this amazing structure an absolute wonder of engineering! With its distinctive architectural style, it's among the oldest stone buildings in Egypt, if not the world. The only other known parallels in Egypt are the Sphinx Temple right next to it, and the mysterious Osirion at Abydos, in Upper Egypt. What is so remarkable about its construction is the sheer size of the stones used, as well as the incredible number of them. The square-built temple is built entirely of hundreds of limestone blocks, many of which exceed 200 tons each (the equivalent of nearly 300 family-sized cars). What is also astounding is that the builders lifted these huge stones to heights of over 40 feet - higher than the largest sarsen stones at Stonehenge, which only weigh 50 tons each. Egyptologists have confirmed by rock strata analysis that the huge limestone megaliths used in the construction of the Valley Temple came from the trench excavated from the bedrock by the builders of the Sphinx. Since geologist Dr. Robert Schoch of Boston University has proved that the Sphinx is at least 8,000 years old, the two monuments must have been built at the same time. However, the Wisdom Keeper tradition holds the opinion that both are over 32,000 years old and were built by the ancient Khemitians using ancient machining techniques that are still unknown to engineers today! They also believe that the Valley Temple was used for sound healing. With its alabaster floors and rounded-off stones used in the corners of the building, the acoustics are definitely incredible. We'll investigate this phenomenon.
Then we'll view the Sphinx, or Tefnut, as she is known by the Wisdom Keepers. Tefnut was a lunar Neter of moisture, humidity and water. She was also a solar Neter who was connected with the sun and dryness, i.e. as the absence of moisture. Her name is related to water - tf is the root of the words for "spit" and "moist". Her name translates to "She of Moisture". She was the daughter of the creator god Ptah, as was sometimes known as the "Tongue of Ptah", denoting her creative force. She was the mother of the twin sky and the earth deities Nut and Geb, who were in turn the parents of Osiris, Isis, Nepthys, and Set. Tefnut was generally shown as a woman with a lion's head, or as a full lioness. From the causeway beside Her, we'll connect with Tefnut through individual meditation, making our connections and asking Her to guide us on our initiatory journey.

We head by motor coach out of Cairo for lunch at one of the local traditional restaurants in the area, then we're off for our afternoon visit to Sakkara, named by the Greeks after Sokar, Neter of The West, the direction or path the soul takes when leaving the body at "death" or at its "Westing". Traditional Egyptology sites the area as the earliest necropolis, or burial place, for the Pharaohs and royalty of the Memphis area. With its Old Kingdom pyramids and the famous Step Pyramid, its believed to have been constructed about-2630 BCE by Imhotep, architect to King Djoser of the 3rd Dynasty. Some experts believe this to be the world's oldest freestanding stone structure. The indigenous tradition teaches that Sakkara was a Khemetian site in prehistory, and one where sound was used for healing and the transformation of consciousness. We'll visit the area known to the Wisdom Keepers as the "Hospital", where we'll experience its ancient and powerful transformational energies during our last sound healing initiation of the day.

Later that afternoon, we head to Dashur and Sakkara to connect with their true purpose. Dashur, located on the southern border of Bu Wizzer, the ancient Khemetian name for this area which means "Land of Osiris", features the Red Pyramid and Bent Pyramid - Per Neters built out of limestone and granite to function as energy devices. During our time in the Red Pyramid we'll experience the acoustic harmonic resonance of the structure by using our voices to intone the sacred frequencies, as the priests and priestesses did in ancient times. Once it's enlivened, this powerful energy system will support your initiatory journey you to deeper places inside yourself.

Time allowing, we'll visit the Bent Pyramid (no entrance), built in the distant past from locally quarried limestone. The bend in the construction of the outer surface produces two different sound frequencies, and thus two different energies. Egyptology says it was built by the Pharaoh Sneferu. The Wisdom Keepers believe it was built by the ancient Khemtians, and that the name Sneferu was not the name of any person, but rather that it translates as "double harmony", thus indicating its purpose as a device to produce energy. As we make our way through this amazing area, focus to receive the ancient energies into your heart, through your mind, in the way of the ancient Khemitians and the later Egyptians who believed the heart was in the mind.

Return to the hotel. Dinner on your own.


Optional Camel Ride

Initiation Coffer in King's Chamber of Great Pyramid. Orbs all around

 

Day 11. Saturday, February 21. (B/D) Overnight Giza. AM: Free time. Lunch on your own. PM: Private Entrance into Great Pyramid. Farewell Dinner at the hotel.

After breakfast, you have time this morning to visit some of the other structures on the Giza Plateau, such as the Solar Boat, rediscovered in 1954 by Kamal el-Mallakh. Undisturbed since it was sealed into a pit carved out of the Giza bedrock over 5,000 years previously, it was built of cedar planking and has been reconstructed from more than 1200 pieces. Other options are the three small pyramids to the east of the Great Pyramid, which traditional Egyptology states were built for the wives and mother of Khufu. There are also excellently preserved tombs in this area, which can be entered and explored by giving a bit of baksheesh (tips) to the local guards. Lunch on your own.

In the late afternoon we enter the Great Pyramid (private entrance for our group ONLY!). As we climb up through the Ascending Passage and the Grand Gallery. Here you may see Orbs - Light Beings, energy, what are they? We enter the King's Chamber for our Closing Meditation and Initiation in the Higher Light Frequencies, a powerful ascension experience! In our private space away from crowds of tourists, you will experience the ancient spiritual energies that are still palpable in this enigmatic edifice. Take this auspicious opportunity to connect with the Spirit of the Indwelling Neters in your Soul. Depending on the group size and allotted time, each person will be able to lie in the granite coffer, or initiation box for private meditation. Also, as part of our group meditation we will focus on harnessing the incredibly powerful transformative energies that are innate in the pyramid, to send peace, love and healing to all people on our planet.

We return to the hotel. Take time to rest, relax, and integrate before our traditional Egyptian Farewell Dinner at the hotel.

Day 12. Sunday, February 22. (B) AM: Morning Transfer to Cairo airport. Assistance checking in for international flight to the USA. We arrive back in the afternoon of the same day. Clear immigration, baggage claim and cusoms. Your're home. (or reconnect with flight to your home city).

Trip Price:

Land / Air per person double occupancy from New York City: $4,275 (If paying with credit card price is : $4,408.00)

Single Room Supplement: $489.00 (credit card price is $505)

Trip Price include:
- Airfare JFK to Cairo and all internatl flights between Cairo and Luxor and Aswan and AbuSimble (JFK/CAI/LXR--ASW/ABS/ASW/CAI/JFK on EgyptAir).
- All transfers in Egypt

- Hotel accommodations: four nights at the Sofitel Sphinx, One night at the Winter Palace (New Wing) in Luxor and two nights at the Movenpick in Aswan with hotel taxes, service charges and daily buffet breakfast included.
- Three night/four day Nabila Nile cruise, including all meals and shore excursions.
- Sightseeing as per itinerary, including all entry fees and English-speaking guide
- Welcome and farewell dinners at the hotel in Cairo.
- Two lunches at local restaurants during the Cairo sightseeing.
- Box lunch for the excursion to Dendera and Abydos.
- Private entry to the Great Pyramid for the Closing Ceremony.
- Air taxes and fuel surcharges, pricing subject to change until ticketed
- Egypt Tourist Visa
- Pre-Paid Gratuities

NOT INCLUDED:
- Items of a personal nature like bottled water, alcoholic beverages, laundry service, etc.
- Any meals, sightseeing or other services not mentioned in the inclusions.