I dreamt of exploring Egypt, when as a ten-year-old, my grandma brought me a souvenir from her trip to the Holy Land; a yellow gauzy veil with bronze coins dangling from the crown. More than a half century later, I still have that veil and the accompanying postcard of the Pyramids at Giza, tokens of my fascination with the exotica of travel. Egypt, and the opportunity to explore its many ancient wonders personally with renowned Egyptologists, was one of the main attractions of this Ancient Crossroads trip. Our itinerary takes us first to Luxor, the ancient city of Thebes and an important center of Egyptian civilization during the Middle and New Kingdoms (2000 – 1100 BCE) to visit the famed Temples of Luxor and Karnak and several excavated tombs in the Valley of the Kings.
Then we go to Cairo, the ancient city of Memphis and former capital of the Old Kingdom dating to 2500BCE. Then a city of 30,000 people, today Cairo safeguards and showcases the visible artifacts of one of the most sophisticated and innovative civilizations in human history – the pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx.
