Nile River Cruise: The Oberoi Philae from Luxor: Stays of Distinction

Today, embark your Nile Cruise Ship at Noon, your floating hotel for the next 7 days. Enjoy lunch on board as you sail to Quina. This afternoon, visit the Temple of Dendara, dedicated to Hathor, Goddess of Music, Love and Joy before returning to your ship.

After breakfast, you will visit the Temple of Abydos. Abydos occupies an important place in the religious history of Pharaonic Egypt. By the end of the Old Kingdom, its local god, Osiris, was the most prominent and popular of the Egyptian gods, since he was considered the god of afterlife. According to the popular tradition, Osiris head was buried in Abydos. Here Seti I and his son Ramses II built a beautiful temple in 1300BC. Sail back to Luxor late this morning. This afternoon, enjoy a visit to the Luxor Museum which houses a large collection of tremendously significant objects. These include statues from the famous cachette found buried in Luxor Temple, as well as selection of items from the tomb of Tutankhamon.

This morning is at your leisure. After lunch visit the Luxor and Karnak Temples, a holy city of pylons (monumental gateways), hypostyle halls, colossal statues, shrines and obelisks built over centuries and dedicated to the God Amon-Ra, his consort Mut and their son Khonsu.

Transfer to the West Bank to explore the West Bank of ancient Thebes. Visit the Valley of the Kings, with its royal tombs, King Tut's tomb and Ramses "the Six". This will be followed by a visit to the temple of Medinet Habu, Dier El Madina and on the way back you will stop at the Colossi of Memnon. Sail to Esna.

This morning, tour of the Edfu Temple, dedicated to the god Horus. The small town of Edfu is situated on the west bank of the Nile, 56 km south of Esna and 105 km north of Aswan. Today, it is an important centre for sugar production and pottery-making. The site of Edfu was known as Wetjetser-hor (classical name-Apollinopolos Magna), the place where the god Horus was worshipped and where the battle between Horus and his traditional enemy, Seth, in the ancient mythology took place. The main monument at Edfu is the Ptolemaic Temple of Horus on the edge of the town. The temple is perhaps the best-preserved in all of Egypt and ranks second behind Karnak, simply because of its immense size, approximately 230 by 400 feet with a pylon measuring over 100 feet high. At the temple's entrance stand two large black granite statues of Horus depicted as a falcon. The elaborate carvings on the walls of the temple are as beautiful as if they were carved just yesterday. Inside the temple is a small sanctuary where the priests of the day offered the best parts of the animals to the gods.

Enjoy lunch onboard while you sail to Kom Ombo. This afternoon, visit the twin temple of Kom Ombo. One side of the temple is dedicated to the Crocodile God Sobek, God of Fertility and Creator of the World. The other side is dedicated to the Falcon God Haroeis, also known as Horus, the Elder.

Start your day with a visit Aswan's High Dam, a huge rock filled dam which captures the world's longest river, the Nile, in the world's largest artificial reservoir, Lake Nasser. The dam, known as "Sadd El-Aali" in Arabic, was completed in 1970 after 10 years of work. Next it is on to see the Temple of Philae. After lunch, a motor boat will take you to visit Nubian Museum.

Disembark after breakfast.