Coptic Egypt Program

Cairo Arrival:

Upon arrival to Cairo Airport our Egypt Tailor Made Tours representative will meet and assist you crossing the customs hall, then picking you up to your hotel to check in and stay in Cairo overnight.

Cairo "Coptic Tour":

After Breakfast ,at 9.00 am. then our guide will escort you to visit a new era, "Coptic Cairo" where you will visit the "Hanging Church" which is dating back to the 3rd Century AD and was dedicated to Virgin Mary ,It's called "Hanging" because of its location above the gatehouse of the ancient Roman fortress "Babylon" .It contains 110 Holy icons depicting beautiful religious scenes. Then visiting "Saint George Church” and "Saint Barbara Church” Then visiting "Saint Sergius and Bacchus Church" which is believed to have been built on the spot where the holy family rested at the end of their journey into Egypt. And ending Coptic Cairo tour with a visit to the "Jewish Synagogue of Ben Ezra" which gained its importance from its Geniza (Store room) was found during the 19th century containing a treasure of abandoned Hebrew secular and sacred manuscripts Then, going to visit one of the marvelous Coptic buildings in Cairo, The Monastery of St. Simon the Tanner or “The Cave Church” which is located in el Mokattam hills area near the Zabbaleen slum or Garbage City which is Cairo's largest informal garbage collectors settlement, where garbage recycling is central to its population's economy. the Monastery of St. Simon the Tanner is the largest and it has an amphitheater with a seating capacity of 20,000.This church is the largest church in the Middle East. It is named after the Coptic Saint, Simon the Tanner, who lived at the end of the 10th century and is associated with the legend of the moving of the Mokattam Mountain.the Monastery of St. Simon the Tanner include the St. Bola's Church, St. Marks Church, and St. Simon the Tanner's Hall. Then, Ending the tour with a visit to Virgin Mary Church in Maadi District. After finishing the trip, you will be transferred to your hotel to stay overnight

Cairo Sightseeing Tour:

At 9.00 am, Our Egypt Tailor Made tour guide will meet you at the lobby of your hotel, then he will transfer you by an air conditioned vehicle to visit Giza Plateau to visit the impressive 3 Pyramids of Kings Cheops, Chephren, and Menkaure which are guarded by the rock-cut statue (The Sphinx). The Great Pyramid of King Cheops is the only wonder of the seven wonders of the ancient world that is still standing today, although it is 2,000 years older than any other wonder on the list Then,you are going to continue your journey through the history starting with the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities which was built in 1902 and it exhibits a large number of items and treasures (exceeding 12,0000 masterpieces) dating back to the ancient Egyptian period and Greco-Roman period including the marvelous collection of the child king Tut Ankh Amon. Then ending our tour with going to Khan el Khalili Bazaar which is one of Cairo's main attractions ..the district of Khan el Khalili was originally a mausoleum called "el Zaafran" for the burial of Fatimid Caliphs ,after that it became a district for the Turkish community during the Ottoman period , and now it becomes a bazzar where you will find many souvenirs shops ,coffeehouses "Café" serving Arabic coffee and offering Hookah "Shisha", and restaurants throughout the area. After finishing the trip you will be picked up back to your hotel in Cairo to stay overnight.

Transfer to St. Catherine / Trip to Moses Mountain:

After breakfast , checking out , then you will be picked up by the air conditioned vehicle to start your trip towards St.Catherine (at least 7 Hrs.) , and you will be dropped off at your hotel in St.Catherine to check in and have some rest and refreshment. Around 23.00 Our Egypt Tailor Made tour guide will be waiting you at the reception of your hotel . then picking you up to start climbing Moses Mountain.

Visit to St. Catherine Monastery / Transfer to Cairo :

You will proceed climbing Moses Mountain after midnight where Moses received the 10 commandments from god .there are small religious chapels above the summit of the mountain . Enjoy the scenery from the summit of the mountain, take some photos . Then, you will come down to the base around “7.00 am” to visit the Monastery of Saint Catherine which is considered one of the most famous monasteries in the world and also it's one of the oldest monasteries of Christianity . It’s located in heart of Sinai Peninsula at a height of 1570 meters in the place where according to the tradition Moses saw the bush on fire which didn’t burn up .The Monastery is Orthodox and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The monastery dates back to the age of the emperor Justinian 6th century. it was the same time of building enclosure wall surrounding the monastery right now but The monastery was named saint Catherine at t he beginning of the 11th century in honor of saint Catherine, one of the earliest Alexandria Christians martyrs . It contains several monuments like the burning bush seen by Moses, and the remarkable Icons Gallery. After finishing the tour, you will be picked up by the air conditioned vehicle to start your trip back towards Cairo. Upon arrival to Cairo, going to stay in your hotel overnight.

Over Day Tour to Wadi al-Natrun and Alexandria from Cairo:

In the early morning around 7.00 am , our Egypt Tailor Made tour guide will pick you up by a modern air-conditioned vehicle to Wadi El-Natrun (110 km from Cairo), the actual birthplace for Christian monasticism. Basically, there were about 50 monasteries, only 4 have survived into modern times. Begin your trip with Deir al-Baramus which is the oldest of the surviving 4 monasteries, and in many ways the most isolated, then proceed to visit Anba Makar, it is also called Anba Makaryus Monastery, Anba Makaryus was probably the first Monastery in Wadi El-Natrun, it has more than 100 monks and 600 workers in the extensive farm which spreads in front of it. then proceeds to Deir Anba Bishoi whose body is still in the monastery. End your trip visiting Deir El-Suryani which is the smallest and most compact of the 4 monasteries. Then proceeding your way towards Alexandria, and you will visit Mar Mina Monastery in Borg el Arab District. After That going to visit St. Mark Cathederal in the heart of Alexandria Then, You will go to get a photo stop from outside at (Qaitbey’s Citadel) which is considered one of the most important defensive strongholds, not only in Egypt, but also along the Mediterranean Sea coast. It formulated an important part of the fortification system of Alexandria in the 15th century A.D.; The Citadel is situated at the entrance of the eastern harbour on the eastern point of the Pharos Island. It was erected on the exact site of the famous Lighthouse of Alexandria, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Then going to enjoy the vast space of Montazah Royal Palaces and Gardens which belonging to the royal family of Mohamed Ali Pasha from Khedive Abbas Helmy II till King Farouk I.In our way to the gardens will cross Stanley Bridge, one of the gorgeous modern buildings in Alexandria. You will wander around the 3000 meters wide gardens containing a huge selection of trees and plants and some of them are quite rare. Some of the tropical plants are still in good shape although they have been planted more than 75 years ago. We will end our amazing tour by having a photo stop from outside to the Modern Alexandria Library , the Old library was very famous all over the world for its huge books capacity of different sciences and literature. It was damaged several times during the Greco Roman period until it vanished. The beginning of reconstruct the library started at the late 80s of the last century. The design of the modern library of Alexandria consisted of four underground stores and six upper stores. The special shape of the modern library of Alexandria is considered a special architectural germ. The library the history of the library and the city of Alexandria and the Egyptian history as a whole, The cultures of the Arab world, Africa, and the Mediterranean countries , and The culture, ideas, and civilization of the whole world Location. After that getting back to the vehicle and drive back to Cairo and Stay overnight

Final Departure :

After Breakfast ,Checking out the hotel. And then you will be picked up to Cairo airport to your final departure