Alternative Egypt Tour February

Thursday 26th February – Cairo

• Arrive at your convenience into Cairo. The capital city of Egypt is well connected from many countries within Africa, Europe and the rest of the world.
• Those coming from our Yemen Mainland Hadhramaut Tour will be arriving into Cairo International Airport Terminal 1 on Yemenia Airways and transferred to hotel.
• Pre-tour meeting will be held at our hotel at 6:00pm to go over the coming days itinerary. Here you will meet your fellow YPT travellers and guide.
• Then head out for your first taste of the local cuisine, hummus, tajine, Fattah and even pigeon for the daring.
• Head back to the hotel for a rest or a few drinks with pool table and darts.

Friday 27th February – Cairo

• Start your day with a hearty breakfast on the rooftop before departing at 8:30am for your first look at the country’s gems, the pyramids.
• For an alternative twist we will first take you to Dashur to visit the lesser-known pyramids.
• Our first stop is the Bent Pyramid an early attempt to build a true pyramid, which almost collapsed due to a mistake in its design: the initial angle of slope (52°) was too steep!
• The second pyramid you’ll visit is the Red Pyramid, the first true pyramid successfully completed and the fourth largest in all of the country. Here we can expect zero tourists, in stark contrast to the most famous of the pyramids. You’ll even have the opportunity to go inside.
• Even for us, no trip to Egypt would be complete without seeing the gem of the country, so to end the morning you’ll witness the Pyramids of Giza – which are amongst the most popular tourist destination in the entire world.

Afternoon

• Stop for famous middle eastern pastries for lunch.
• Continue to the City of the Dead, an ancient necropolis made up of an Arabic cemetery where the less-fortunate of Egypt have settled. Tens of thousands of people live here within mausoleums and tombs. It creates a mixture of bustling living amongst monuments of death. We’ll walk through the neighbourhood as our guide introduce us to the settlers and shares more about the history.
• Walk the streets and get up close with the craft shops, and the way most Egyptians in Cairo live.
• During your walk you’ll soon find yourself in an ancient mosque, different from most you will find in the middle eastern but none the less impressive. Used as a place of education, worship, and with a great historical past. You can climb the minaret for 360 degrees of the city.
• Head out for dinner, drinks and explore the nightlife of Cairo
• Overnight in Cairo

Saturday 28th February – Cairo – Bahariya – White Desert

• Begin our desert expedition and make our way to the White Desert in our 4X4s – the White Desert is located not too far from Cairo and is one of Egypt’s best kept secrets. The scenery here is like nowhere else with white chalk rock formations rising out from the sand formed through erosion by wind and sand.

Afternoon

• We’ll stop on the way at the Oasis of Bahariya – here you can stretch your legs and take in the scenery, and have a local lunch
• In the afternoon, we’ll explore the impressive chalk formations of the White Desert with plenty of opportunities for walking and taking photos. The White Desert National Park covers an area of 300 km2 (120 sq mi): our Bedouin guides will take us to the most interesting rock formations, some of them looking like mushrooms, others like animals or basically anything you can see in them. Among the most famous are the chicken and the rabbit.
• We’ll also stop and explore the Crystal Mountain – a uniquely shaped ridge standing alone in the middle of the desert made entirely of calcite crystal. A bizarre yet beautiful natural formation to gaze upon.
• As the evening darkens, you will then pick your own Bedouin encampment. The locals here are traditional goat and camel herders. We will feast under the starry sky of Egypt.
• Overnight in the Bedouin camp

Sunday 1st March – White Desert – Bahariya – Cairo

Morning

• Wake up in the middle of the desert, and enjoy breakfast as you take in the scenery surrounding you.
• This morning, we’ll visit the Black desert. In stark contrast with the White Desert, in here, mountains carry a coat of black stones thrown out of volcanoes millions of years ago, giving the sandy landscape its name.

Afternoon

• Begin making our return to Cairo and stop for lunch at the Oasis of Bahariya.
• In the Oasis, we’ll have the opportunity to swim in natural springs; with either hot or cold water, depending on what you feel like trying!
• We’ll then drive back to Cairo.
• Dinner and overnight in Cairo

Monday 2nd March – Cairo

Morning

• Today will be a big day so fill your stomach in the morning, and head to your first stop which will be the 6th of October War Panorama, a museum and memorial to the 1973 October war, inaugurated in 1989 and built by North Korean architects.
• We then head to the Souq El-Khaymiya. Khayamiya are elaborately patterned and colourful appliques applied to the interior of tents and serve a dual function of shelter and ornament. They are now primarily made in Cairo and sold along this Street of the Tent makers. This is a part of the souq where you won’t see any other tourists and won’t be bothered by insistant merchants!
• At the end of the market, you will be able to see the old gate of the city of Cairo. This street has been in continuous use since the Mamluk era. You will see that it is surrounded by historical monuments.
• We will then drive through the garbage city which is considered the “slums of Cairo”. Here you will discover the meaning behind not judging a book by its cover. This area is home to many wealthy businesspeople who have monetised garbage. Their work is crucial for trying to reduce and recycling paper and metal. Pioneers of tackling environmental issues that the globe faces.
• Above the Garbage City lies the St. Simon Monastery, also known as The Cave Church, one of the largest churches not only in Egypt but also in the Middle East. It can accommodate up to 20,000 people and has impressive paintings and stories carved on the wall and into the mountain rocks.

Afternoon

• After we will head to our favourite falafel spot in Cairo, fresh sesame and hummus that will get your taste buds going.
• After lunch we will explore Coptic Cairo, not only is it a place of ancient and modern history but it is a suburb that has a synagogue, mosque, and church side by side. Representing a tolerance that often goes unheard of in today’s media. Ge ready to challenge your pre-conceived ideas.
• Then we will head back to the hotel, get refreshed and have our farewell dinner.

Tuesday 3rd March – Cairo

• Breakfast at hotel
• If you want to join our Socotra Yemen Island March tour, starting on March 6th from Abu Dhabi, we can advise on how to spend your extra days in Egypt.
• Tour concludes – YPT is able to arrange post-tour accommodation or advice for flights.