Arrive in Cairo and the Great Pyramids of Giza rise out of the desert for an inspiring introduction to the ancient civilizations, best initially told through their mystique. Ride a camel or horse towards the ancient wonder of the world at sunset.
Sprawling with endless corridors and galleries, the treasures of the Egyptian Museum will baffle your imagination. Mummified remains, gilded crocodiles and the sculpted faces of mysterious gods are there alongside hundreds of thousands of artifacts, the Pyramid of Khufu and explore the Solar Boat.
Visit the Aswan High Dam and the ancient Philae Temple. Visit the River Nile north on a luxury cruise that will provide a window onto an untouched world. Crumbling mud-brick houses dot the banks, as do spectacular temples dedicated to strange gods. Disembark at Kom Ombo Temple.
Figures are inscribed on the walls of Edfu Temple and illustrate the conflict between Horus and Seth that played out on a remarkably large scale & Greco-Roman temple, a visual revelation of how the gods are closely aligned across three ancient civilizations.
Visit four or five different temples & the three tiers of Queen Hatshepsut's temple. Statues of Amenhotep II. On the West Bank of Luxor, you will then find the Valley of the Kings and Queens, a landscape that deservedly requires a full day of exploration with your private Egyptologist guide.
From the details to the vast scale, the memories of yesterday will be complemented by your hot air balloon journey above the valley. You will rise at sunrise as the temples and tombs rise proudly amongst the colors of the desert. Visit the temples of Luxor and Karnak.
Visit the Blue Mosque providing an elegiac voice that all the others respond to. At once the Constantinople of Roman Byzantine and the Istanbul of the Ottomans, Sultanahmet is the old centerpiece of a city where East has always met West.
Enter the Grand Bazaar, and thousands of local stores are doused with color and charm. Wander into palaces, each built by a different Ottoman ruler with extravagance. Visit the two iconic Istanbul monuments - the Hagia Sophia & the Blue Mosque.
Bizarre rock formations are scattered across hundreds of square miles, crafted by volcanoes and eroded by the wind. Some call them fairy tale chimneys. Visit the churches of Goreme, the old Greek village of Cavusin, Pasabag valley and Kaymakli, a city beneath the ground.
The hot air balloon flight will be as iconic as the first as your colorful balloon soars across the Cappadocia valleys. Visit visit the ancient Roman city of Sobesos and the traditional Greek village of Mustafapasa through the Soganli Valley.
On the beautiful seafront, you will get a sense of its Aegean legacy as Izmir was the pre-eminent port town. Transfer to Selcuk nearby, a traditional country village back-dropped by the Byzantine ruins of the St John Basilica for an evening at your leisure.
Shimmering white, the facade of Celsus Library shows the great wealth of Ephesus. Along the city streets, there are pillars and sculptures for an abundance of impressive ruins from a city. Visit the Temple of Artemis, the amphitheater is imposing with such massive stone steps providing a place for reflection.
Today you make a short transfer back to Izmir for a flight to Istanbul, where you connect onto a flight bound for home after an incredible exploration of this beautiful region and the history of civilization.