People don’t often realize that a Holy Land trip can take them to the beautiful and historical country of Egypt. Egypt tour packages are quite popular with people who want to travel overseas and get a wide perspective of life in a foreign land. Christians are particularly interested in these tours because they can see where the places where the Israelis worked and slaved before escaping from the hand of the Pharaoh of Egypt.
There are about 75 million people in Egypt and 90% of the people are of the lineage of Ham, Noah’s son. A small minority group of the Egyptians are the Nubians who live mostly in southern Egypt. Egypt’s religious population consists of 90% Islamic and 10% Christian, which includes the Catholic and Armenian churches.
Roughly 98% of the people speak Egyptian-Arabic which is a dialect of the Modern Standard Arabic. The more educated Egyptian people speak English and French. Egypt is a presidential republic. The president is the head of state and he is elected by popular vote for a six year term.
The climate in Egypt is a desert climate with moderate winters and hot, dry summers. There can be a significant difference in temperature from morning to night. Plan to bring layers of clothing when you take your tour to Egypt so you can add or take off clothes as the weather fluctuates. The hot summer begins in May, while the mild winter begins in November. Only the northern part of the country experiences rainfall, which is very light and sporadic.
An Egypt tour company will offer various packages for those traveling to Egypt. If you are already in the area, you can schedule a one-day tour where you can visit St. Catherine’s Monastery and climb Mount Sinai. Tours generally include traveling through the Sinai Desert with an Egyptian guide and getting an early start in the morning. While here, you will also visit the place where Moses saw the burning bush and received the Ten Commandments.
Other tours can range from four to eight days. When you arrive at the Cairo International Airport, you will be greeting by the representative of the tour company. They are assisted through immigration and customs and then escorted to the hotel. There will be different places to visit depending upon which tour you choose and the length of your trip. Every day, you will be busy visiting places of which you have only read and heard.
The Pyramids and Sphinx of Giza are two places amazing sights that have been standing for the last 5,000 years. The artifacts of the era of the Pharaohs can be seen at the Egyptian Museum. The treasures of King Tutankhamen’s tomb are there as well. A drive through Old Cairo will show you where early Judaism and Christianity thrived in Egypt. In Cairo, you will also visit the Saint Sergius Church and the Ben Ezra Synagogue.
One exciting part of the trip is the visit to Aswan where you will board a train that has sleeping compartments for a couple of days of travel. By train, you will visit the Old Aswan Dam, the High Dam, the Philae Temple and the unfinished Obelisk. The train will then take you to Luxor where you will visit the West Bank and Valley of the Kings, as well as the Karnak temples.
A tour of Egypt is one that will leave you with memories that will last a lifetime. Each tour has a different agenda that may include a Nile cruise, an oriental dinner and even a costume party. Your tour representative will give you all of the details of your upcoming journey so you can be well prepared. Above all else, plan to enjoy yourself and have an amazing trip to the Land of the Pharaohs.