Day 4: We set off today for Saqqara, where the pyramid concept began with the Step Pyramid of Djoser. We will visit the nearby tomb of Mereruka where his Ka statue greets us at the false door; and the pyramid of Teti with its pyramid texts, the oldest collection of religious spells known to us from ancient Egypt.  We’ll visit the new Imhotep Museum. Imhotep was a physician, the architect of the Step Pyramid – and a god.  Then we’re on to Memphis, the capitol city founded by Menes in the first dynasty and an administrative center throughout the history of ancient Egypt. The Sculpture Garden has a collection of statues and fragments and a massive statue of Ramesses II, so big they built a museum over the statue.  On our return to the hotel, time permitting; we will visit a pottery gallery and carpet school to see these crafts still in practice today. * B/L

Day 5: Our journey into the mystic and magical takes us to the most mysterious of locations: the Giza Plateau with the Great Pyramid of Khufu the last remaining of the original Seven Wonders of the World. We will enter the Great Pyramid, if available, and climb to the burial chamber of King Khufu. There, also, are the pyramids of kings Khafre and Menkaure. To the east and west of the pyramids are the seldom-visited cemeteries. As opportunity permits, we will visit these tombs of queens, princes, and the nobles Idu and Qar. We will also visit the museum that houses Khufu’s Solar Boat, then continue through Khafre’s Valley Temple, and to the Great Sphinx. Facing the rising sun, this guardian is a portrait of Khafre on the body of a lion. * B/L