Agatha Christie in Egypt Luxury 15-day Tour

Arrive in Cairo

‘Agatha loved her three months at the Gezirah Palace Hotel’ (Agatha Christie, An English Mystery by Laura Thompson)

We will pick you up from chosen location. If you are flying into Cairo, this includes full meet and greet service as soon as you disembark from your plane, including tourist visa if required. We will then transport you to the Marriott Gezira Hotel, your home for the next five nights, where Agatha spent three months as a young woman.

Giza Pyramids and Sphinx

‘…we’ll go to Egypt for our honeymoon…I’ve always wanted to go to Egypt all my life. The Nile and the Pyramids and the sand…’ (Death On The Nile)

Follow in the footsteps of Linnet and Simon Doyle, from Death on the Nile, on their honeymoon. Marvel at the Great Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx, visited by Agatha Christie as a young woman. There are several options – if you feel more adventurous you can try a horse or a camel, or if you prefer a more relaxed mode of transport you can take a horse drawn carriage.

Morning visit to the Egyptian Museum.

‘Mother tried to broaden my mind by taking me occasionally to the Museum…’ (Agatha Christie Autobiography)

No visit to Egypt is complete without seeing the astonishing collections in the Egyptian Museum. Don’t miss the King Tutankhamen exhibition or the Mummy Room, and see statues of Akhnaton, the heretic pharaoh from Agatha Christie’s play.

In the afternoon you have time to relax in by the pool at the Marriott Hotel; alternatively, there are many optional tours available. Why not consider a trip to Fayoum Oasis, visited by Simon and Linnet Doyle? A sunset felucca trip on the Nile? Some shopping in the ancient souq, Khan Al Khalili? The Old Citadel, visited by Agatha Christie? These and many more options are available.

Memphis

‘She has come with me from Memphis in the North and will dwell here with you when I go away again…’ (Death Comes As The End)

Agatha wrote another novel set in ancient Egypt – Death Comes as the End. Visit Memphis on a day trip from Cairo and see where Nofret, the doomed concubine, came from. Memphis was one of the oldest and most important cities in ancient Egypt. The site contains many statues dating back 5000 years, although most of the city itself has now gone.

Tell Al Amarna, Beni Hassan and the tomb of Akhnaton

“Akhnaton is no didactic tract, but a drama of ruthless logic and theatrical power…” (Charles Osborne, Theatre critic, writer and literature director of the Arts Council of Great Britain) 

Agatha Christie wrote a play entitled ‘Akhnaton’ around the same time she was writing Death on the Nile. She wrote the play in 1937 for her own enjoyment and it allowed her to indulge in her fascination with ancient history. The story involves the Pharaoh Ahknaton, his wife Nefertiti and his successor Tutankhamun. Today we will visit the tombs and city of Akhnaton at Tell Al Amarna and Beni Hassan.

Enjoy your last night in the Marriott Hotel.

Fly from Cairo to Aswan, champagne afternoon tea in the Old Cataract Hotel

‘Poirot thought of those words uttered in Assuan…’ (Death On The Nile)

Fly to Aswan from Cairo and enjoy luxury transportation to the famous Old Cataract Hotel.

‘She and her son were sitting in brightly painted scarlet basket chairs outside the Cataract Hotel in Aswan.’ (Death On The Nile)

Arrive at the famous Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan, and enjoy a delicious champagne afternoon tea, in the grand tour style.

‘The terrace outside the Cataract Hotel was softly lit.’ (Death On The Nile)

Enjoy your first night in this unique and famous hotel.

Aswan, Philae, Elephantine Island and the Aswan High Dam

‘Hercule Poirot decided to pass the remaining two hours before lunch on the island of Elephantine…’ (Death On The Nile)

Our first stop today is Elephantine Island. On the southern end of Elephantine Island you will find the site of ancient Abu, an important ancient trading town. You will also visit the Nubian villages of Siou and Koti making a peaceful change to the bustle of Aswan.

‘Mrs Otterbourne and her daughter had made the expedition to the Dam…’ (Death On The Nile)

Our second stop today is to Egypt’s modern example of construction on a monumental scale, the controversial Aswan High Dam and Lake Nasser, one of the world’s largest artificial lakes.

Our trip to the Aswan High Dam will be followed by lunch at a local restaurant.

‘Simon and Linnet Doyle set off on their expedition to Philae…’ (Death On The Nile)

After lunch we will take a short boat trip to visit Philae Temple. Built to honour the goddess Isis, this was the last temple built in the classical Egyptian style. Construction began around 690 BC, and it was one of the last outposts where the goddess was worshipped.

Abu Simbel Temple

‘Cornelia Robson stood inside the temple of Abu Simbel…’ (Death On The Nile)

Today we will travel by luxury air-conditioned vehicle to Abu Simbel Temple, a key location in the plot of Death on the Nile.

The four colossal statues of Ramses in front of the main temple are spectacular examples of ancient Egyptian art. By means of a complex engineering feat in the 1960s, the temples were salvaged from the rising waters of the Nile River caused by erection of the Aswan High Dam.

Carved out of a sandstone cliff on the west bank of the Nile, the temples were unknown to the outside world until their rediscovery in 1813

We will then return to the Old Cataract Hotel where you can enjoy your final night in this iconic location. Did you write a novel?

Morning – free time in Aswan (optional tours available), afternoon join 5* cruise ship

‘Her steps led her, as they did so often, to the Nile.’ (Death Comes As The End)

This morning you have free time in Aswan. Take an optional tour, stroll by the Nile, or simply relax in the beautiful gardens of the Old Cataract Hotel.

In the afternoon you will join your 5* cruise ship. Time of joining cruise may vary due to sailing times.

Cruising on 5* cruise ship

‘I was thinking of Egypt.’

‘Egypt?’ Mrs Allerton sounded doubtful.

‘Real warmth, darling. Lazy golden sands. The Nile. I’d like to go up the Nile, wouldn’t you?’

 (Death on the Nile)

During our three-day cruise, we will visit the Temples of Kom Ombo and Edfu. Alternatively, relax on the ship and watch the world go by…

‘Do you remember water like molten silver gleaming?

And white sails that crept slowly past?

Stealthily, silently, as though they knew

They might disturb our sweet enchanted dreaming…’

(From poem The Nile, by Agatha Christie)

Cruise itinerary may vary due to sailing times.

Arrive Luxor

‘…for, as Mr Ferguson was saying at that minute in Luxor, it is not the past that matters but the future…’ (Death On The Nile)

Today we will arrive in Luxor and disembark from our cruise ship. The modern town of Luxor is the site of the famous city of Thebes, the City of a Hundred Gates. As well as Death On The Nile, most of Death Comes As The End is set around this ancient city. Although the mud-brick houses and palaces of Thebes have disappeared, its stone temples have survived.

One we have disembarked from the ship, you will spend the rest of the day in beautiful Luxor. Optional tours are available.

Tonight, you will stay in the Winter Palace Hotel in Luxor, another favourite of Agatha Christie.

Time for disembarking ship may vary due to sailing times.

Luxor and Karnak Temples

‘…for, as Mr Ferguson was saying at that minute in Luxor, it is not the past that matters but the future…’ (Death On The Nile)

Karnak Temple is featured in the 1978 Peter Ustinov film, as the location where a rock almost kills Linnet. As you will remember, in the book this takes place at Abu Simbel Temple.

Karnak is an extraordinary complex of sanctuaries, kiosks, pylons and obelisks dedicated to the Theban triad but also to the greater glory of pharaohs. The site covers more than 2 sq km; it’s large enough to contain about 10 cathedrals. At its heart is the Temple of Amun, the earthly ‘home’ of the local god. Built, added to, dismantled, restored, enlarged and decorated over nearly 1500 years, Karnak was the most important place of worship in Egypt during the New Kingdom.

Luxor Temple was built by Amenhotep but completed by Tutankhamun and Horemheb and then added to by Rameses II. The temple has been in almost continuous use as a place of worship right up to the present day. During the Christian era, the temple’s hypostyle hall was converted into a Christian church, and the remains of another Coptic church can be seen to the west. 

Tombs of the Nobles

‘It was the Tomb of the great Noble Meriptah and her father was the mortuary priest responsible for its upkeep. All the estate and land was part of the endowment of the Tomb.’ (Death Comes As The End)

The Tombs of the Nobles were the burial places of some of the powerful courtiers and persons of the ancient city of Thebes. It hosts hundreds of tombs all embedded in the rock face, and very often richly decorated with frescoes depicting the working lives of their inhabitants. You will be able to see how Renisenb lived and the tomb she mentions often in Death Comes As The End.

‘But one assumes, and usually rightly, that none of these things will happen, and that one will get to one’s journey’s end.’ (Death On The Nile)

Today marks the end of your journey into the world of Agatha Christie in Egypt. We will fly you back to Cairo, or why not extend your vacation? Many options and extensions are available.