14-Nights Ancient Treasures of Egypt and Jordan - Tailormade Journeys — CALL

1 Arrive In Amman, Jordan

All desert roads lead to elegant, youthful Amman, a modern capital with ancient bones gleaming like an opal in the sand. World-class museums showcase treasures from this corner of the Middle East, while the Citadel is the capital’s crowning glory, holding seventh-century Umayyad ruins high above the city’s minarets and markets.

Step beneath Hadrian’s Gate and into Jerash, an ancient city that flourished under the Romans. Pass between the columns of the vast, oval-shaped Forum high above the city or take a pew in the South Theatre as your private guide recounts the rise and fall of this spectacular site. The Archaeological Museum, the Roman Theatre and the Folklore Museum help round out your experience of this dynamic bastion of Jordanian history.

Follow the ancient Kings' Highway, stopping at Mount Nebo, the mountain where Moses was allowed to see the Holy Land as well as Madaba, 4,000-year-old “City of Mosaics,” and the Crusader's castle in Kerak, with its 360-degree views.

Though its name evokes one single, iconic sight, Petra is more than just Al Khazneh (the Treasury): it is an entire city of 800 monuments, temples and tombs carved into coral-pink sandstone canyons in the third century BC. Nothing prepares visitors for the sight of the Treasury emerging at the end of a narrow gorge like an ornately chiseled dream.

Mysterious petroglyphs, fire-red desert sands and vast rocky canyons: Wadi Rum is the poster child of desert escapes. Explore the dramatic, almost-Martian landscape by day, and brave the chill of dusk to see it transformed by night, when Bedouin campfires wink in the dunes and stars become ancient tools of navigation. Cross the sands of Wadi Rum on two different desert adventures: in a private 4X4 vehicle, venturing deep into silent gorges and over rippling dunes, and by camel, treading in the footsteps of Bedouin tribes who have travelled this way for centuries.

A ride by camel and a visit to the Valley of the Moon as the sun rises over the dunes help you experience Wadi Rum as a Bedouin might.Head north to the lowest land-based point on earth, the Dead Sea. Actually a natural lake rich in minerals, it offers visitors a buoyant, relaxing, and many say healing, float.

Cairo is a city full of ancient monuments, glittering mosques, imposing citadels, bustling bazaars and Coptic churches, which you begin to discover as you settle in on the banks of the Nile.

Parisian-style boulevards and souks fragrant with cinnamon and sumac; mosques, museums, skyscrapers and the Citadel: Cairo amazes. It is the gateway to any venture into Egypt’s ancient past: Giza’s Pyramids beckon, but so too does Memphis, the legendary city founded in 3100 BC; the ancient necropolis of Sakkara, whose six-stepped pyramids represented the pharaoh's passage to heaven; or Dahshour, where the “Bent Pyramid” cuts a curved dash against desert skies.

Unravel the story of the capital with your own personal Egyptologist, who will bring the ancient walls, turrets and museums of the 12th-century Citadel to life. Wander through 7,000 years of history at the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities or Grand Egyptian Museum, with special access to the treasures of Tutankhamun.

Aswan’s Philae temples have stood since the seventh century BC, totems of a region inscribed with millennia of history. Here, too, lies the remarkable site of Kom Ombo, whose temple is dedicated to the crocodilian god Sobek; indeed, you may spot his reptilian successors basking in the desert sun as you cruise aboard your luxury riverboat. Before leaving the area, sail by traditional felucca past Elephantine Island, the lush Aswan Botanical Gardens and the Agha Khan Mausoleum, standing grandly on a hill above the river.

A motorboat ride to the romantic and majestic Philae Temple on the Island of Agilika starts your day. The Granite Quarries, which supplied the ancient Egyptians with most of the stone used in pyramids and temples; the massive unfinished obelisk; and magnificent Temple of Kom Ombo complete the stunning picture of Edfu’s treasures.

The thread of ancient Egypt unspools in Luxor, a lush oasis in the Saharan sands. In every direction, the same “wonderful things” archaeologist Howard Carter described upon his excavations in 1922: the spectacularly preserved Edfu Temple, dedicated to Horus; the Temple of Luxor’s imposing obelisk; and the iconic Valley of the Kings and the Queens, hidden away in the silent, rocky folds of the landscape.After a day’s sightseeing, celebrate with a gala dinner on board, complete with a traditional dervish show and belly-dancing.

Discover the world of ancient rulers as you explore the Valley of the Kings and visit at least one tomb in the Valley of the Queens. From the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the famed Colossi of Memnon to the graceful Temple of Luxor and Temple of Karnak, the wonders of the pharaohs are close at hand. It all builds your appetite for tonight’s white-glove dinner, followed by a Dervish show and belly dancer performance.

Bid farewell to your river ship and fly to Cairo, where you check into your hotel. The rest of the day is yours to spend as you like.