Land of the Sun Worshippers

The Sun-God, Ra, was one of the ancient Egyptians’ most important Gods and is represented throughout the land, so much so that even modern-day advertising by the tourist authorities for the Red Sea focuses on the Sun.

Modern Cairo lies on the site of what, some 2500 years before the birth of Christ, was the city of On. The Greeks called it Heliopolis, city of sun worshippers, and naturally conquered the place, as did the Persians and the Romans after them. Today’s visitors are automatically drawn to the Museum, the most famous part of which are the galleries devoted to Tutankhamun and to the Pyramids and Sphinx. Nearby Memphis and Saqqara also rate high, both having previously held the titles of capital of ancient Egypt with the step pyramid of Saqqara thought to be the first large stone construction made by man.

From the city of the sun worshippers our journey leads to the Suez Canal, built between 1859 and 1869, and one of the greatest engineering and construction projects of the 19th century. The crystal clear waters of the Red Sea are a fascinating natural seascape environment with a fine climate, ideal for contemporary sun worshippers!

The arrangement includes the less-visited monasteries of St. Anthony and St. Paul. Occupied today by Coptic Orthodox monks they were built by disciples of the founder of the Desert Fathers, St. Anthony Abbot (251-356AD) and St. Paul the Hermit on sites close to where the saints chose to live. The monasteries are considered the oldest in Egypt and despite a combination of conquest and successive restoration work they retain much of their original appearance due in part to their isolated position in the solitude of the Eastern Desert.

VJV Special Event - Cairo by Felucca
We have arranged a private evening sailing by felucca, a traditional sailing boat, on the Nile through Cairo with food, wine and a traditional ‘Oud’ musician.