Arrival in Cairo

• Visit the Giza Pyramids and the Egyptian Museum – an introduction to Egypt’s ancient history and culture.

• Overnight in Cairo.

Wadi El Natroun

• Travel north to the desert monasteries: choose 2 among Deir El-Suryani, Baramos, Amba Bichoï, Abu Makar.

• Experience Anafora Retreat Center – with the possibility of an overnight stay for a unique spiritual encounter.

Red Sea Monasteries

• Visit the Monastery of St. Anthony (4th c.), birthplace of Christian monasticism. Optional climb to St. Anthony’s Cave.

• Visit the Monastery of St. Paul the Anchorite (about 80 km away).

• Overnight at the Red Sea.

• Christian Cairo

• Explore Old Cairo (Coptic district):

• Church of Saints Sergius (built over the grotto of the Holy Family)

• Hanging Church (Al-Muʿallaqa)

• Greek Orthodox Church of St. George (unique round church)

• Ben Ezra Synagogue (882 AD)

• Coptic Museum (icons, manuscripts, architecture).

• Church of the Virgin Mary at Maadi, where tradition says the Holy Family traveled up the Nile.

• Interfaith stop: visit either Mosque of Amr Ibn Al-As (oldest mosque in Egypt) or Mosque of Muhammad Ali.

• Overnight in Cairo.

Desert & Nature

• Visit Fayoum and Wadi Al-Hitan (Valley of the Whales, UNESCO), with fossils and the Fossil & Climate Change Museum.

• Night in Al-Fayoum or Wadi El-Rayan area.

Red Sea → Cairo Departure

• Morning rest by the sea.

• Transfer to Cairo Airport for departure.

Additional Cairo Sites

• Mary’s Tree in Matareyya (Holy Family refuge).

• Obelisk of Sesostris I in Heliopolis.

• Our Lady of Zeitoun church – site of Marian apparitions (1968–1971).

• St. Mark’s Cathedral, headquarters of the Coptic Church.

• Overnight in Cairo.

Middle Egypt: Faith & Rural Life

• Al-Our Village: Church of the 21 Coptic Martyrs (Libya, 2015).

• Marian shrine at Jabal at-Tayr (Mountain of Birds) with its cliffside cave church overlooking the Nile.

• Encounter authentic rural life in the Nile Valley.

• Overnight in El-Minya.