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Mid-Winter Solstice Celebration Holiday 2026

A fabulous holiday in Luxor visiting many ancient sites culminating in celebrating the mid-winter solstice at the magnificent temple of Queen Hatshepsut. We will also visit the Osirion in Abydos.

10th- 23rd December 2024:
Click here for details.

Sacred Egypt Solstice Tour 2026

Winter Solstice Trip

A 14 day trip exploring some of the most significant sacred sites of Ancient Egypt in the Upper and Lower Nile Valley

led by David Furlong and run in conjunction with Eagle Travel

Thursday 10 December - Wednesday 23 December 2026

Day 1 - 10 December	Depart home and fly to Cairo Sphinx airport From the airport we will be transferred to our hotel close to the Giza site. Before dinner there will be an Introduction to the trip and the sights we will be seeing in Lower Egypt.
Day 2 - 11 December	After breakfast we will visit the new Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), close to the Giza pyramids..We will spend the whole day there as there is so much to see includimg the Tutankhamum exhibition.
Day 3 - 12 December	Morning visit to Saqqara, about 15 km to the south to see the Step Pyramid of King Zoser, While there we will visit the beautiful mastaba tomb of Ti and Kagemni, the Pyramid of Unas. and the museum of Imhotep.
Day 4 - 13 December	Visit the Northern Stone Pyramid and Bent Pyramis at Dashur. Then visit to 5th dynasty site at Abusir, to see the Pyramid of Sahure and the Mastaba of Ty
Day 5 - 14 December	Visit the Giza plateau to visit the Great Pyramid of king Khufu. We will also see the pyramid of king Menkaure, the Sphinx and the Valley Temple of king Khafre. Son-et-Lumiere in the evening.
Day 6 - 15 December	Day of rest or optional excursions to Cairo and so on. .
Day 7 - 16 December	Flight to Aswan from Cairo airport. For those who wish there is the option of am oward flight to Abu Simbel. to see the magnificent temple of Rmses II and his Queen Nefertari. Embark on Nile cruise liner. .Afternoon Felucca sail to Elephantine Island where we will visit the temple Khnum one of the early dynastic creator gods, and part of the divine triad of Khnum, Satis and their daughter Anuket.
Day 8 - 17 December	Early morning visit to the temple of Isis on the island of Philae. This temple was saved from destruction when the Aswan dam was built. This is a beautiful Ptolemaic temple, which holds some of the last inscriptions of the ancient hieroglyphic language. En route back we will visit the ancient quarries of Aswan and the High Dam. Sail to Kom Ombo, to visit the Ptolemaic temple dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek and to Horus.. . .
Day 9- 18 December	Sail to Edfu to visit to the magnificent temple of Horus, the best preserved in all of Egypt. In the myths Horus was married to Hathor and every year the priests travelled with their cult statues of the god and goddess between the two temples of Edfu and Denderah, celebrating a "divine" marriage. We too can feel into the unification of the two parts of our being, the yin and the yang, the masculine and the feminine.
Day 10 - 19 December	Optional early morning balloon flight. Transfer to hotel. Visit the West Bank of the Nile including the Colossi of Memnon, which marks the start of the temple of Amenhotep III. We will then visit the Valley of the Kings, with its many tombs nestled under the 'Holy Mountain' of Thebes. Finally, after lunch we will visit the great temple of Ramses III at Medinet Habu. This temple has many beautiful carved scenes and the ceiling star mapEvening visit to beautiful Luxor Temple, built by a succession of great kings from the 18th and 19th dynasties
Day 11 - 20 December	Early morning start of overland visit to the magnificent cult temple of Seti I at Abydos, dedicated to the god Osiris. Here in this beautiful temple there are many enigmatic scenes including the famous "helicopter" hieroglyph. We will also see the strange structure at the rear of the temple known as the Osirion, which has drawn on one of its columns the "Flower of Life Symbol". From Abydos we will travel to visit the temple of Hathor at Denderah built in Ptolemaic times. This temple has many astronomical depictions including the famous zodiac. This was one of the great healing temples of Egypt and is aligned to the stars of Ursa Major.
Day 12 - 21 December	Early morning solstice sunrise visit to magnificent Karnak temple dedicated to the god Amun and his consort Mut. This temple is aligned to the mid-winter sunrise and we will have the first opportunity of having a sense of this phenomenon in the 'holy of holies' in the temple. We will also visit a subsidiary temple dedicated to Ptah, Sekhmet and Nefertum that houses the powerful statue of the goddess Sekhmet and the very interesting open air museum. We will finish the day by visiting the temple of the goddess Mut. Amun's consort.
Day 13 - 22 December	Early morning sunrise visit to Deir el Bahari (Hatshepsut temple), which is one of the most magnificent temples in the whole of Egypt. We aim to arrive early to experience the alignment of the winter solstice sun, through a 'light box' into the inner sanctuary of Amun at the centre of the temple. Although the day after the solstice the experience can still be enjoyed.. After visiting this temple we will visit the Valley of the Queens to see the beautiful tomb of Queen Nefertari, (if open), plus one other tomb.
Day 14 - 23 December	Return flight Luxor UK

Photos of Egypt


Luxor Temple in the evening	Abydos Temple

Hatshepsut's temple in the morning light	Medinet Habu temple from the air

Solstice sunrise at the Karnak temple	Sphinx avenue at Karnak

Sunset over the Nile	Hieroglyps from the barque shrine of Sesostris I

For further information please write to:
David Furlong or Frida Maria Myrtles, Como Road, Malvern Worcs WR14 2TH
Tel: +44 (0)1684-569105 or +44 (0)777-978-9047
Email: David Furlong

A felucca on the Nile
Felucca on the Nile

Temple of Hathor at Denderah
Denderah Temple - dedicated to the goddess Hathor

Temple of Queen Hatshepsute
Hatshepsut's temple at Deir El Bahri

Statue of Horus
The statue of Hours from the Edfu temple

Temple of RamsesIII
Carving of Goddess Hathor from the temple of Ramses III at Medinet Habu.

King Akhenaten from the Luxor museum

Hatshepsut's obelisk from the Karnak temple

King Tutmosis III from the Luxor Museum

The goddess Sekhmet from the temple of Ptah in the Karnak temple complex


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