Day one makes the drive from Port Said to the Giza Plateau, where the Great Pyramid of Khufu, the Sphinx, and the Valley Temple of Khafre stand at the desert's edge, 4,500 years old. In the afternoon you browse the Khan el-Khalili bazaar, Cairo's great medieval market of spice, brass, and lantern shops, before checking into your hotel. Optional add-ons: enter the Great Pyramid ($11 USD per person), a camel ride (about $15 USD), or the evening Sound and Light Show at the pyramids.

Beside the Great Pyramid you meet the Great Sphinx, the lion-bodied guardian carved from a single limestone ridge.

In the late afternoon you wander Khan el-Khalili, Cairo's great medieval bazaar of copper, spice, and lantern-lit alleys.

Day 2 opens at the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square, with its mummies and pharaonic treasure spanning 3,000 years.

Next you climb to the Citadel of Saladin, the medieval fortress crowned by the alabaster Mosque of Muhammad Ali, with sweeping views over Cairo.

You finish in Old Cairo at the Hanging Church, the Coptic basilica suspended over a Roman gate, before the drive back to Port Said.