Wild Women Expeditions Introduces Egypt and Her Goddesses on New 12-Day Journey

Stories of women who hold wealth and power are fascinating. For example, one binge-viewing favorite is “The Crown” that depicts the life of Elizabeth II.

Push the time machine back five millennia, circa 3000 BC. Who were Elizabeth’s female counterparts? The answer lies in Egypt.

A new 12-day Goddesses, Queens and Heroines Tour circumscribes recorded history, thanks to the insights of a female Egyptologist guide assigned by Wild Women Expeditions to this Nov. 1-12, 2018, program for women only. The per person rate is $4,795 inclusive of all meals, 11 nights accommodation in 4/5 star hotels and on a luxurious Dahabiya cruise boat, all in-country travel (including return train/flight Cairo-Luxor) airport transfers and all entry fees to museums/temples and activities. See: https://wildwomenexpeditions.com/trips/egypt/.

Five thousand years ago ancient peoples were burbling, some cultures already leaving markers for posterity. Among the most significant displays were those attached to oases along the Nile (think Pyramids) as the Egyptians burst forth. Over several millennia until the Greeks tilted through these desert kingdoms the sands shifted, rulers came and went, belief systems became monotheistic, and peoples were captured and enslaved.

Guide Yassmin Fekry’s challenge is to help her guests understand an ancient world where powerful women were elevated to the status of the goddess, ruling alongside their god pharaohs and sometimes themselves becoming goddess pharaohs.

Yassmin graduated from the faculty of Hotels and Tourism (Guiding Section) in 2003. Since then she has been fulfilling her childhood dream – to be a tour guide in Egypt. As an Egyptologist, she interprets the stories of ancient Egypt, from important sites and museums including the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities with over 10,000 pieces from every period of Egyptian history, including the many treasures from the wondrous tomb of Tutankhamun. Along the way, she sheds light on contemporary life in Egypt by arranging meet-ups at a food and camel market, a family farm and at small family-run businesses. And she welcomes questions about what life is like for a woman today in her world. 

“It is such a unique experience to be in a group of all women, traveling in this ancient land where Isis and Cleopatra reined, where Hatshepsut and Hathor were the Divine feminine powers. This place vibrates with history and with ‘her story.’ You can feel a woman’s power here in a way you’ve never quite experienced before,” says Jennifer Haddow, company visionary and owner.

Guests view, among many others,

• the world’s first large-scale, cut-stone structure, the step-like Pyramid of Djoser;
• the pyramids of Giza;
• the awe-inspiring Sphinx;
• a desert that was once an ocean, Wadi Al-Hitan or Valley of the Whales, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where hundreds of fossilized whale skeletons display the history of whale skeletal development along with mangrove roots and crab tunnels found in the sand. 

At Wadi El Rayan National Park flora and fauna reveal the miracle that water is to the desert. Here is also one of the few remaining populations of the slender-horned gazelle, an endangered species. Then come the spine-tingling splendors of,

• the Temple of Luxor and its towering obelisks,
• the Temples of Karnak, Egypt’s greatest compound of temples;
• the tombs of the pharaohs in the Valley of the Kings and the tombs of the princes and queens in the Valley of the Queens;
• the mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut, a reminder of the power women held in the Ancient Kingdom;
• the massive, unbelievable Colossi of Memnon.

The exploration continues for four days from the vantage of the Nile aboard a dahabiya, a motorized boat with sails traditionally used for river touring since the 19^th century. The destination is Cairo, with stops en route to,

• indulge in Egyptian cooking lessons and learn about the unique food culture;
• visit the sandstone quarries of Silsila and the sandstone temple of Kom Ombo;
• tour local villages and markets, meeting women who live in the countryside along the river;
• steep the senses in Aswan during a visit to a spice market, with time for adorning the hands with intricate Henna designs and meeting female artisans displaying their treasures;
• overnight in an eco-lodge in the Nubian countryside with a visit to one of the grandest temples of ancient Egypt, Abu Simbel, dedicated to Ramesses II.

“Women who travel with us to Egypt say how warmly welcomed and surprising safe they feel here, despite all the media hype” adds Haddow. “This is a new day for tourism in Egypt and we are honored to support more women to discover the wonders of this magnificent place in an empowering adventure.”

For the detailed itinerary, please see https://wildwomenexpeditions.com/trips/egypt/ For details, availability and reservations for this and all Wild Women Expeditions’ programs call 1 (888) 993-1222, email [email protected] or visit online at https://wildwomenexpeditions.com/.

About Wild Women Expeditions

Founded in 1991, Wild Women Expeditions is the world’s largest women-only travel company. Its initial focus was on canoeing on remote Ontario waters. Through an unwavering focus on Canada, one of the wildest, most pristine countries in the world, Wild Women Expeditions became experts in a pioneering niche that introduced small groups of women into wilderness settings. The company now hosts guests all over the world, offering more trips and more women-only, backcountry camping, hiking, paddling and horseback adventures than any other women’s travel company in the world.