Wadi Hammamat from Marsa Alam
Wadi Hammamat quarries, one of the popular tourist attractions in the Red Sea governorate best known for its gold and precious stones specially bekhen.
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Under Request
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8 Hour
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Tour Guide
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Lunch
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Pickup And Drop
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Instant Booking
TRIP ITINERARY
Your guide will pick you up with 4*4 jeep early morning from your hotel in Marsa Alam to start your tour to Wadi Hammamat quarries, one of the popular tourist attractions in the Red Sea governorates best known not just for its gold and precious stones specially bekhen-stone.
The stone was used for small-scale building projects, sarcophagi, statues, and vessels during the Pharaonic Period but also for its wealth of Pharaonic hieroglyphics over its walls that date back to the predynastic period which records the activities of expeditions sent by many kings.
The first European descriptions of the Wadi Hammamat were from the Scottish traveler James Bruce in 1769. The Russian Egyptologist Vladimir Golenishchev led the first modern study of the inscriptions in 1884-1885 till Arthur Weigall show great interest in the site 1909-1912. It seems also that the quarries in this area appear to have operated for a long time between the predynastic period till The latest hieroglyphic inscriptions date to the reign of Nectanebo II of the Dynasty XXX but there are also many demotic or Greek texts from the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods.
The Wadi Hammamat situated through the mountains of the Egyptian Eastern Desert at the central and narrowest part of the shortest route from the Nile at Gift (Coptos) to the Red Sea at Quseir (ancient Myos Hormos).
Wadi El Hammamat has the remains of watchtowers, forts, wells, and mines from various periods show much evidence of ancient quarrying and mining activity. It was also habited that the leaders of the expedition leave inscriptions or report on the stones show their devotion to the Pharaoh and the skill of men and the technical aspects of extracting the stones. In one inscription dates to the year 38 of Sesostris I (around 1930 BC) we can read:
“I came to the desert to obtain stone for His Majesty the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Kheber-ka-Re’ in the year 38, the fourth month of the flood, on the fourth day. I departed in peace during the fourth month of the flood, on the sixth day, with 80 blocks of stone drawn by 1000 men. I reached the Nile pier in the fourth month of the flood on the 20th day.”
Your tour will include many places in Wadi El Hammamat to enjoy hundreds of their inscriptions and Cartouches also you will visit what’s called Bir or Bir Hammamat which was a Roman fort and major watering station for travelers through the Wadi. The stone walls can still be seen, built to protect the well, 34 m deep, which had a winding staircase to the bottom.
Coffee break then you will complete your tour to Qasr El Banat or the palaces of the girls and the workman’s village with its houses which still in very good condition. Door James, windows and niches can still be seen there.
Free time to enjoy the view and take some unforgettable photos then you will be driven later to your hotel in Marsa Alam.
Important Notice
The Turin Papyrus mining map
Is the oldest topographical and geological map known from Egypt. The map shows part of the route through the Wadi and depicts identifying features, such as hills, together with distances between quarries and mines. The use of different colors and textures for the different features with a descriptive legend was very innovative. It was drawn by a scribe named Amennakhte, son of Ipuy, who was commissioned to make the map during an expedition of Rameses IV, the king who sent one of the largest recorded quarrying expeditions to the Wadi Hammamat.
TRIP INCLUDES
TRIP EXCLUDES
WHAT TO TAKE WITH YOU?
Prices Policy
Cancellation Policy
Cancellation Policy and refunds
Our goal is to provide extensive tours and excursion services and innovative travel products for our guests to ensure they enjoy the best of what Egypt has to offer as a holiday destination but we understand things happen in life and sometimes you have to cancel or change your tour plan. We want to make it as easy as possible to do so we try to make our cancellation policy as good as we can and we divided the cancellation policy into Individual Travelers, groups depending on the high and peak period of the season.
Day Tours and Shore Excursions Cancellation
Cancellation by the clients
Cancellation requests should be sent via fax or emailed to provide the Company with written confirmation that your reservation should be cancelled.
In case you cancel your trip, the following scale of charges will be applied.
- For daily excursions no cancellation fee ( 0 % cancellation fee ) is charged and a full refund is given if the cancellation is received 12 hours before trip starts.
- Less than 12 hours before the trip starts a 50% will be charged as a cancellation fee.
- Additionally, there are cancellation fees on all domestic flights within Egypt. If you cancel a tour at any time, you will be subject to any fees according to airline’s cancellation policy.
Cancellation by Golavita
We reserve the right to cancel a tour at any circumstances but will not cancel a tour less than 45 days before departure, except for Force Majeure, Low Bookings or clients’ failure to pay the final balance, the Company will, upon cancellation, return all monies paid excluding payment for travel insurance or offer an alternative tour of comparable standard. No compensation will be paid to the Client if cancellation is because of Force Majeure or Low Bookings.
Tour Packages and Nile Cruises Cancellation
Cancellation by the clients
Cancellation requests should be sent via fax or emailed to provide the Company with written confirmation that your reservation should be cancelled.
In case you cancel your trip, the following scale of charges will be applied.
Individual Travelers
- Up to 20 days before arrival date 5% cancellation fee
- 19 – 08 days before arrival date 15% cancellation fee
- 07 days before arrival date 100% cancellation fee
Groups (10 persons or more)
- Up to 30 days before arrival date 5% cancellation fee
- 29 – 16 days before arrival date 25% cancellation fee
- 15 – 08 days before arrival date 50% cancellation fee
- 07 days before arrival date 100% cancellation fee
Christmas & New Year from 20/12 till 06/01 & Easter holidays from 19/03 till 31 /03
- 30 days before arrival date 25% cancellation fee
- 29 – 16 days before arrival date 50% cancellation fee
- 15 days before arrival date 100% cancellation fee
Cancellation by Golavita
We reserve the right to cancel a tour at any circumstances but will not cancel a tour less than 45 days before departure, except for Force Majeure, Low Bookings or clients’ failure to pay the final balance, the Company will, upon cancellation, return all monies paid excluding payment for travel insurance or offer an alternative tour of comparable standard. No compensation will be paid to the Client if cancellation is because of Force Majeure or Low Bookings.
Frequently asked questions
What is the reservation system in Golavita?
Once you make your mind about the trip or tour package you want, try to make your reservation as early as possible via one of our contacts to give us the chance to secure your space for your wanted trip upon receiving a deposit of 25 %. You can pay the deposits with any kind of credit cards, dollars, Euros or English pounds.
How can I contact Golavita ?
Golavita tour is available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week to receive and answer your requests or your bookings inquires via phones, Email and lives on line chat. Moreover all our contacts, you can find easily on our home page.
Who do I contact in case of emergency?
Upon your arrival to one of Egypt’s airport and after you will be greeted and welcomed by our staff and on the way to your hotel, our representative will give you papers with all useful information about Egypt and the contact numbers and phone line from which you will keep all the stay and from which you can call us day and night.
What is the official currency in Egypt?Will I be able to exchange dollars, Euros, or other currencies in Egypt?
Egyptian currency is known as Genieh or L.E or Pound .Currency exchange is available at banks, official bureaux de change and most hotels. Banks often have better exchange rates than bureaux de change or hotels. All common international currencies are accepted. There are ATMs in Cairo and other major cities in Egypt that accept any hard currency credit cards
Is it allowed for non-Muslims to enter historical mosques in Egypt?
• Non-Catholics can enter the Vatican and non-Christians are welcomed at churches around the world. While not all the holy mosques of Egypt are off-limits to non-Muslims. All the historical mosques are open for the visit of Muslims/non-Muslims alike like Mohamed Ali Mosque within the Citadel, Amr Ibn El Ass mosque, Ibn Tulun mosque, El Refae mosque, Madrassa of Sultan Hassan and Al Azhar mosque. However, there are protocols which must be followed. Always remember a mosque is a place of prayer and worship for Muslims. It is not a museum.
Can I take pictures while visiting the monuments in Egypt
The answer is between yes and no. in most of the sightseeing it is allowed to take photos and make your trip memorable but there are other places in which you can not take even your camera with you for example Egyptian Museum, Valley of the kings, inside any of the Pyramid, inside the tombs in Sakkara, tombs of noblemen in Luxor, valley of the queens in Luxor.
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