And a brief
explanation is now in order: At the beginning of this year our parent
company, Phil Carta’s New Adventures (our official name) sold all of our
other travel destinations and operations…Seychelles, Mauritius, Reunion and East
Africa…to a dynamic management team who are now operating “New Adventures”
with the same website addresses and offering the same selection of luxury
Indian Ocean island resorts and private safaris in Kenya and Tanzania.
We, Phil &
Joyce Carta, kept and now exclusively operate Egypt Magic – offering the
same private and escorted high quality touring experience in Egypt and
Jordan as we have since 1996. We now have the time and resources to
concentrate on this fascinating part of the world…truly, as we state on our
new website masthead…The Most Intriguing Place on Earth.
And the first
thing we did…what we’ve wanted to do for a few years now…has been to
redesign the Egypt Magic website. Styles change, tastes change and we needed
to update both our look and our content. Essentially, we’ve only added to
content as we get so many emails complimenting us on the extent and the
value of the information on the Egypt Magic site. So we’ve updated the
information, added new stories, streamlined the site for even faster
navigation and as of today, it is newly published! And the champagne corks
are popping here!!
EgyptMagic.com
is as comprehensive a site as you will find on travel to this extraordinary
country. Phil & Joyce were both in Egypt and Jordan this past February and
March and found that the pace of improvements in both overall standards and
in safety and security continues to advance. Even if you had toured Egypt a
few years ago, you would notice the overall enhancements (Cairo gets cleaner
and cleaner…amazing!!) today. We toured the Bahariya Oasis during this last
trip and can see why this will be a significantly growing tourist
destination…a fascinating counterpoint to the very well developed tourist
spots along the Nile. We will also be adding a Lake Nasser cruise
extension…from Aswan to Abu Simbel, touring the sites, many of them Ramses
II constructions, that can only be seen by cruise boat, and a specialized
“Biblical – Coptic” tour tracing the development of early Christianity in
Egypt.
And so as not to
perplex former clients…the “Pharaohs Adventure" tour is now the “Ramses
Adventure" tour…as we have added “Be a Pharaoh” upgrades to hotel
accommodations. All of our pricing is now geared to the 5 star hotel level,
because that does tend to be our guests’ preference. However, we can still
quote at 4 and 3 stars upon request.
We’ve also
included a page with pictures of some of our truly terrific Egyptologist
guides…and those of you who’ve traveled with us before will recognize some
old friends. Also, as we get requests for references all the time and we do
not give out names/numbers of past guests…there is a page which might have
comments excerpted from an email you may have sent (initials or first names
only used to protect your privacy). And a comprehensive FAQ page and a new
page on the Safety of Travel to Egypt…lots of new stuff!
During our Winter
trip, Phil & Joyce also did a comprehensive revisit of Jordan, inspecting
the traditional sites and visiting some of the newly opened sites, like Um
Ar Risas, a World Heritage Site Church with incredible mosaics and also the
researched and pinpointed Baptismal Site of Christ, with the remains of the
earliest Christian Churches, along the banks of the River Jordan. We’ve also
revisited Amman’s Archaeological Museum…and even though it’s tiny and a bit
under-funded, it is a treasure trove. Jordan’s Dead Sea Scrolls are housed
here, as well as Nabatean artifacts, pre-Neolithic pottery including the
weirdly appealing double-headed “ancestor statues” discovered during a
highway construction near Amman. And, we experienced the delicious fun of
cooking Jordanian style at the “Petra Kitchen”…and there’s a new story (with
pictures) to commemorate Joyce’s culinary efforts.
So…new articles
to read…new website to explore. Comments/suggestions are very welcome!
We’ll look forward to hearing from you…and to helping you plan your first
(or your 15th) tour to Egypt!
Joyce & Phil
To add, change, or delete your
email address, please send your request to
VisitEgypt@EgyptMagic.com