Egypt Workshop

Egypt Highlights

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• Pyramids, Sphinx & Old Cairo: The Giza Plateau at golden hour, plus the architecture and street life of Coptic Cairo, the Citadel, and Khan Al-Khalili.

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• Private Dahabiya Charter: Sail the Nile aboard a small, traditional sailing vessel reserved exclusively for our group. A quieter, more intimate alternative to the large Nile cruise ships, with sundeck access for shooting at any hour.

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• Small Group, By Design: Limited to 6–8 photographers, ensuring individual attention from Andy Yee and unobstructed compositions at every stop.

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• Sunrise Hot Air Balloon: Drift over the Valley of the Kings and the Theban hills as first light breaks — one of the most requested images of the whole trip.

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• Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM): Work the dramatic architecture and King Tutankhamun's complete collection in one of the world's newest, most photogenic museum spaces.

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• Abu Simbel: The colossal facades of Ramesses II and Nefertari's temples, timed for the low desert light that carved their reliefs to life.

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• Temple of Horus, Edfu & Temple of Kom Ombo: Two of Egypt's best-preserved temples, reached by sail rather than by road.

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• Nile Village Life: Quiet stops at riverside communities, including the island village of Bassaw that is inaccessible to larger cruise vessels.​

 

Our last day of the workshop we will return to Cairo where you can choose to stay and explore Egypt further, head home or join us for the Jordan workshop beginning 25th April 2027!

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Itinerary

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Day 1: Arrival in Cairo Upon arrival at Cairo International Airport, you will be met and transferred to your hotel for check-in. The rest of the day is free to settle in ahead of an early start tomorrow, first light over Giza waits for no one.

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Day 2: An early departure puts us on the Giza Plateau while the light is still low and warm, working the Great Pyramid, the Sphinx, and the Valley Temple of Chephren before the haze and crowds build. In the afternoon we shift indoors to the Grand Egyptian Museum, where soaring atriums and precisely lit galleries offer an entirely different kind of composition. From here, a private transfer to the airport for the short flight to Luxor.

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Day 3: Before dawn, cross to the West Bank for a hot air balloon launch over Luxor's Theban necropolis, the biggest open-air museum in the world unfolding beneath you as the sun clears the horizon. Back on the ground, we transfer to the East Bank to board our private Dahabiya, where the rest of the day is free to settle into cabins and get the first feel of sailing under canvas.

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Day 4: Breakfast on deck as we sail toward Edfu, where the Temple of Horus stands as one of the best-preserved Greco-Roman structures in Egypt. Back aboard, the afternoon sail passes small islands and riverside villages. We moor for the evening at the island village of Bassaw, a farming and fishing community of around 500 people, for a welcome into a local home, a chance to help bake traditional sun bread, and an evening folkloric performance under open sky, good conditions for both portraiture and low-light work.

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Day 5: Morning sailing brings us to Gebel El Silsila, the sandstone quarry site that supplied stone for many of Egypt's great temples, a landscape of cut rock faces and shrines worth working for texture and scale. Continuing south past the islands of Bashier and Maliha, we reach Kom Ombo in the golden hour before sunset, a rare double temple, perfectly symmetrical and dedicated jointly to Sobek and Horus, photographing beautifully as the light drops low across the river.

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Day 6: Sail into Aswan through the morning light, then visit the Temple of Philae on Agilkia Island, relocated stone by stone to save it from the waters of the High Dam, its island setting makes for strong reflection and long lens compositions from the water. Later, explore the color and movement of the Aswan Souq, with optional add-ons including a Nubian village visit, camel ride, or a felucca sail around Aswan's islands at golden hour, ideal for silhouettes against the setting sun.

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Day 7: An early departure by private coach for the drive to Abu Simbel, timed to reach the twin temples of Ramesses II and Nefertari while the desert light is still soft on their monumental facades. Return to Aswan for a flight back to Cairo in the evening.

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Day 8: A morning in Coptic Cairo, including the Hanging Church, the Church of Saint Barbara, and Saints Sergius and Bacchus, followed by the Citadel and the Alabaster Mosque for panoramic rooftop views across the city. We close the tour at Khan Al-Khalili, Cairo's centuries-old bazaar, arriving before the midday crowds for the best light and the most workable street scenes among the spice stalls and lantern-lit alleys.

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Day 9: You will be transferred to Cairo International Airport for your departure. If you're continuing on with us, this is also the start date for the Jordan Petra Photography Workshop, offering a seamless way to extend your trip and add Petra, Wadi Rum, and the Dead Sea to your journey through Egypt.​​

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