Celebrity Tour
The Art of Universality
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About Us
Spheres Tours is a division of Spheres International, Abuja, Nigeria, specializing in cultural heritage tours to ancient African civilizations, especially the Kush and Ethiopian Kingdoms in the lands straddling the Nile. Our tours are unique for their intellectual content, wherein tour guides knowledgeable of the ancient Kushite and Ethiopian kingdoms are able to engage you in discussion and facts about them. We also ensure that you have access to the rich collection of literature on Kush and Ethiopia. I have personally written a short essay, published with fascinating pictures, entitled Africa, Child of Kush, that substantiates the oral histories of many West African communities tracing their origins to the Nile Valley. I cant imagine that there is any more rewarding journey into African history than tour of the Ethiopian and Kush Kingdoms. Ethiopia is the land of Sheba and the African birthplace of Christianity, Islam and Judaism. The latest research and archaeological discoveries affirm the 1955 University of Paris doctoral thesis of the legendary Senegalese African scholar Sheik Anta Diop in which he maintained that ancient Egypt was essentially an indigenous African civilization and indeed the movements of peoples, their artifacts and contributions to civilization development in the Nile Valley were so fluid that there is a vigorous ongoing discussion as to whether Kush is the source of Egyptian civilization or vice versa. Significantly, although the three pyramids at Giza plateau outside Cairo are much larger than any of the 224 pyramids found in Kush, the great number found in Kush indicates pyramid building was much more pervasively a part of the domestic culture than was the case in Egypt. There is so much to see in Ethiopia and Kush and so much to talk about that discussions on this wonderful heritage never ends, it just assumes a permanent place in our lives. It is an experience that Black Pharaohs Tours is dedicated to spreading, in recognition of its universal importance to our human civilization heritage. Given this unique array of proud African heritage sites Journey to Sheba & Kush is designed to offer celebrities the most rewarding and memorable vacation of a lifetime. In tour quality, Spheres specializes in excellence and elegance. Our tours are celebrity, VIP and five star classics. Spheres Tours are not merely sightseeing adventures but comfort you with excellent accommodation and food as well as unforgettably great entertainment. Looking forward to meeting you in Addis Ababa as you begin your tour of the legendary Ethiopian and Kush kings. Yours truly, Muhammed Kamil, CEO
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The Queen of Sheba, known to the Ethiopians as Queen Maqueda, to the Muslim world as Queen Bilquis, acquired enduring fame and legend status attributable to her relationship with 10th century B.C. King Solomon of Judah. The empire she is said to have inherited from her father covered Ethiopia, Arabia and Syria, as well as contemporary Jordan and Lebanon. It was Judahs King Solomon who dubbed her Queen of Sheba as her capital in Yemen was called, but Hebrew historys identification of Sheba as an Ethiopian suggests that the city in Yemen was named after an Ethiopian patriarch. Although she is reported to have built a new capital in Southern Ethiopia, apparently Axum was the original seat of her dynastic throne. Like the Nubian kings who constituted Egypts 25th dynasty the Ethiopian Sheba Dynasty has been regarded in Hebrew history as descendants of Kush. In Genesis 10:7 there is a reference to Sheba, the son of Raamah, the son of Cush, the son of Ham, son of Noah. Contradict-
Ethiopias last monarch, Emperor Haile Selassie attributing his linage to King Solomon derives from Ethiopian traditional insistence that the Queen of Sheba bore a son for the King of Judah, named Menelik. While there is contention among historians as to whether the story of King Menelik, son of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon is true, the poetic Song of Solomon found in the Bibles Old Testament dramazes roman c dialogue, ostensibly between the two monarchs; and the fabled story of Menelik at least to my mind reads more like literary rendition of truth than sheer fabrication. Furthermore, the Qurans discreet account of relations between the female potentate awed into submissive before the polygamous, awesomely virile and wise monotheist king suggests inevitable intimacy. Traditional accounts place the beginning of Menelik Is rule at about 950 B.C. He was said to have grown up with his mother in Ethiopia then upon attaining manhood went to live with his father in Jerusalem. King Solomon was said to have come under pressure to return him to
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Afternoon arrival at Addis Ababa International Airport, from which point video coverage of the entire tour begins. All guests will be given encased DVDs featuring the entire tour. Guests are received at the airport by Black Pharaoh executives and tour guides who will ensure their smooth clearance through immigration and customs Waiting Toyota Land Cruisers carry guests to Addis Ababa Sheraton Hotel where a welcoming reception is held attended by leading Ethiopian celebrities, artists and media personalities. Celebrity guests will be accommodated in suites and enjoy the full array of Sheratons first class services.
Hotel Features: Sheraton Addis features a restaurant and a poolside bar. Room service is available 24 hours a day. Recreational amenities include an outdoor pool and a children's pool. This 5-star property has a business center and offers small meeting rooms, secretarial services, and audio-visual equipment. Wireless and wired high-speed Internet access is available in public areas (surcharges apply). This Addis Ababa property has event space consisting of banquet facilities, conference/meeting rooms, a ballroom, and exhibit space. The property has a roundtrip airport shuttle, which is complimentary. Guest parking is complimentary. Additional property amenities include a concierge desk, barbecue grills, and gift shops/ newsstands.
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After settling in their rooms the guests are left to rest or lounge, during which time local network numbers and two colorful books, one on Ethiopian history, the other on contemporary Ethiopia will be given them. They are also given the numbers of their tour guide, and Black Pharaohs Executive Tour Operator. From this point onwards beauty salon and barbing salon services are at their disposable for private appointment. In the afternoon guests will be taken on a tour of interesting sites and places in Addis Ababa, including the Ethiopia National Museum, the Ethnological Museum and the biggest open air market in Africa, Merkato. Dinner at Sheraton Hotel with live dance music
Spheres Executive Tour Operator Midhat Mahir (above right) is an active international cyclist and more than a decade long experienced tour operator in both Ethiopia and Sudan. A Nubian, he speaks fluent Amharic, as well as Arabic, English and Nubian dialects.
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Day 2
Fly to Axum, check into hotel (3 star is the optimum available but with specially ordered 5 star catering) and start your tour of the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Sheba, the birthplace of Judaism and Christianity in subSahara Africa as well as the African birthplace of Islam. In the evening guests will be entertained by Ethiopian music and dance.
Day 3
Fly to Gondar and meet the bus for the drive to Seimen Mountains National Park, the home to endemic Gelada Baboon, walya ibex and various tropical bird species. You can walk along the beautiful landscape enjoying the scenery. Dinner and overnight at Seimen Mountain Lodge
Day 4
Drive to Gondar town for a full day tour of this town best known for its 17th century palaces and castles, but studded with several other points of interests, most notably the fantastically decorated Church of Debrebirhan Selasse. Overnight at a 3 star hotel with specially ordered 5 star catering
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The Chapel of the Tablet at Axum (above) where the Ark of the Covenant brought to Ethiopia in the 10th century B.C. by Prince Menelik is kept, containing the Tablet of the Law, including the original inscription of the Ten Commandments. (Below) Our Lady Mary of Zion Church and Bell Tower
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Day 5
Morning drive to Gondar airport for flight to Lalibela. After checking into the hotel you will visit the first of 7 groups of Lalibelas rock hewn churches. These groups of churches are mostly on excavated plots below the ground and are surrounded by courtyards and trenches, mimicking normal buildings. Overnight at the reserved 4 star hotel [with specially ordered 5 star catering], the optimum class in Lalibela.
Bete Medhane Alem at Lalibela, believed to be the largest monolithic church in the world
Day 6
Mule ride to one of the monasteries outside Lalibela, called Asheten Mariam. In the afternoon we visit the second group of rock hewn churches. These churches were hewn out of a vertical rock face by exploiting existing caves or cracks in the rock. Five star dinner and overnight at the hotel in Lalibela.
Day 7
Fly to Bahirdar; check into the reserved hotel and take a boat trip on Lake Tana and visit the island monasteries for a few hours. After lunch we drive to Blue Nile Falls and the 17th century Portuguese bridge. Dinner and overnight at the reserved 3 star hotel with specially ordered 5 star catering
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Day 8
Early morning drive to Addis Ababa Sheraton Hotel. On the way you will enjoy the view of agriculture production fields the neat hut villages of Ethiopians. Also along the way we visit the Blue Nile Gorge. After lunch at Sheraton our guest will be received at the new $200 million African Union Headquarters (pictured on this and the next page) and taken on a tour of the stupendous complex donated to Africa by China. A farewell dinner party at Sheraton where the guest celebrities will meet and enjoy themselves with leading Ethiopian artists of various disciplines and be entertained by leading Ethiopian singers and their bands.
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Day 9
Early morning chartered Turkish Airlines flight to Khartoum, to begin the second half of the tour.
African Union pioneer advocate Kwame Nkrumahs statue appears in front of the Chinese built complex
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Westerners with reference to the Bible assumed that all Africans were the descendants of Noahs son Ham, whose eldest son was Kush. However, Egypt in the Old Testament had not been referred to as Kush, but the lands in Africa south of it were. In premodern eras It became common for those subscribing to Biblical history to refer to tropical Africa lands interchangeably as Ethiopia and Kush. The Arabs referred to the lands of the Blacks as Sudan and to this day the part of Africa from where the Egyptian kings of the 25th dynasty hailed is known as Sudan; officially the Republic of Sudan. It appears that the Egyptians referred to the people from which their 25th dynasty kings came as Nubians. Nonetheless, it was not skin color that distinguished Nubia from Sudan but a cataract of the Nile. Hence there are Egyptian Nubians and Sudanese Nubians.
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Afternoon arrival at Khartoum International Airport, from which point video coverage of the entire tour begins. All guests will be given encased DVDs featuring the entire tour. Guests are received at the airport by Black Pharaoh executives and tour guides who will ensure their smooth clearance through immigration and customs Waiting Toyota Land Cruisers carry guests to Khartoums opulent Corinthia Hotel where a welcoming reception is held attended by leading Sudanese celebrities, artists and media personalities. Celebrities will be accommodated in Ministerial Suites, enjoy exclusive use of the Club Lounge, which has high speed wireless internet service, full time beverage service, breakfast and canaps & appetizers. Suite facilities and services include: a) Wireless Internet access which is also accessible in the public areas b) In-Room Safe c) Mini Bar d) IDD Telephone (Direct Dial telephones, voice mail, data port and email) e) A/C with separate climate control f) 24 hours satellite/interactive TV sets g) 24 hours Room Service h) 24 hours laundry and dry cleaning services i) Facilities for physically challenged persons
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The view from Rickshaw Restaurant takes in the bridge just below the hotel leading to Tutu Island, a popular picnic location
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From Merowe archaeological sites to be visited are in a radius that allows sleeping each night in the new villas at the tourist village. The 144,636 square meter tourist village has 10 villas, tennis courts, a gymnasium, sauna, swimming pool, restaurant with 3 dining halls and a 200 seat conference room. It also has a shopping center with supermarket and gift shops. Child City at the Tourist Village has plastic as well as mechanical toys. The museum at the village contains relics from Merowe civilization.
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Journey to Sheba & Cush is a celebrity tour for families, tailored to the accommodation requirements of families. Family villa accommodation affords guests freedom, comfort and relaxation as if they were at home. Daytime lounging and nighttime dinner parting in Merowe Tourist Villages luscious garden
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For 5 wonderful days this is your home on the bank of the Nile in the legendary Land of Kush
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Villa Bedroom
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Your restaurant at Merowe Tourist Village has 3 dining halls serving a variety of dishes from all over the world, including the favorite Sudanese dishes which bear Turkish and Lebanese influence. Below it can be seen that walkways in Merowe Tourist Village are shaded
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Now it is time for lunch on Africa Road in Khartoums Amarat suburb where there are numerous fine restaurants, one of which will be reserved for the celebrity guests. The remainder of the afternoon is free time during which one may rest at Corinthia Hotel or agree on some other activity with the tour guides. Options include art galleries, camel racing, golf, tennis, sailing on the Nile or joining the afternoon joggers on the Nile Corniche near Phoenicia Restaurant. Another option is spending an afternoon being introduced to new Sudanese friends from the artistic community. If the time is right this could involve attending a Sudanese wedding party.
King Natakamani
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Day 11
Now in the Kush Kingdoms region at Merowe where a dynastic state peaked in significance during the period 300 BC to 550 A.D, travelling in luxury SUVs guests will visit the Naga Kiosk which mysteriously reflects 3rd century A.D. Roman architecture style though carbon dating attributes it to the first millennium B.C. At Musawwarat, also in the Merowe Kingdom district, guests will visit remains of temples. From the City of the Kings guests will travel north, stopping over in Shendi, a contemporary commercial center in the region where they will visit a traditional weaving workshop, before continuing to the Royal City, the pyramids and the ancient quarry. Guests return to Merowe Tourists Village where there will be a garden party with live music and buffet dinner.
The giraffes (above) in the crafts shop at Corinthia Hotel were hand made by a Sudanese artist, as were the items below
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In March 2003 Professor Dietrich Wildung, Director General of the Egyptian Museum, Berlin, gave a slide lecture on Other Civilizations Found in the Art of Nagga, accompanied by slides. Two incredible things were revealed thereby. One that carbon dating indicated the apparently Roman style architecture at Nagga preceded similar Roman structures by several centuries.
Secondly, the wooden sculpture of ancient Nagga was identical in motif, standard of workmanship and costumes as Nok Civilization sculpture in Nigerias ancient Benin Empire. The significant difference was that Nagga sculptured in wood whereas Nok sculptured in Bronze. For the people of the southwestern and south mid-western parts of Nigeria this only confirms what they have always insisted: their ancestors migrated to West Africa from the Nile Valley.
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Meroe pyramids
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Old Dongola
Excavation at Mussawarat
Day 13
At the heart of the Kushite Kingdoms is Jebel Barkal (pictured right), home of the Kushite kings that constituted ancient Egypts 25th Dynasty. Here guests will visit the temples and the burial chambers in Kuru. Back in Merowe Tourists Village guests will be entertained with musical drama skits fictionally depicting King Taharqa and his royal family.
Jebel Barkel
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Meroe pyramids
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Merowes new $25 million specialist hospital, including oncology center offering brachytherapy, staffed by an international medical care team
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Day 16
Morning shopping at Souk Dahab (the Gold Market) and Al Wahaa Mall in central Khartoum. Guests will be each given a DVD containing the entire tour up to the farewell party Departure to Khartoum International Airport from where the celebrity guests will board their Turkish Airlines flight back to the U.S.A. via London
Al Wahaa Towers, Central Khartoum
Khartoum is a sprawling city of nearly 7 million people and has many fine restaurants, a golf course and excellent pharmacies
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On your last night in Sudan you will be entertained at a dinner party in Corinthia Hotel to which distinguished Sudan artists of various arts will be invited and the countrys best contemporary music dance bands will perform
Dance band king Asim Al Banna will certainly be among the Sudanese musicians entertaining our celebrity guests
Bakri Bilal
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akri Bilal, Omdurman, 1943 born, internationally exhibited artist, scion of a family of artists, has been painting professionally since 1970, after graduating from the College of Applied & Fine Arts at what is now Sudan University of Science & Technology. Although he has gone through different periods of subject matter preoccupation his signature abstractions of people and scenes lodged in his memory and portrayed with unwrinkled, un-dimpled faces inspired by the resoluteness of West African mask and the royal dignity of ancient Kush and Merowe have mostly characterized his creations through the years.
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The Nile