OTHER FORTHCOMING TOURS FOR 2013

SPRING GATHERING - NORFOLK, MAY 2013

ISLE OF MULL, MAY 2013

GERMANY including The Rhine, MAY 2013

ATLANTIC PROVINCES OF EASTERN CANADA, JUNE 2013

USA, JUNE/JULY 2013

CANADA INCLUDING STAMPEDE, JUNE/JULY 2013

AUSTRALIA - LIONS TOUR, JULY 2013

EASTERN EUROPE, SEPTEMBER 2013

SHETLAND, OCTOBER 2013

FIELD FARM TOURS LTD

FIELD HOUSE, 3 STEPHENSON COURT, STEPHENSON WAY, NEWARK, NOTTS, NG24 2TQ

Tel no: 01636 616060 Fax no: 01636 640282

The air holiday package in this brochure is ATOL protected by the Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL number is ATOL 10350. Please see

our booking conditions for more information.

Introduction from David Richardson

I was last in Egypt in the mid 1980’s. I was making a TV programme about how the country’s population was rising by about 3% per year but running short of home produced food. In fact they were relying more heavily each year on food aid in the shape of maize and wheat from the USA and France and dried milk for reconstitution into liquid from Denmark. I remember standing on the docks at Alexandria with about six inches depth of spilled grain beneath my feet. The dock workers were just walking over it making no attempt to clear it up. So much for the value placed on free gifts, I thought.

I couldn’t help remembering that Egypt - or more specifically the Nile Delta, was the first place in the world, five or six thousand years ago, to abandon a nomadic lifestyle to settle in one area, develop techniques to irrigate crops and pro-duce tradable surpluses of grain to be sold around the Mediterranean. This was made possible by the highly fertile soils in the Delta, the productivity of which was refreshed every year when it was flooded to a depth of up to five or six feet by the great river - the second longest in the world, as it deposited alluvium carried in the water, which collects as it flows through nine countries stretching more than 4000 miles upstream, all the way from Lake Victoria and the Ethiopian High-lands into the Med. How times change!

President Nasser presumably thought he was doing Egyptians a favour in the 1960’s by constructing the Aswan Dam across the Nile to control the flooding. But in doing so he also stopped the annual boost to fertility across the Delta and created another problem because the alluvium carried in the river, piles up behind the dam and has to be removed on a regular basis.

It’s easy to criticise, of course, but we must also remember that although Egypt is about four times the size of the UK, 99% of its population lives on 5% of the land area on either side of the Nile and the population continues to rise. When I was there back in the 1980’s there were about 55 million Egyptians, today there are more than 80 million and they all have to be fed. When you are surrounded by Sahara sand and there is little or no rain from one year to the next that isn’t easy.

Nevertheless, there is substantial production of staples that rely heavily, as always, on irrigation. The ancient techniques of the pharaohs have, in the main, given way to centre pivots and the like and a wide range of crops are grown; grains, vegetables, fruits, all of which we will see on our tour. We shall also visit a project that takes Nile river water a hundred miles out into the desert, green house production of salad crops, cotton for which Egypt is famous and we might even get a glimpse of papyrus - the stuff the ancient Egyptians used to make the first paper.

You can’t go to Egypt without looking at other aspects of the ancient civilisation created so long ago in this mainly desert kingdom – the pyramids, the tombs, the locations for one of the James Bond movies! We shall combine this part of the tour with a short cruise down the Nile interspersed with visits to farms alongside the river. Read the itinerary and I think you’ll agree it promises to be educational and it will surely be fun and a good way to end the UK winter and return ready for spring. I hope you can join us.

STUDY TOUR TO EGYPT With David Richardson

23RD FEBRUARY - 7TH MARCH 2013

Day 1 Saturday 23rd February (Meal in flight) Assemble at Terminal 3 London Heathrow Airport for afternoon flight to Cairo. Relax before the flight in the comfort of one of the private airport lounges. Evening arrival, local time at Cairo International Airport. Meet your guide interpreter and transfer to the nearby Sonesta Hotel, or similar, in the Heliopolis area for a 1 night stay.

Day 2 Sunday 24th February (BLD) Depart from the hotel for the first visit of the day to a privately owned property with modern methods of cultivation and irrigation which is un-dertaken on the sandy soil. Lunch on the farm or at a local restaurant. Visit to a farm producing organic crops and something unique to this farm - little known growing of medicinal herbs. Continue to Ismailya for 2 nights at the Mercure Hotel or similar. Dinner at the hotel. Day 3 Monday 25th February (BLD) Morning visit to the Al Salam Canal irrigation project to view the Canal and discuss the workings with one of the officials. The project was first launched in 1997 to irrigate regions of North and South Sinai, to en-courage development and solve the problem of overpopulation of the Nile River and the Delta. Five villages were created but saline and other problems occurred and the project came to a standstill in 2006. Research is now progressing to produce crops which mature quickly so need less water. Lunch in a local restaurant before returning to the ho-tel. Leisure time to relax at the hotel which is set in gardens overlook-ing the Temsah Lake. Chance to stroll into the city or laze by the pool. Dinner at the hotel.

Day 4 Tuesday 26th February (BLD) Depart from the hotel and drive to the El Salhia Project which is 20,000 ha of land reclaimed from the desert and irrigated by pivots, with water transferred over 100 km from the Nile. Visit to a large modern dairy farm using irrigated pastures, fruit orchards and greenhouses for salad crops. The fruit and vegetables produced are exported to Europe in the winter when the prices are high. Development started with Delta villages in 1980’s and there will be an opportunity to visit the older com-munities where cotton is the main crop for which Egypt is famous. Lunch on route. Continue to Alexandria to check in to the Hilton Hotel or similar for 1 night. Dinner at the hotel.

Day 5 Wednesday 27th February (BLD) Depart from the hotel to visit Al Nobaryia at the western end of the delta for further examples of irrigation by artificial canals serving the huge desert community. See the research being done on forage crops, soybean, onions, maize, oil crops (sesame, peanut and canola). Visit Dina farm restaurant for lunch and tour of the farm (crops and fruit growing). Continue via the Desert Road to Giza, in the Pyramids area for a stay of 2 nights in the Hotel Cataract or similar. Dinner at the ho-tel or a local restaurant.

Day 6 Thursday 28th February (BLD) A day of sightseeing to include the three pyramids, the sphinx, the Egyptian Museum and the Agricultural Museum. Lunch in restaurant. Dinner at the hotel or in a local restaurant.

Tour Cost: Based on minimum of 20 travellers.

£1347.00 per person

(sharing a twin/double room) Plus £227.00 airport taxes (subject to change at time of ticket issue)

£315.00 Single Supplement

Tour Includes:

Flights from London Heathrow 4* & 5* hotels (8 nights) Nile Cruise (4 nights) Meals as indicated B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner.

Private Coach Transportation English speaking guide Technical & touristic visits as stated, subject to local condi-tions at the time of travel (weather, crops etc) Escorted by David Richardson

Day 7 Friday 1st March (BLD) Depart from the hotel and drive southwards to Upper Egypt, along the River Nile to the famous oasis Fayoum - considered in the ancient times to be the food basket of Egypt. Nowadays Fayoum and its villages are the main exporters of fruit and vegetables for the city markets including Cairo. Continue via Bani Seuif to Menyia for 1 night at the Horus Hotel or similar. Dinner at the hotel.

Day 8 Saturday 2nd March (BLD) Depart from the hotel and see many farms along the River Nile using ca-nal irrigation to grow sugar cane together with many other crops. Driving via Asuit, Sohag, Qena to Luxor with lunch en route. Arrive at Aswan and board the five star MS Tamr Henna for a 4 night cruise. Dinner on board. Evening Sound and Light Show at Karnak Temple. Please note this cruise boat is under new management and has recently been refur-bished.

Day 9 Sunday 3rd March (BLD) After buffet breakfast on board, enjoy a morning balloon ride over the west bank of Luxor to view the ancient monuments and green crops fol-lowed by a visit to some local farmers. Lunch on board and commence the cruise to Esna. Dinner on board.

Day 10 Monday 4th March (BLD) Buffet breakfast and continue sailing to Edfu, to visit the Edfu Temple dedicated to the god Horus. Onwards to Kom-Ombo to visit the temple of the gods Sobek and Haroeris. Lunch and dinner on board.

Day 11 Tuesday 5th March (BLD) Buffet breakfast and morning sailing to Aswan. After lunch on board, visit to Aswan and the High Dam. Transfer to a felucca, (sailing boat), to Elephantine Island and the Botanical Gardens. Dinner on board whilst in Aswan.

Day 12 Wednesday 6th March (BLD) Disembark after buffet breakfast and transfer to the airport for flight from Aswan to Cairo. Transfer to the nearby Sonesta Hotel or similar for 1 night. Afternoon to relax at the hotel. Evening final tour dinner at the ho-tel.

Day 13 Thursday 7th March (B-Meal in Flight) Early morning transfer to the airport for the return flight to the U.K. Arrive mid-day, local time at Terminal 3 London Heathrow.

End of tour arrangements. Notes:

The itinerary is subject to change without notice (local conditions, availability of

visits at the time of travel, etc) and to terms and conditions as per the Com-

pany’s booking conditions.

Tour Excludes:

Airport taxes Travel to/from UK airport Meals other than stated Travel Insurance - you need to be insured to travel with Field Farm Tours Ltd. Gratuities Drinks / Personal items Egyptian Visa

Other Info:

Visa is required for Egypt - this can be obtained on ar-rival at Cairo airport. Cost USD15.00 No compulsory health re-quirements, but consult your doctor or health centre for professional advice Passport needs to be valid for a minimum of 6 months after your return date.

To secure a place on this tour, please complete a booking form and return with your de-posit of £350.00 per person.