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Southampton to Port Said. From Venice, Trieste, Brindisi or Corfu the Austrian Lloyds, which encompass the circle of the Levant, and the steamers of which line are most practicable for Palestine tours. All Messrs. CoOK & SON's personally-conducted parties for long tours go by that line.

On the Syrian Coast, a choice of Austrian, French, Russian or Egyptian steamers is offered. Thus the entire steamboat accommodations of Italy, France, and the Levant are offered for selection, and tickets can also be issued to go through Algiers, Sicily and other islands of the Mediterranean, in connection with Palestine, Egypt, the Nile and the Desert.

(2) ROUTES OF PERSONALLY-CONDUCTED TOURS. FOR LONG TOURS the usual course is to cross the English Channel by either the Calais route, (the shortest sea passage,) or by Dieppe, (the shortest distance to Paris). From Paris direct to Turin by the Mont Cenis Tunnel, and from Turin by Bologna and Ancona to Brindisi; thence by steamer to Corfu, and then to Alexandria; after visiting Lower Egypt or going up the Nile, cross the Land of Goshen to Ismailia, and there take steamer on Suez Canal for Port Said; from Port Said sail to Jaffa and land there; make the tour of the country, as shown in the Itineraries (pp. 16—28), and re-embark on steamer at Beyrout for Constantinople; thence to Athens, and complete the tour of the Mediterranean and Adriatic by landing at Trieste; returning through Italy by Venice, Milan and Turin, and back to Paris and London.

Whilst this is the general course of the conductors, many modifications, extensions or abridgments may be made to suit the convenience and meet the wishes of the travellers, who may go through Italy and meet the conductor at Brindisi, or may go round by Nice, Mentone, etc., and meet the party at any practicable point. The route from Palestine may be varied by going direct from Smyrna to Athens, then to Constantinople and up the Danube to Vienna, or from Trieste; any who choose can go direct to Vienna.

From other parts of Northern Italy the Alps can be crossed, so as to return by Bavaria or Switzerland and the Rhine, or other deviations from the beaten track can be provided for if desired.

The ROUTE FOR SHORT TOURS to Lower Egypt and two or three weeks in Palestine, is usually from London to Turin, as described above, then to Genoa and take steamer there for Alexandria, calling at Leghorn, Naples and Messina. Proceed through Lower Egypt to Ismailia and Port Said, and thence to Jaffa. Return from Jaffa, or Caifa, to Alexandria, and then to Naples, and by railway to Rome, Florence, Bologna, Turin, or round by Venice and Milan to Turin en route for Paris. This is the cheapest and most popular route to Palestine. But this can be modified, extended, or abridged in many ways. It can be reversed through Italy, and other lines of steamers can be taken from French or Italian ports. In all cases of personallyconducted tours it is necessary to define the route the conductor will take, and those who keep with him will fare the best, as all baggage, omnibus and other incidental charges are paid by him ; but if any leave him it is not possible to control these expenses, and the travellers must then take their own course and pay the extras. Tickets can be provided for travelling by any line of railway or steamboat.

ROUTES FROM AMERICA TO THE EAST.

All the very best routes are under the arrangement of Messrs. T. COOK & SON. There is not a line of steamships crossing the Atlantic by which they cannot secure passages. The managers of the best lines are their firmest friends, and from both Liverpool and Glasgow they have connection with the best railroad service of the United Kingdom. They can offer to American travellers Pullman cars by day or night, or the best class of select compartment-carriages.

If Americans wish to go to the East by the Western Route, tickets can be issued either by San Francisco, Japan, China and

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India to Egypt, or by the route of New Zealand, Australia, Ceylon and India.

Tickets to return to America by the south course of the Atlantic, from Gibraltar direct to New York, without returning through Europe can be issued; or arrangements made for visiting Scandinavia either before or after the Palestine tour. Spain is also re-opening to travellers since the cessation of the

war.

NILE TOURS TO THE FIRST AND SECOND CATARACTS.

For eight years the agency for Nile Tours has been committed to Messrs. COOK & SON by the Khédive Administration. During that time constant improvements have been made in the service; steamers have been fitted with deck saloons and the sleeping berths greatly improved. The food supplies have been under their control to a great extent, and will be emphatically so in [the future, as they intend to exercise more rigid regulations for the interest and comfort of voyagers. Contractors, dragomans, and servants of every grade will be most vigilantly watched and rigidly dealt with if any incivility or inattention is shown to passengers. The extension of arrangements for the Second Cataract will be improved, and no doubt, ere long, a class of steamers will navigate the Nile that will ensure a large passenger traffic.

The service of each season will begin about the second week in November, or by the first of December, and NILE TRIPS MAY PRECEDE OR FOLLOW TRIPS TO PALESTINE (p. 1), as most convenient to the travellers who wish to embrace the two objects in one visit to the East. The trips to the First Cataract and back occupy twenty days, and fourteen more are allowed for trips to the Second Cataract.

DAHABEAHS can also be secured on the best terms for all who desire them, and dragomans and other necessary servants and food supplies can be arranged by them on the best terms. Messrs. COOK & SON'S office at Cairo, on the grounds of Shep

heard's Hotel, affords excellent facilities for the management of this business. Early application is necessary to secure the best boats and the best men.

TRIPS TO THE PYRAMIDS

constitute a feature of all Tours to Egypt.

Personally-Con

ducted Tours always include a full week in Lower Egypt, with special arrangements for carriage trip to the Pyramids of Ghizeh.

TOUR TO THE GREAT DESERT AND

PALESTINE,

The general route is from Egypt to Sinai, Petra, Mount Hor, and Palestine.

Forty days are required for the journey from Cairo to Sinai, Petra, and by Mount Hor, to Hebron and Jerusalem. Without attempting here to mark out the various routes that may be taken, or to define exact itineraries, it may be said generally and briefly that all necessary camp equipments for Tours through the desert can be supplied; and in every engagement of this kind none but the most trustworthy dragomans will be employed, who will do justice to the travellers as well as to the firm of Messrs. COOK & SON. A graduated scale of charges according to the number included in party is adopted, and engagements can be made for Desert travelling at nearly as cheap a rate as for Palestine. But the details and conditions of such tours are best settled by private negotiation (p. 10).

For full particulars as to Tours in Egypt, with Itineraries of the Nile Journey to the First and Second Cataracts, see Introductory Chapter to Cook's Tourists' Handbook for Egypt, the Nile, and the Desert.

PALESTINE ITINERARIES.

The following Itineraries commence with the shortest of Messrs. T. COOK & SON'S Tours, and extend to the longest, embracing the Desert and the Country east of the Jordan.

FIRST ITINERARY.

FOR A TEN DAYS' TOUR IN JUDEA.

Land at Jaffa, and after stopping a day there, go by carriages or riding horses to Jerusalem, crossing the Plains of Sharon by Yâsur, Beit-Dejan, to Ramleh, Valley of Ajalon, Kirjath-Jearim, Kolonieh (the traditional Emmaus), 10 hours to Jerusalem by carriage in one day; 12 hours on horseback in two days. Carriages will be provided at the Jerusalem Hotel, Jaffa, for as many as possible. Jerusalem to Mar Saba, seven hours' riding, by Rachel's Tomb, Solomon's Pools, Bethlehem, Shepherds' Field, and over the hills of the Wilderness of Judea; encamp in the Kedron Valley, near by the convent of Mar Saba. Second day from Jerusalem, ride over the hills of Judea to the Plain of the Dead Sea, tarry there about an hour, giving time to bathe, and then ride to the Jordan, lunch on its banks, bathe in its stream, and then ride across the plain to the site of Jericho and encamp near the Fountain of Elisha at foot of the Mountain of Temptation, eight hours in the saddle. On the third day travel back to Jerusalem, ascending the hilly road by the brook Cherith, Enshemesh, Bethany, Mount of Olives, and by the site of Gethsemane, and across the Valley of Jehoshaphat to Jerusalem. The stay at Jerusalem can be regulated by the time of sailing from Jaffa. The tour may occupy from 10 to 14 days. The return journey to Jaffa may be either by the direct road via Kirjath-Jearim and Ramleh, or by Mizpeh (Neby Samwîl), Upper and Lower Beth-Horon, Gimzo, Lydda and direct over Plains of Sharon, or round by Ramleh, to Jaffa. The Beth-Horon road will occupy two days of moderate travel. The direct journey can be made in a day, either by carriages or by tolerably

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