Play Pyramid Games in Ancient Egypt

Explore the hidden treasures of Egyptian antiquity usually inaccessible to the public on a 17-day study tour called “Egypt: Land of the Pharaohs.” The trip takes place Oct. 6 and is guided by Zahi Hawass, general director of the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx. Participants will visit the pyramids, the Valley Temples, the Sphinx, the solar boats and a number of royal tombs open to the group by special arrangement. Hawass will take the group to the most recently discovered tombs on Giza Plateau. Other stops include Philae, to see the temple of the goddess Isis, dating back to the 5th Century BC; Abu Simbel, to see the rock-cut temple of Ramses II; Memphis, the first capital of the Egyptian kingdom; ancient Thebes (now known as Luxor); the city of Abydos and the Temple of Osiris with its relief carvings, and Cairo. Cost: $3,690 per person, double occupancy. UCLA Extension course enrollment fee is $260, and students can earn three units of credit in archeology. The fee includes round-trip air fare from LAX, accommodations at hotels in Cairo, Aswan and Luxor, six days on a Nile cruise, breakfasts and dinners, and entrance costs at tour sites. Contact: UCLA Extension, 10995 Le Conte Ave., Suite 629, Los Angeles, Calif. 90024; telephone (310) 825-2272.

Think and Play

A study tour to London, sponsored by the World Affairs Council of Northern California, offers participants an opportunity to meet with policy makers and discuss international policy issues. Council President David Fischer will escort the 10-day tour on March 17 and has arranged meetings with London political and economic leaders including a private briefing with the U.S. ambassador to Britain, William J. Crowe Jr., at the American Embassy. The play part of the tour includes three evenings of London theater. Also included are a private tour of the Houses of Parliament and visits to the Churchill War Rooms and Old Bailey. A full-day excursion to Cambridge University is planned, plus a tour of the Royal Institute of International Affairs. There will be free time for individual sightseeing and shopping. Cost: $2,393 including round-trip air fare from San Francisco on British Air, hotels and some meals. Contact: Lauren Woodhouse, Siemer and Hand Travel, 101 California St., Suite 1750, San Francisco, Calif. 94111; tel. (800) 451-4321.

Capturing China

Documentary filmmaker Zhang Li-Hui, a native of Beijing, will lead a 22-day tour to China leaving Los Angeles April 21. Li-Hui will lecture about social and cultural traditions of the country as participants visit Beijing to see Tian An Men Square, the Forbidden City, Summer Palace, the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs. Also scheduled is Xi’an to see the terra-cotta army of China’s first emperor Quinshi Huang. In Guilin, a one-day cruise on the Li River is planned before the group will visit the mist-shrouded mountains of Huangshan.

The tour ends in Shanghai after visits to Suzhou, Huangzhou, Wuxi and Nanjing. Events include a Peking duck dinner, a performance of the Beijing Opera, a Tang Dynasty music and dance performance, an evening with the Shanghai acrobats, and boat rides on Lake Tai Hu and the Grand Canal. Cost: $3,096 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air from Los Angeles, hotels, all meals, sightseeing and guides. Contact: U.E.T., 19355 Business Center Drive, Suite 2, Northridge, Calif. 91324; tel. (800) 525-0525.

They Go Way Back

Anthony R. Kampf, curator of minerals and gems at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, will lead travelers “In the Footsteps of Lawrence of Arabia” on a 15-day tour of Jordan and Syria May 1. In Amman, visits will be made to the Archaeological and Folklore museums, as well as the Citadel.

A day will be spent at the Shaumari Wildlife Reserve and at the Dana Nature Reserve. In Wadi Rum, “the valley of the moon,” travelers will spend the night in a Bedouin tent. The 2,000-year-old city of Petra will be explored, along with Greek and Roman outposts, Biblical sites and Omayyad palaces. A stop will be made at Crak des Chevaliers, a well-preserved castle. Cost: $4,575 per person, double occupancy, including accommodations, most meals, all transportation from Los Angeles, guides, entrance fees. Contact: Natural History Museum Travel Program, 900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles, Calif. 90007; tel. (213) 744-3350.

French Wineries

Taste the essence of France through its wines on a 16-day spring wine tour that leaves Los Angeles for Paris May 12. Guests will start in Champagne country visiting the Champagne cellars of Taittinger in Reims and then take a drive into the country for lunch at Chateau de la Marquetterie and visit the historical cellars of Dom Ruinart. In the Rhone Valley, the group will visit Chapoutier winery and tour vineyards and cellars. Dinner will be at La Pyramide in Vienne, where many renowned chefs spent their apprenticeship under the late M. Fernande Point. In Bordeaux the group will see Chateau Prierie-Lichine, Chateau Petrus and have lunch with Baroness Philippine de Rothschild and visit the Chateau Mouton-Rothschild. Stops are made in Cognac, vineyards of the Grande Champagne, the ancient castle of Marquis Robert de Goulaine, producer of Muscadet wines of Loire region. Cost: $5,895 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from Los Angeles, hotels, daily breakfast, most meals and transportation. Contact: Frances Reps, Amorosi Travel International, 25201 Paseo de Alicia, Suite 100, Laguna Hills, Calif. 92653; tel. (800) 959-9227.

The Times is not responsible for changes in prices, dates or itineraries. These should be confirmed with cruise lines, travel agents or tour operators.