Take a June tour of Egypt with the Putnam
William Smith
Updated on March 15, 2026
Onnica Marquez loves Egypt so much she traveled there twice in the past seven months, and is organizing another June 2024 group tour there, through Davenport’s Putnam Museum and Science Center.
“As a kid, I always wanted to go there,” Marquez – the St. Ambrose University archivist, who worked at the Putnam (2011-16) as registrar and archivist – said Thursday. “It was always my dream.”
Growing up in Walnut, Ill., she has fond memories of her mom letting her skip school occasionally to visit the Putnam (1717 W. 12th St., Davenport), and its famous mummy, Isis Neferit (an Egyptian temple chantress). It’s part of the lower-level exhibit “Unearthing Ancient Egypt.”
After a two-week vacation to Egypt last June and a 20-day return to other sites in the northeast African nation over Christmas and New Year’s, Marquez and Putnam curator Christina Kastell will lead the planned trip of a lifetime this June 4-17 with expert guides, exclusive experiences and extensive travel throughout Egypt.
The $4,170-per-person cost of the trip (slightly less if 25 people go) includes travel accommodations throughout Egypt, a cruise on the Nile, lodging, most meals and travel insurance (not including the flight there and back, estimated to cost $1,600).
In the months leading up to the trip, Marquez will offer workshops where you will learn about traveling in Egypt, what to wear, cultural expectations and differences.
Take a look at the proposed trip itinerary. They will host an informational meeting on the tour Monday, Jan. 22 from 5-7 p.m. in the Lardner Balcony at the Putnam Museum. This type of overseas tour is a first for the Putnam.
Marquez (who lives in Sterling, Ill.) is a 2011 graduate of Northern Illinois University, and first interned at the Putnam the summer she graduated. She earned her master’s in museum studies from Western Illinois University in 2013, and as Putnam archivist, she supervised volunteers and trained interns in the archives and curatorial department, completed research requests, provided access to collections, and inventoried, organized, and stored archival material and photos.
Since 2014, she’s had a similar role at St. Ambrose in Davenport, in charge of the care, preservation and access to the private university’s historic documents, photos and artifacts. She has led digitization of the archives, first mainly the school’s yearbooks and newspapers. Marquez also teaches upper-level courses on collections management and exhibitions planning for the Art History & Museum Studies program.
A death and new life
Part of the reason for her first Egypt trip last June was the March 2023 death of her husband, Ed, who was then 65 and had a collapsed lung. He had health issues for a time before then, and Marquez planned the trip before he passed; she has no children.
“I’ve got no excuses – I have a full-time job, and financially I was able to do it,” she recalled. Marquez also earned an MBA at St. Ambrose in 2022. “It was something for me to do to distract me.”
The first Egypt trip, she visited Cairo, Alexandria and Luxor and took cruises on the Nile River. There is so much to see in the country that Marquez wanted to go again this winter, especially as she wanted to do research for the Putnam group tour.
“I didn’t want to spend Christmas alone, or with my family, and I had the time off,” she said Thursday. “I got to spend 20 epic days.”
She reconnected with guides (who became friends) she met the first time, and really experienced more of the authentic culture the second time, returning to the U.S. the first week of January.
Marquez described Egyptian food as similar to Mexican, but not as spicy. “It’s a lot of rice and beans. It’s flavorful, but not spicy,” she said. “I’m a picky eater and I did not starve.”
She recommends Koshary, Egypt’s national dish and a widely popular street food. It is a traditional Egyptian staple, mixing pasta, Egyptian fried rice, vermicelli and brown lentils, and topped with a zesty tomato sauce, garlic vinegar and garnished with chickpeas and crispy fried onions.
Marquez called the planned Putnam trip (to include museum curator Chris Chandler, and Clare Tobin, assistant director of Davenport’s German American Heritage Center) the “greatest hits” of her outings so far, including:
- Cairo, the Pyramids and two Nile cruises.
- National Museum of Egyptian Antiquities and Royal Mummies exhibition hall.
- Grand Egyptian Museum of Antiquities and treasures of King Tut.
- Valley of the Kings, including King Tut tomb, and Valley of the Nobles.
- Luxor Temple
- Valley of the Queens, including Nefertari tomb and Deir El Medina.
- Horus in Edfu, one of the well-preserved temples.
- Nubian Museum and Nubian Village.
Among Marquez’s favorite experiences on her trips were riding a camel and taking a land cruiser around the Great Pyramids. “I screamed and squealed like a little girl,” she said of the latter.
Though many people are concerned about a wider Middle East war, set off by the horrific Israel-Hamas conflict (since Oct. 7, 2023), Marquez said there is little reason to worry about going to Egypt — which is far from any hostilities.
“It’s totally safe,” she said. “People are getting scared, but it’s Giza, not Gaza. Egypt’s economy depends largely on tourism.”
Marquez said people are very friendly there; they love Americans, and she felt totally safe on her last trip. She is working with Orion-based Blue Horizon Travel on the arrangements.
She’s also made short promo videos on Egypt to post on social media, that feature the Putnam’s tag line, “You Belong Here.” (Watch one on the upper right of this page.)
For those interested in participating in the trip, fill out a registration form online HERE and provide a $750 deposit (due by March 1).
