Our Mission
TO CREATE SAFE, SEAMLESS & DEEPLY PERSONAL JOURNEYS THROUGH EGYPT—GIVING YOU THE FREEDOM TO CONNECT, BE PRESENT & ALLOW THE EXPERIENCE TO TRANSFORM YOU IN WAYS THAT LAST LONG AFTER YOU RETURN HOME.
meet your travel curators
WHERE TWO WORLDS MEET—BLENDING DEEP ROOTS IN EGYPT WITH A TRAVELER’S PERSPECTIVE TO CREATE JOURNEYS THAT FEEL UNIQUELY YOURS.
Mostafa Harkan
For Mostafa, Egypt isn’t simply a place he studied.
It is home.
Born and raised on the West Bank of Luxor, Mostafa grew up with some of ancient Egypt’s most extraordinary places quite literally in his backyard. The Valley of the Kings was just beyond the mountains, the Nile was where he and his friends escaped the summer heat, and the desert landscape surrounding ancient Thebes was simply part of everyday life.
Some of his favorite childhood memories are beautifully simple ones—swimming in the Nile with friends and spending quiet afternoons in the desert mountains tending his family’s flock of sheep. And if you ask him about those days, there is one sheep you’ll probably hear about by name: Gamela, meaning “beautiful” in Arabic.
Long before Egyptology became Mostafa’s profession, Egypt was already part of who he was.
As he grew older, his curiosity about history, religion, language and the country around him eventually carried him from the quiet West Bank of Luxor to the beautiful chaos of Cairo. He spent seven years there studying at Al-Azhar University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in English Literature and Religious Studies. He later completed his teacher training through the Faculty of Education and became a faculty member and English professor.
But his love for ancient Egypt continued calling him deeper.
Mostafa went on to earn his degree in Egyptology from EGOTH, with studies focused on hieroglyphics, ancient Egyptian history, architecture and mythology. He is also a licensed tour guide through Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. That means when he leads you through a temple or tomb, you’re with someone officially qualified to do exactly that.
It was here that two of his natural gifts came together: Egyptology and teaching.
Knowing history is one thing. Knowing how to share it in a way that makes someone want to keep listening is something entirely different.
Mostafa is a teacher at heart. Rather than overwhelming you with names, dates and facts, he has a gift for weaving history, mythology, architecture, religion and hieroglyphics together so that what you are seeing begins to make sense. A carved wall becomes a story. A temple becomes a living place of ritual. A symbol you might have walked past suddenly becomes something you understand.
And questions are always welcome. In fact, they’re encouraged.
A Love of Language
Mostafa’s fascination with Egypt has always extended into language.
In addition to his native Egyptian Arabic, he speaks fluent English and Spanish and has studied Classical Arabic and ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic writing. His understanding of hieroglyphs allows him to take guests beyond simply admiring the inscriptions covering Egypt’s temples and tombs and begin exploring what those ancient voices were actually communicating.
For someone who loves teaching, there is something pretty magical about standing in front of words written thousands of years ago and helping another person understand them.
Egypt Beyond His Own Backyard
Although Luxor will always be home, Mostafa never wanted his understanding of Egypt to stop at the places closest to him.
Even before becoming an Egyptologist, he felt deeply connected to his country and curious about the ancient sites scattered across its landscape. That curiosity became years of traveling, exploring and eventually guiding throughout Egypt.
He has spent time not only studying these places, but standing inside them—walking their pathways, reading their walls, understanding how they change throughout the day and discovering the small details that can completely transform a guest’s experience.
That firsthand knowledge is one of the gifts Mostafa brings to Takemet.
Instead of understanding your itinerary only as a collection of destinations on a map, he understands what it actually feels like to move through them. Which places deserve more time. When a temple feels different in the morning light. When the pace needs to slow down. Which experiences naturally belong together—and when trying to squeeze in one more site would take something away rather than add to the day.
It is the kind of knowledge that comes from experience, not simply a textbook.
More Than Your Egyptologist
Mostafa’s experience in Egyptian tourism extends beyond guiding. Over the years, he has also worked as a tour operator, giving him an understanding of what happens both with you at the sites and behind the scenes of your journey.
There are countless moving pieces involved in creating a beautiful experience in Egypt—transportation, timing, accommodations, reservations, site logistics, local coordination and all the unexpected little things that inevitably arise along the way.
Because Mostafa understands both sides, the history and the logistics are never completely separate.
When we design your journey, he isn’t simply asking, “Can we fit this into the itinerary?”
He is thinking about how you will actually experience it.
What time should we arrive? How will the day flow? Where should we leave breathing room? Is there a quieter way to experience this place? Does this make sense geographically? Will adding another stop enrich the day—or simply make you tired?
Those details may be invisible when everything is going smoothly.
And that is exactly the point.
Our hope is that while we are thinking about all the moving pieces, you are free to simply experience Egypt.
The Places That Have His Heart
Ask Mostafa to choose his favorite temple in Egypt and he may have trouble giving you only one.
Two places continually call him back: Medinet Habu, close to home on Luxor’s West Bank, and Abydos.
There is something fitting about those choices. One belongs to the landscape that raised him; the other is a place he has chosen to return to again and again.
And perhaps that says something about Mostafa himself.
His relationship with Egypt is rooted both in where he comes from and in a lifelong curiosity to keep discovering more.
After all these years of studying, traveling, teaching and guiding, Egypt has never become simply his job.
Egypt is his home. It is part of his story, his heritage and who he is. And sharing the country he loves with you is deeply personal.
Jennifer harkan
Jennifer grew up in the small town of Fergus Falls, Minnesota, but from a young age, she always felt there was a much bigger world waiting for her.
An only child with an adventurous spirit and deep curiosity about people, she often felt a little different from those around her—as though she were a goldfish in a small bowl when her soul was longing for the ocean. She wanted to experience places completely unlike the one she knew, meet people whose lives looked different from her own, and understand the world by actually stepping into it.
At 17, that world began to open.
As a competitive track and field athlete, Jennifer was given the opportunity to travel throughout Europe competing alongside other young American athletes. It was her first big journey abroad, and she was hooked. Travel gave her something she had always been searching for: the feeling of being completely outside the familiar and, somehow, more at home because of it.
Her athletic career later brought her to Drake University on a full track and field scholarship, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology with minors in Marketing and Advertising. After graduation, life took her to Canada and eventually to Palmer College of Chiropractic, where she earned her Doctorate of Chiropractic.
It was during chiropractic school that travel became something deeper.
Jennifer traveled to India as part of a service trip working with underserved communities and continued on through India and Thailand for five weeks. Immersing herself in cultures so vastly different from the one she grew up in changed something in her. She realized that what she loved most about travel wasn’t simply seeing beautiful places—it was connection. Sitting with people. Learning how they live. Experiencing unfamiliar traditions. Being invited, even briefly, into someone else’s world.
From there, travel became an inseparable part of her life, eventually taking her throughout North America, Europe, the Caribbean, Central America, Africa and Asia.
And then came Egypt.
What began as another journey became something entirely different. Egypt captured Jennifer in a way few places ever had, eventually leading her to build a life between the U.S. Virgin Islands and Luxor.
Today, that lifetime of curiosity, travel and genuine love for people has found a natural home in Takemet.
The Traveler Beside You
Jennifer brings something very different to Takemet than Mostafa—and that is precisely what makes their partnership so special.
She understands what it feels like to be the traveler arriving somewhere completely unfamiliar.
She knows the excitement of dreaming about a place from thousands of miles away, but also the questions that come with it. What will it actually feel like when I get there? What should I wear? Will I feel comfortable? Am I trying to fit too much in? What if I want to slow down? What if something I’ve dreamed about turns out differently than I imagined?
Jennifer has asked those questions herself countless times throughout her travels.
That perspective allows her to look at your Egypt journey not only through the eyes of someone who knows the country, but through the eyes of the person experiencing it for the first time.
The Heart Behind the Details
Jennifer has spent much of her life working closely with people. Her background in psychology, healthcare, extensive world travel and years of navigating unfamiliar cultures have all shaped the way she connects with others—but perhaps her greatest gift is much simpler:
She pays attention.
She listens to the little things you say. She notices what makes you light up, what makes you hesitate and what matters to you even when it may seem insignificant to someone else.
Because those little things often aren’t little at all.
From your very first Discovery Call, Jennifer wants to understand more than where you want to go. She wants to understand you—how you like to travel, what excites you, what makes you nervous, what you need to feel comfortable, what you’re seeking from Egypt and how you hope this journey will feel.
Those conversations become part of how we create your experience.
Maybe you love slow mornings. Maybe you want every possible adventure packed into your days. Maybe crowds overwhelm you. Maybe photography matters deeply to you. Maybe you’ve dreamed of standing inside one particular temple for twenty years. Or maybe you simply know Egypt is calling you and you aren’t quite sure why yet.
There is room for all of it.
This is where Jennifer’s attention to detail and Mostafa’s intimate knowledge of Egypt come together beautifully. One helps us understand who you are as a traveler; the other helps us understand how Egypt can best meet you there.
And once you choose Takemet, that care doesn’t stop.
From planning conversations and WhatsApp questions to packing advice, special requests, itinerary tweaks and all the tiny details in between, Jennifer helps hold the personal side of your journey from beginning to end.
Her hope is that by the time you arrive in Egypt, you don’t feel as though you are meeting a tour company.
You feel like you are arriving to people who already know you.
Body, Spirit & Sacred Moments
Jennifer is also a certified yoga instructor and an ordained minister, two parts of her life that often find their way into the journeys she creates.
For guests who love to move, she offers gentle sunrise yoga where the setting allows: a quiet way to stretch, breathe and wake up slowly before the day’s adventures begin. And for those who want to mark something meaningful in Egypt, she can lead personal ceremonies, from vow renewals and commitment ceremonies to simple, heartfelt blessings.
For Jennifer, these moments aren’t extras. They’re part of the same belief that shapes everything at Takemet: that travel can be about how you feel, not just what you see.
The Place That Has Her Heart
Ask Jennifer about her favorite place in Egypt and the answer comes easily: Abydos.
Far from the pace of Egypt’s busiest sites, the Temple of Seti I at Abydos has held a special place in her heart since her first visit in 2022. Once one of ancient Egypt’s most sacred pilgrimage destinations, Abydos drew people from across the country who came to honor Osiris and connect with beliefs surrounding death, rebirth and eternity.
For Jennifer, something of that sacredness still feels present.
It’s in the filtered light falling between the columns, the extraordinary reliefs covering the temple walls, the quiet chambers and the feeling that seems to settle over you when you slow down enough to notice it.
She has returned countless times, and somehow, it never feels quite the same twice.
Perhaps that is what she loves most about Egypt.
You can learn the history, study the temples and visit the places you’ve dreamed about for years—but somewhere along the way, if you allow yourself to truly be present, Egypt becomes more than a destination.
You begin to form your own relationship with this extraordinary place.
And helping others discover what that relationship might become is one of Jennifer’s favorite parts of Takemet.
Where Our Gifts Meet
Mostafa helps you understand Egypt. Jennifer helps us understand you.
Mostafa brings a lifetime of knowing Egypt from the inside—its history, language, culture, people and the countless details that can only come from calling this place home. Jennifer brings the perspective of the traveler—the questions, hopes, comforts and little details that shape how a journey truly feels.
Together, those two perspectives create something neither could offer quite the same way alone. We get to know you, then use our combined experience to create an Egypt journey that feels deeply personal to you.
It’s a beautiful meeting of local wisdom and a traveler’s perspective, history and heart, expertise and care—all working together so you can feel understood, supported and free to simply experience Egypt.
Two very different gifts. One shared purpose: creating an Egypt journey that feels like it was always meant to be yours.