Our flight with Egypt Air was great. We scored three seats between the two of us, so we had a bit of room and the onboard service and food was excellent. This was followed up with the quickest immigration and customs experience of our travelling lives. The immigration officer didn’t want to see our printed visa, and the line to go through immigration was only a couple of people. I did notice that the lines to get visas was rather long – our expedition to print our visa in Prague was worth it either way.
I have been using booking.com to pre-pay and organise transfers from the airport to our accommodation as they are great value when I compare and google a typical taxi fare. It’s comforting knowing that we don’t need to haggle prices when we arrive, especially in places like Egypt and that someone is waiting for us. So far, the service has been excellent.
Our driver was in touch with us already, so although we had to wait for more than half an hour for our luggage, he was still outside when we finally got through. The drive to our apartment was chaotic, and it took about 20 minutes to just get out of the airport area due to exit closures and insane traffic. It was already dark so what we could see on the drive looked pretty and our driver was brilliant. He gave a running commentary of what we were driving past and gave us some tips for things to do while in Cairo. He certainly made for a great ambassador for Egypt.
We didn’t stay in a hotel for our time in Cairo and our apartment building proved to be a challenge to find. We stayed on the island Zamalek, which my research indicated was a nice area, and, with most of the embassies located here, the increased security makes it safe. With no signage to identify it, Mohamed got us as close as he could via google maps and then called the building staff to help us into the apartment. After a few anxious moments, we were met and following a stranger into the bowels of the building. I already had been informed that there is a lot of construction in the building but was not prepared for the shambles that greeted us. Lord knows what Colin was thinking as we walked over rubble and past dingy looking shops. Then we started up the stairs! The surrounding walls were covered with wiring and parts of the internal structure looks like it was crumbling away. Concern rising….
Once we had completed our paperwork and passport control, we were shown to our apartment. As we walked in, I breathed a huge sigh of relief – it looks just like the photos, it’s huge and very nice. I guess it’s a case of don’t judge a book by its cover. After checking that we were happy with the apartment, we were left to settle in. We were going to need to be careful as the space is huge and it will be easy to leave stuff behind.
The meal on the flight had been mid-afternoon, so although it was after 7.30pm, we weren’t very hungry, but we set off to check out the local area, get some cash and find somewhere to have a light meal. The streets were busy, but first impressions are good. The sidewalks are ‘watch where you walk’ zones, but it’s clean and the traffic goes slowly as it’s all one way. I thought there would be tourists everywhere, but we seemed to be the only non-locals, and we received many smiles, hellos and welcomes by people walking by. Friendly bunch.
We wandered into a nearby restaurant and the warm welcome roped us in. The people have been super friendly, and we haven’t been getting hassled at all. Feeling good about Cairo and it has only been a few hours since we arrived. We ordered a pita bread dish – something with meat – and the friendliness continued as we received outstanding service. It’s not a posh restaurant, and a football game was on the TVs (loudly), but the staff dressed the table carefully. Our meals arrived (and yummy – fried thin pita breads filled with meat and sides) and the staff made a point of checking that we were happy. Yes, we were…very.
We had decided to leave the pyramids for a day, rather than try to do them on our first day, especially as we wanted to book a guided tour. Youtube research indicated that the hard sell and hassle at the pyramids could be challenging, and we also wanted to get to Saqqara and Memphis. For about $100 each, we would be picked up and driven to each site, tickets included as well as lunch. It was a big day and with my head cold kicking in, we thought it would be safer to stay local and check out the Egyptian museum for our first full day.
The museum opened at 9 and we braved the street to find a taxi. While we waited, we saw two small car ‘incidents’ – one car backed into a parked scooter, then another car ran up the rear end of a Beemer. Looking at all of the cars driving past with scratches and dings – and our drive from the airport experience – these minor bang ups look like they’re common. No-one shares personal information when they have a prang for insurance purposes – reckon no insurance company would touch this place!
It wasn’t long before a taxi came along. We were having trouble communicating where we wanted to go – he spoke no English and we couldn’t understand him – until a young man came over and helped us. He suggested 100 Egyptian pounds for the fare, so when Colin handed him 150, his eyes lit up. The car was a bit tatty, but with the (surprisingly) poor roads, no car is going to be pristine for long. Road rules are loose. Just go in the same direction as the other vehicles if you’re on the right-hand side and beep your horn a lot.
Our taxi driver got us close to the entrance, and when Colin tipped him another 50, I reckon he clocked off for the day! We were a bit confused about where to go as we didn’t realise we had to go through a security check, but our taxi driver had stuck around to be sure we were ok, and pointed us in the right direction. We hadn’t bought tickets yet and it looked like it might be a long wait when we got to the entrance, especially considering the number of tourist buses that were also arriving.
The line-up ended up being just to get through security screening (again) but they had a good flow going so it only took about five minutes. Then we had to line up for tickets, but again, it didn’t take long. As so many people were with tour groups and ‘skip-the-line’ tickets, there weren’t many people trying to buy tickets, so, after fending off a very friendly museum guide, we joined the crush of tourists to enter the museum, complete with security screening. Sheesh, we will end up with radiation poisoning at this rate!
Wow! As soon as we entered the museum, there were stone artefacts everywhere. There are over 100 hundred rooms over two floors, with pieces (over 120,000) dating from the 1st Dynasty (approx. 5000BC). And of course, the most famous exhibit, Tutankhamun’s mask and coffins. They are building a new museum – the Great Egyptian Museum (GEM) – which was slated to open in February 2023, but it wasn’t finished while were in Cairo.
There is so much to see at the museum, it’s quite overwhelming. It’s laid out chronologically which helps and even with thousands of people inside, we were able to view everything easily due to the size of the museum and once people spread out. It would be easy to spend a couple of days in the museum, but, like churches and castles in Europe, it gets to the point of ‘I’ve seen a few sarcophagi/coffins/statues/stone things/carvings/hieroglyphics now’ that we stopped reading the information cards and just tried to absorb everything.
A lot of artefacts are not labelled and more are still being curated. If you want to be an Egyptologist, there’s plenty of work to be done. The rooms housing Tutankhamun’s mask are on the first floor, and even without a guide, we managed to find them. We stumbled upon the room housing Psusennes I death mask and coffins, which are impressive. His artefacts are only about 3,000 years old, but beautiful, especially his pure silver coffin. Apparently, silver was more expensive than gold, so I guess he had lots of money at the time.
Finally, we reached King Tut’s room and it was fabulous to see the mask for real. It’s just like the photos, but as with all iconic artefacts, seeing it in person simply can’t be surpassed. Carter and his team must have felt indescribable elation when they found the tomb. It boggles the mind to think how much must have been made considering most tombs were looted long before the modern world discovered them.
Feeling overwhelmed and footsore, we continued exploring, but we were quickly running out of steam. We had also neglected to bring water and although it was cooler in the museum than outside, it was still rather warm as it is not airconditioned inside. With brains unable to absorb any more, we set off to find an exit, a security screening station and sustenance.
Once outside the museum complex, we braved a street crossing using a pedestrian crossing, which, as it turned out, was more of a suggestion than a message to drivers to let walkers cross safely. A gentleman took us under his wing and walked across with us, chatting and extolling us to tell all our friends to come to Egypt. By all accounts, bookings from the UK have dropped by 50% since the increase in the Gaza conflict…40,000 tourists a day just are not enough it would seem.
Our impromptu guide convinced us to follow him away from the café we were heading towards, assuring us everything was closed for prayer hour. He led us to a government shop, explaining that these were the best places to shop as the items were better quality and set prices. We entered after being farewelled (and not pushed for a guide tip) and checked out the goods. We both want a t-shirt, but at $21 the price just wasn’t right. Again, the shop owner was polite and accepted that we were not going to buy anything graciously.
With a bit of disappointment at the white lie, we made our way back to the café to find it was certainly open for business. Walking through another security screen (!!) into the café, we settled in for a late lunch. The prices were much higher than our local restaurant, but when in the tourist zone, pay tourist prices. The food and coffee was good though, so we took the hit and recharged, set off like good intrepid travellers to discover more of Cairo.
Cairo is on one side of the Nile, while the other side is Giza (the side with the pyramids) and we were curious to explore the streets. The buildings are rather uniform in colour, whether that is from design or because of sandstorms, I don’t know. Everything is beige or sandy brown and while it is obvious there is effort made to clean the streets, there seems to be a layer of dust over everything. With a population of more than 10 million and about the same number of cars (probably!), it would be no easy feat to have pristine streets. The infrastructure is very tatty and a lot of side streets and buildings look run down.
Getting a taxi is easy as they are everywhere, so we flagged one down and showed him where we needed to go. We didn’t quibble over the 80 pound fare, especially after our morning ride, and set off for an interesting drive back home. Every time we had to stop for traffic (which is about every 10 metres), the car would stall. Thankfully, the car usually started on the first go and we asked him to drop us off a 5 minute walk from our apartment. Why not do some more walking?
Dinner was more delicious food at the Naomi restaurant, a 10-minute walk away. The food has been delicious – my mixed chicken soup and Colin’s crispy pasta were cheap and tasty, accompanied by a yummy banana milk drink. Again, the service was outstanding.
We had confirmed our private day tour through Getyourguide. Whatsapp has been the best communication tool, and our guide was in touch with us early to confirm and check our pick up point. Not staying at a hotel and without signage, finding us was a little difficult, even with an address, but google map sharing saved the day. Travelling in today’s world is so much easier than when Colin and I traipsed around the world with nothing more than a Lonely Planet guide.
To my surprise, we had a guide (Lubda) and a driver (Mahmoud) so it felt very bougie to set off on our tour. Lubda was lovely and provided a quick history lesson as we made our way over the Nile and into Giza. Giza was a shock – the buildings and streets are ghetto-like, very dirty with rubbish everywhere. I’m glad I changed our booking for accommodation from Giza to Zamalek as I don’t think I would have enjoyed walking the streets, especially after dark. Unlike Zamalek, which has lots of tree-lined streets, Giza is a maze of highrise, wonky-looking red brick buildings that rear over dusty, sometimes unpaved, streets. Being a Friday, the first day of the Egyptian ‘weekend’ Lubda explained that a lot of shops and businesses are closed, as well as schools.
Mahmoud meandered through the streets, making me sometimes wonder just where we were going, but giving us a good glimpse of the Giza governate. About 5 million people live here amidst what can only be described as gritty poverty. If there is wealth, it is well hidden. Even the shabbier streets we walked around in Cairo were less grungy than these streets.
It is surreal to be driving around the streets to suddenly see the pyramids rising out of the haze. Visibility is quite poor, either due to dust or pollution, and our first glimpse of these massive structures was fuzzy, but impressive nonetheless. It was from this point on that we appreciated the decision to book a tour rather than try to do this by ourselves.
Already there were dozens of buses parked in the car park and the line for tickets was building, but with our guide, we walked through the gates and into the pyramid complex quickly. The wow factor of seeing these historic tombs defies description – after years of seeing the pyramids on TV and in print, nothing compares to seeing them up close and personal. They are, quite simply, huge, mountain-like. And surprisingly ‘messy’. The stones are quite rough cut and jagged, and don’t fit together smoothly like the blocks of the Incan architecture.
Our guide was kindly taking loads of photos of us together, and we clambered a little way up the Great Pyramid for more shots. Standing at the base of these monoliths and looking up was just awe inspiring. To think these were built without modern machinery. And then consider the internal infrastructure. The engineering involved is a testament to the ingenuity and mathematical brilliance of the day. Let’s not get into the conceit of the pharaohs required to commission what is, at the end of the day, a grave.
After admiring the pyramid of Khufu (or Cheops in Greek), we made our way towards Khafre’s monument to his leadership. Our guide pulled us up and said our driver was on his way and that we needn’t walk – ah, so this is what having a private tour is about! While it is November and temperatures were dropping, the day was still worki ng its way to the low 30s and who were we to deny a guy a job?
So Khafre, cheeky bloke that he was, didn’t want to insult his father by building a bigger pyramid, but he did build his on a piece of land that was about 12 meters higher…so his pyramid looks taller, but in reality it’s not as big as daddy’s. And Khufu’s grandson, Menkaure, built the third pyramid even smaller, but not as small as the pyramids that were built for the favoured wives of each of the pharaohs. All in all, an amazing experience – it’s no wonder something like 40,000 people visit on average every day.
We had been worried that we would be hassled endlessly by hawkers, ‘guides’ and ‘police’, but we had a wonderful time. Whether it was because we were with a guide I’m not sure, but if that was the case, then she was worth her weight in gold. Some of the Youtube videos we had watched had made it out that visiting the pyramids would be an endless stream of turning away some sales pitch or other, but they were either setting it up for effect, or we got lucky.
From the pyramids we were driven to the Sphinx and we managed to get a relatively tourist free experience…until the hordes of school kids arrived. As it was Friday, schools did excursions and we were stunned at the number of school children excitedly buzzing about being at the pyramids. One young girl approached me holding out a gift – I hesitated, thinking it was just a way to get money from me, but our guide assured me it was a genuine gift. Such a lovely treat – I was given a pair of Nefertiti earrings with a post-it note message ‘nice to meet you. Welcome.’ Yet another example of the warm welcome from the locals.
Next thing I know, I am being asked by a woman if some children could have their photo taken with me. After our guide explained what she wanted, I said yes, of course, and then chaos ensued. Some of the children got their photos, then the young woman asked if she could take a selfie…then about a thousand more children started asking to have a photo. They all kept asking where I was from and what my name was in English, so I think they also saw an opportunity to practice and show off their language skills. I looked over at Colin and saw that he was also starting to get mobbed – it was all friendly and innocent, but the crowd was getting huge and security needed to clear the path and road which our presence was filling with school children quickly.
Feeling like a celebrity, I was ushered and guided through the crowd of begging children and hustled into the car. Surreal. A lovely memory and I hope it made some little ones happy. The drive from the pyramids was slow as more and more children were arriving and walking in conga lines towards the pyramids. Such a wonderful way to learn history – on the ground and in the presence of the artefacts.
On our way to Saqqara we had the obligatory shopping stops – oils, then papyrus (with an interesting demonstration of how it is made) and an Egyptian cotton factory outlet. We don’t have room to buy so it’s a bit embarrassing doing these stops, but, even though I would have loved to buy one of the oil products, I remained strong and we kept our money in our wallets. Finally, the formalities over, we continued the drive to Saqqara where the oldest pyramid, the step pyramid is found.
Saqqara is a huge burial site (necropolis), and it is still being excavated. One part of the site was only uncovered about three months ago and looks to contain some tombs and preparatory rooms. We hadn’t opted to go inside the Great Pyramid, but our guide said that there was a small pyramid (Teti) here that was worth going into, as the walls still retained some excellent examples of some of the oldest carvings and decorations. Two added bonuses – it was a short tunnel down and entry was free.
The tunnel was only about 3 or 4 feet high so going inside meant a bent over double duck waddle, but once inside, the tunnel opened up so we could stand upright. The burial chamber still holds the sarcophagus and the walls and ceiling, we were assured, have not been touched up. The colours and carvings can still be seen clearly. The staff inside were, you guessed it, friendly and informative, and had a bit of a laugh when I took the turtles out for a photo opportunity.
We didn’t go into the step pyramid – it’s about seeing it I guess. We also got to see the ‘bent’ pyramid in the distance, one of the first pyramids to be built. The architect got his maths wrong and the pyramid was started on the wrong angle, so an adjustment about a third of the way up gives it the bent look. Lesson learned, subsequent pyramids were built at the right angle…and lots of them. There are 128 pyramids in Egypt.
We checked out one of the huge shrines before making our way to Memphis. Memphis used to be the Egyptian capital, built mid-way between the upper and lower areas of Egypt by the pharaoh Menes to unite the country in about 2925 BCE. Luxor, or Thebes, superseded Memphis as the capital, until it was abandoned by the 7th century, and Cairo became the new capital.
Our stop in Memphis took us to an open-air museum where we saw more stone artefacts, including a beautiful alabaster sphinx, but the most impressive sight was the statue of Ramses II. It was discovered a hundred or so years ago, lying partially submerged in a swamp. It wasn’t until lifting technology was developed that archaeologists were able to move the statue to its current site and the building to protect it was built around it.
With about a thousand photos from the day, we were, again, feeling a bit overwhelmed and blown away, so our lunch stop was welcome. The scale and abundance of historical evidence of this amazing civilisation is astounding. If archaeology is your vibe, this is the place to be as more discoveries are still being uncovered. Most of the tour companies advertise their guides as Egyptologists – what that means exactly I don’t know, but the market and audience makes it a good career choice.
After a yummy table-top barbeque and buffet lunch, we were ferried back to Zamalek where we farewelled our hosts with hugs and best wishes. We don’t do organised tours very often, but this one was a great idea. Yes, we could have caught a taxi to the Giza pyramids with online tickets, but we would have missed a lot of information. We would also have risked being constantly asked if we wanted a guide, and that would have just ruined the peace we wanted to just explore and absorb this special experience. Furthermore, I doubt that we would have gone to Saqqara and Memphis, and these were sites, especially Saqqara, that I’m glad we didn’t miss out on. So, in a nutshell, I would definitely opt to do an organised tour – it’s worth the extra money, and it’s a nice feeling knowing that we supported some jobs.
Once we had caught our breath and our tummies informed us we were getting hungry, we set off to find something small and quick for dinner. We had seen some interesting takeaway joints nearby and keen to try what the locals like, we made our way to a crepe and pizza place. The crepes already being made looked delicious, so we made a guess and picked something from the menu. My mixed chicken crepe was amazing, and Colin enjoyed his chicken shawarma crepe. They were huge and I think we were a bit embarrassed that we managed to eat them.
We had ticked off the big-ticket items in Cairo and as I was still feeling a little sick, our last day in this huge city was spent exploring Zamalek. With a population of about 24 million people in the Cairo greater area, it would be impossible to see it all, and Zamalek is a verdant oasis in a city that, from our tour and taxi trips, looks very grungy. We enjoyed being able to wander without the constant hassle for taxis or horse-drawn carriages, and we were left with a very positive view of Cairo.
Dinner was a bit naughty. Just around the corner from our apartment is a shop called Cinnabon. We thought it was a donut place, but it turns out they specialise in scolls and as neither of us was particularly hungry, the thought of a sweet treat and tea was just too appealing. Sometimes it’s just so much fun being a grown up! OMG! We both ordered the basic scrolls and they were the best cinnamon scrolls I have ever had. Again, Egypt delivers on the food – even the non-traditional stuff.