First trip post covid = a whirlwind 10 days in Egypt! My friend Jaimee and I decided to travel somewhere together as is our tradition. We’ve visited Prague and Rome, and we met up in Hawaii, and now we had to decide our next destination. As usual, we threw around several ideas, but we eventually landed on Egypt! Wow! Hehe.
So, we began our research and ended up finding a recommended guide through a travel facebook group. Everyone we reached out to suggested we do a tour since there is so much to see and learn. We typically choose to do our own thing, but I am so glad we did the tour! Can’t recommend that enough! Hehe.
We met in Montreal to take a direct flight to Cairo…on the 787 Dreamliner! Cool! 😎. A short 9.5 hours and we’d be in the land of the Pharoahs.
We landed around 10 am, and our guide was at the airport, ready to take us to our airbnb for the first couple of nights. But, with so much time left in the day, we did a short city tour before heading to our home in Cairo.
We visited one of the oldest mosques in town, which was also used for a school. It was a beautiful building, and the large open atrium allowed cool air to fill the space and was a much needed respite from the heat. I love going into spiritual buildings because I often get a sense of the divine. We were lucky enough to watch an imam perform a call to prayer. It was amazing to watch how he used his hands as a way to amplify his voice or to quiet it.
Next up was a visit to the national museum, where there house the mummies! The city was building a new museum, so the artifacts were divided between two different museums, so we missed out on seeing King Tut’s golden funerary mask, but we did see several mummies! That was a surreal experience, seeing the mummified Pharaohs and feeling an eerie presence in the dark, low lit maze of the exhibition. To think these remains are 4,000 years old is hard to comprehend.
We also visited the “hanging church,” which was built on top of an old Roman fortress. It turns out that Egypt is a blend of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Though mostly Muslim, Egypt is a religious melting pot, and after reflecting on it for a bit, I’m not too surprised, given its geographical location. I grew up in the church, and I found it fascinating to learn about several of the Pharaohs, and one in particular, who was most likely to be the one that enslaved the Israelites.
We had an amazing meal at the end of the day… plates of hummus and yogurt dips, fresh pita, a delicious soup, and lamb and chicken served atop a small grill, complete with smoking embers keeping the meat nice and toasty. Wowza! I can get used to this! Lol.
The next morning, we visited Saqqara, once home to the necropolis of Memphis, the capital of Ancient Egypt. The big attraction here is the first pyramid to be built around 2630 BCE. Unlike the infamous Giza pyramids, the Djoser Pyramid is stepped. While visiting this complex, we were able to enter a rather dilapidated pyramid, but one that held a beautiful secret: the first hieroglyphs! We were already drenched with sweat in the Egyptian desert, and now we’re getting ready to enter a small chamber with little fresh air. So worth it! I know we’ll be seeing more hieroglyphs, but this was so amazing! We climbed around, doubled over in order to fit through the corridor, only standing up in the chambers where the tomb was.
Our already epic day was just getting started, as we were booked for a tour of the Giza Pyramids…..on camels! Now, as amazing as this was, I must say, the health of the camels and houses used for tourism was shocking. Clearly, these animals are malnourished and mistreated. The guides who take tourists on these tours make a living from the meager cost of the tour and tips. I’m sure there is a debate that human welfare is more important than animal welfare, but I would strive for a system that does no harm to a living being, animal or otherwise. Perhaps there needs to be a conscious effort to either avoid this type of tourism or to have fair prices that are sufficient to care properly for the gorgeous horses and camels and other animals employed in tourism.
That being said, I enjoyed my Camel ride, but the next time, I would opt out. I couldn’t help but feel guilty half the time. My poor Camel would grunt and moan everything we got up or down.
Back to the fun stuff; the Giza pyramids were breathtaking…absolutely enormous! I’m a sucker for ancient history, and I’m fascinated with the Mayans, but the Ancient Egyptians stole my heart….I mean, this civilization is 4,000 years old, and they maintained themselves for thousands of years! That’s absolutely jaw-dropping to me. Being right up next to these giant pyramids made me feel so small, and just in complete awe of the engineering feats required to build these structures. I always try to envision how things would’ve looked like in their prime, and these pyramids must’ve been mesmerizing and terrifying all the same.
To end our day, we spent some time on the rooftop of a nearby hotel, with a view of the Great Pyramids. They were lit up with some lights, and let me tell you, there couldn’t have been a better view than what we were graced with, hehe. I absolutely recommend a trip to a rooftop bar or restaurant to see the pyramids. Amazing!
Taking Off With Amelia 