It was roughly a 7-day visit to Egypt, starting (Sunday Jan 15, 20:20) and ending (Sunday Jan 22, 09:35) in Cairo. A $25 single entry visa obtained at the airport would suffice. The land package was booked through the Emilio Group, whose river cruise of M/S Emilio would take us from Luxor to Aswan - down almost to the border with Sudan (this region is called Upper Egypt because of its higher elevation. From here, Nile river flows down to Cairo and the Mediterranean, aka Lower Egypt.)
Our almost all inclusive trip was just the right amount of time to hit all major historic spots in Egypt. (The only others could have been Alexandria, where most ruins are not well maintained, and Suez Canal - both were far enough away and not worth the efforts.) All airport and seaport transports, most meals, guide and sight entrance fees were included. Only later did I find out that US based trip consolidators were uncomfortable selling packages to Egypt due to security concerns. Although nothing happened to us during our stay, we were being watched and that wasn't a pleasant feeling. More about that later...
Sights we visited were Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut Temple, Colossi of Memnon, temples of Karnak, Luxor, Edfu, and Komombo, Aswan High Dam, Unfinished Obelisk and Philae temple at Aswan, Abu Simbel temple, and after that, back in Cairo, the Egyptian Museum, Citadel,
Pyramids, Sphinx, in that order. A side trip to Old Town Cairo churches was added. We happily skipped Khan El Khalili shopping area, but nevertheless ended up doing some shopping here and there - a perfumery, Papyrus, spice and souvenir shops
Many countries that rely primarily on tourism have cleverly created souvenir tickets for their major sites (e.g. Tibet, Yucatan.) These two part official tickets serve several purposes. Official seal indicates authenticity, fixed price AND ensures that taxes are collected on ticket sales. For tourists, it becomes a souvenir and a reminder of their visit. Here are our tickets for Egypt.
Although our cruise was on a boat owned by the Emilio Group, as we later discovered, most cabins were sold traditionally by consolidators - we're the only ones directly booked with Emilio. Also, most tourists were Germans, very few were English speaking.
Day 1: Arrived at Cairo Airport (CAI) around 8:30 PM. Emilio representative came almost to the jetway to receive us. For $25 per person, he obtained a visa sticker from a nearby bank counter and placed on one of the blank pages in the passport - Visa done! No photo or visa application needed (single-entry 30-day tourist visa on arrival at Egyptian airports for $25; multiple entry for $35.)
After nominal immigration process, we were off to a nearby Hotel Intercontinental for the night. We had an early flight to catch next morning - and were already jet lagged from a 16 hour flight.- from SFO via one hour layover in IST.
Since we reached Cairo so late and left so early next morning, the traffic was no problem in either direction. We did however notice that even on major thoroughfares, there were speed bumps very frequently. The joke in Cairo is that they will be done only when there is one speed bump for each of their 13 million residents!
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| Hotel Intercontinental |
our room was comfortable. WiFi was included. We requested breakfast boxes to go for next morning, but that took some time to accomplish - having to go from one counter to another.
Day 2: We had to leave very early. Breakfast hadn't yet started, but the restaurant looked ready. For all the promises they made the previous night, our breakfast boxes were nowhere to be seen. After our Rep arrived to pick us up, they quickly put the boxes together. Not wanting to carry those big boxes on the flight, we just ate some croissants on the way to the airport, and left the boxes for our Rep and driver.
Expecting traffic delays and long lines at the airport, we were rushed to the airport early. Egypt Air, country's flagship airline, as well as all Star Alliance member airlines, use the new Terminal 3. Our short one hour, 317 mile flight to Luxor (LUX) was on time at 6:15 am.
On Egypt Air, announcements began with a Muslim prayer with a picture of a mosque (Mecca?) displayed on TV screens. That was followed by the usual announcements first in Arabic and then in English.
We were picked up by a different Emilio Rep, who accompanied us pretty much the entire river cruise portion from Luxor to Aswan. Our all day sightseeing of Luxor and surrounds started immediately. A nine person van for just the two of us - just like it was the rest of the trip, even in Tanzania. Once our guide joined us, the Rep got off, but met us later on. He really made sure that everything worked well for us over the next 4-5 days.
After morning visit to the West Bank, we had lunch at M/S Emilio where we checked in to our room as well, and then visited East Bank in the afternoon before the Nile Cruise began. Today's agenda: Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut Temple, Colossi of Memnon. Karnak and Luxor temples. That was a nice long day of sightseeing - just the way I like it.
Luxor is a small but busy international airport. Easy to get in and out of, and well caters to the tourists. Luxor, meaning Palaces, was a dynastic and religious capital of Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom of Egypt, As sun worshippers, ancient Egyptians prayed to sun god (Ra/Re or AmunRa represented by falcon or hawk with Sun Disk.) Because Sun rises in the East, that was.considered the good side. People lived and built Temples and Palaces, e.g. Luxor Temple, temple of Karnak on the East Bank of the Nile (Palaces no longer exist.) Tombs are on the West side, e.g Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens and other Western Valley ruins.
We drove through and across Luxor, crossed the Nile over to the west side to the Valley of the Kings. The two lane road had plenty of agricultural traffic. Trucks and other vehicles overflowing with sugarcane were everywhere. At intersections and stops, as the trucks slowed, young children would run behind the vehicles and yank out a sugarcane for a wonderful snack.
At the Valley of the Kings, no photography was allowed inside (so that people would purchase their photo packets or CDs.) After passing through security, we saw a 3D model of the Valley depicting locations and layout of all known tombs - most discovered before 1922 though there are more to be found. Entry to any 3 tombs is included in the basic ticket - King Tut extra. Our guide chose Ramses IV, Ramses IX and Merneptah - all in excellent shape and very impressive. See details later.
Hatshepsut Mortuary Temple was next. The building was modeled after the mortuary temple of Mentuhotep II, the great Theban prince who founded the 11th Dynasty and initiated the Middle Kingdom of Egypt (2040-1782 BC). The temple of Mentuhotep II was built during his reign, across the river from Thebes, at Deir el-Bahri, the first structure to be raised there.
It was a completely innovative concept in that it would serve as both tomb and temple. The king would not actually be buried in the complex but in a tomb cut into the rock of the cliffs behind it, which became the valley of the kings. The entire structure was designed to blend organically with the surrounding landscape and the towering cliffs, and was the most striking tomb complex raised in Upper Egypt and the most elaborate created since the Old Kingdom.
Hatshepsut had her own temple designed to mirror Mentuhotep II's, but on a much grander scale and, just in case anyone should miss the comparison, ordered it built right next to the older temple - the ruins can be seen.
Hatshepsut was the daughter of Thutmose I by his Great Wife Ahmose. Thutmose I also fathered Thutmose II by his secondary wife Mutnofret. In keeping with Egyptian royal tradition, Thutmose II was married to Hatshepsut at some point before she was 20 years old. Thutmose II died while Thutmose III was still a child and so Hatshepsut became regent, controlling the affairs of state until he came of age. In the seventh year of her regency, though, she broke with tradition and had herself crowned pharaoh of Egypt. She commissioned her mortuary temple at some point soon after coming to power in 1479 BC - the first female ruler of ancient Egypt.
Walking through the first courtyard (ground level), one could go directly through the archways on either side (which led down alleys to small ramps up to the second level) or stroll up the central ramp, whose entrance was flanked by statues of lions. On the second level, there were two reflecting pools and sphinxes lining the pathway to another ramp which brought a visitor up to the third level. Some statues, carvings and paintings still remain.
This temple served as a mortuary for everyone who could afford it. Ancient Egyptians believed in an afterlife when someone died. Mummification helped as they thought that, in order to have an afterlife, the dead person would have to repossess his or her body. Egyptians believed that the only way to do this was if the body was recognizable. The chief embalmer was a priest wearing a mask of Anubis, who was the jackal headed god of the dead.
The first phase of mummification lasted 30 days, and took place on the ground level. If you could afford, you were then moved to the second level for further processing. For Royals and wealthy people, the best mummification was a 70 day process, after which the body was placed in a sarcophagus. The temple is very impressive. As noted earlier, everything in Ancient Egypt is truly ancient.- 3000-5000 year old!
On the way back, just off the street, in the middle of open fields, was the Colossi of Memnon. These statues date back 3400 years. In a small parking lot next to the statues was a police kiosk. Just as we walked over to take pictures, a machine gun toting female police officer stepped out of the kiosk. Our first indication of high security concerns in Egypt, even in the middle of almost nowhere.
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| Colossi of Memnon |
After having hibiscus tea at one of the shops where they demonstrated their craft, it was time for us to return to the East Bank and check in to our cruise ship. A 120 people Emilio ship is, and looks, tiny compared to the mega-ships we think about on open ocean. It is much easier to get on and off, and to check in. The security scanner at the entry is still the standard feature. Some people had already arrived, most hadn't. We had a cabin on the top level in the front of the ship - nice and quiet. With Aswan Dam controlling the flow of the Nile, it flows gently the entire way. The ship going upstream was also very quiet - we could hardly feel the movement. In fact, it was noticeable only when we were in the dining room where gentle waves against the glass windows reminded us.
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| Hawking their goods to tourists |
Although all meals were buffet style - you only needed to order your drinks including water, we had assigned seating from Day One. It was otherwise not an issue, except the next morning for breakfast when there were only a handful of people, I noticed a sign for English Table for 10 around the corner. I went to chat with them and hit it off quickly. (Most others were Germans.) So they asked me to join them for breakfast - the ship did not permit that. I had to eat back at my own table. I thought that was hilarious, more than anything else.
Afternoon trip to Karnak Temple for sun god Amon-Ra, and then Luxor Temple, built for Ramses II, was fascinating. The large courtyard, those giant columns, statues and of course, obelisks. All of it. We had seen one of the obelisks from Karnak in Paris; the other in Istanbul later during this trip.
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| Egyptian Obelisk - its pair from here, Luxor, is in Paris. Two from Karnak are now in Rome and Istanbul. Two others from Heliopolis are in New York and London. |
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| Courtyard - common Egyptians were not allowed inside the temple. |
After dinner, we sailed to Edfu 70 miles South.
Day 3: After breakfast, we left for the Temple of Edfu. It’s one of the best preserved temples in Egypt, with antechambers and halls to explore, as well as the inner sanctuary, which still contains the polished-granite shrine that once housed the gold cult statue of Horus. The Temple was on the West Bank, only about a mile away from the harbor. A long line of horse carriages awaited cruise ships. Because of their strong lobby, no motorized vehicles are allowed here. Our guide got us a horse carriage and we reached the temple in less than 15 minutes - Yeah!
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| Our transport in Edfu |
We got there before the large group of Germans from our boat arrived. The place was practically empty, so we could spend leisurely time admiring all the carvings and paintings inside and outside.
Around 11 am, we sailed on to Kom Ombo (Crocodile Temple) reaching around 4 PM 40 miles away. After tea time, we got off on the East Bank to visit Kom ombo. Boats are strategically parked far enough away so tourists must pass by the souvenir shops to the Temple entrance - works the same way worldwide!
Built to pacify crocodiles infesting this area of the Nile, the temple is built for both Croc God Sobek, and also Horus. Therefore, it has two courts, two halls - everything twice, parallel to each other. However, much of the forecourt is missing columns - which were taken and used elsewhere. Only lower halfs of 16 columns still remain. Two thousand year old Medicine chart and surgical tools chart are still preserved here.
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| Medicine Chart |
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| Surgical Tools Chart |
Outside the temple, there are two wells with a water channel leading to a small pool where young sacred crocodiles may have been kept.
Near the exit, there was a museum with crocodile mummies - large and small. Once you have decided that someone is god, god-like or royal, then they deserve to get royal treatment. Even in the Valley of the Kings, royal pets have been mummified and entombed.
The sun was setting as we left the temple, and later, as we left for Aswan, we saw the well lit Kom Ombo temple (for nightly Sound and Light Show) from the boat.
Day 4: After a full day in Luxor on Day 2, we had only two activities yesterday - Edfu in the morning and Kom Ombo in the afternoon. It seemed today, we will have even less. We had the morning off - only optional activity of visiting a Nubian Village just across the river was of no interest to us. We were to visit High Dam, Unfinished Obelisk and Philae Temple all near Aswan, which was only 30 miles South from Kom Ombo. The dam was about 10 miles further South, after which Lake Nasser extended 300 miles all the way to the border of Sudan and beyond.
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| At Aswan quiet harbor |
After breakfast, I stepped off the boat to check if there was anything to see or do by walking around in Aswan - there was nothing. Couple of taxis were waiting to see if they could interest someone for a couple of hours of sightseeing. That would have worked just fine if we were on our own. Instead, Emilio Group sent the same 9-seater from Luxor with the same Rep and the same driver to take us around in Aswan. In other words, ours could have been a driving tour instead of a river cruise.
As we were lounging on the top deck in the morning, weather was nice - not too hot and pleasant in shade. Our guide joined us and asked if we were enjoying a relaxing morning. The answer was an emphatic NO. As it is, my normal complaint is that tour groups - cruise or not - include too few activities for my taste, and have too much of leisure time. I like to have leisure time on my own at my home, not when I'm paying $300/day.
Our original plan called for two more days on the boat to return to Luxor, and then rushed one day in Cairo to see everything there. I suggested that we fly back to Cairo after tomorrow's visit to Abu Simbel. The details were then finalized once the Rep reached Aswan. (I had to pay $25 change fee.)
After lunch, we first visited the unfinished obelisk about a mile away. Without using any metal tools, Egyptians were able to precision cut obelisks in rock and ground them smooth.
This unfinished obelisk is the largest known ancient obelisk. It was ordered by Hatshepsut (1508–1458 BC), possibly to complement the Lateran Obelisk (which was originally at Karnak, and now at Lateran Palace in Rome). It is nearly one third larger than any ancient Egyptian obelisk ever erected. If finished, it would have measured 137 feet and would have weighed nearly 1200 tons. They began to carve it directly out of bedrock, but cracks appeared in the granite and the project was abandoned.
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| Unfinished Obelisk at Aswan |
For centuries, Egyptians struggled with the vagaries of the Nile river. They had no clue if and when the Nile would flood, and if so, how much. They developed theories such as crocodiles laying their eggs above the flood level (not true), but nothing seemed to help.
On one hand, floods spread Nile's alluvial soil which made its banks fertile on which Egyptian Civilization thrived on. On the other hand, since the natural flooding varied, high-water years would destroy the whole crop, while low-water years would create widespread drought and associated famine.
Finally, the Aswan Low Dam, a gravity masonry buttress dam, was built at the former first cataract of the Nile. When initially constructed around 1902, nothing of its scale had ever been attempted - it was the largest masonry dam in the world. The dam was designed to provide storage of annual floodwater and augment dry season flows to support greater irrigation development and population growth in the lower Nile. The dam was later raised twice, between 1907-12 and in 1929–33, but it still did not meet irrigation demands. In 1946, it was nearly over-topped in an effort to maximize pool elevation. This led to the construction of the Aswan High Dam 3.7 mi upstream.
We crossed the Low Dam only a couple of miles south from the Obelisk and continued 4 miles further to the High Dam, which had a lot more security. As the road turned at the entrance, a tank with military guards welcome you. Nearby, Russian Egyptian Friendship Monument commemorates Russian help in building this dam.
The Aswan High Dam is an embankment dam built between 1960-70, with its key objectives being to better control flooding, provide increased water storage for irrigation, and generate hydroelectricity.
Before the High Dam was built, even with the old dam in place, the annual flooding of the Nile during late summer had continued to pass largely unimpeded down the valley. These floods brought high water with natural nutrients and minerals that annually enriched the fertile soil along its floodplain and delta. With the greatly increased reservoir storage provided by the High Dam, the floods could be controlled and the water could be stored for later release over multiple years.
Fortunately or unfortunately, the High Dam was so successful in complete control of the Nile’s annual flooding that much of the flood and its load of 40 million tons of rich fertilizing silt is now impounded in reservoirs and canals; and no longer deposited on farmlands. As a result, there is a gradual decrease in the fertility and hence the productivity of Egypt’s riverside agricultural lands.
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| Lake Nasser created by Aswan High Dam - 300 miles long |
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| The Nile Delta - Source of While Nile is Lake Victoria. Blue Nile joins it near Khartoum from Lake Tana in Ethiopia |
High Dam also raised the water level for Lake Nasser nearly 350 miles in Upper Egypt and Northern Sudan. Several hundred thousand people and communities were relocated. In addition, 22 monuments and architectural complexes that were threatened by flooding from Lake Nasser, including the Abu Simbel and Philae temples, were preserved by moving them to the shores of the lake.
Some other monuments were granted to countries that helped with the works: Debod temple to Madrid, Temple of Dendur to the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York, Temple of Taffeh to the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden of Leiden, Temple of Ellesyia to the Museo Egizio of Turin.
Other items were removed to the garden area of the Sudan National Museum of Khartoum; whereas the remaining archaeological sites, including the Buhen fort or the cemetery of Fadrus were allowed to be flooded by Lake Nasser.
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| Relocated Philae Temple |
Before the High Dam was completed, the Philae temple complex was dismantled into about 40,000 units, and transported to the nearby Island of Agilkia, situated on higher ground some 1,600 ft away. Just off the Low Dam, you walk through souvenir shops to a pier where ferry boats are lined up to take you to -and back from- Philae Temple, dedicated to the goddess Isis, the wife of Osiris and mother of Horus. Much smaller in comparison to, say, Karnak, this 2000 year old temple is still impressive.
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| Women are shown with one breast in profile |
On the way back, we made obligatory shopping stops at a souvenir shop (for a pyramid), a perfumery (for oils) and a spice shop (only to take pictures.)
Tomorrow, we have an early morning flight to Abu Simbel, and return to Aswan around lunchtime. Our Rep would bring us lunchboxes from the boat and wait with us until our flight to Cairo later in the evening.
Day 5: Abu Simbel is a short flight away from Aswan - airport is only about a mile away from the island where the temples are located. The entire landscape is stark - just as you'd expect Sahara Desert to be. It is mere miles away from the border to Sudan, which shares the bounty - water and electricity - from Lake Nasser.
Egypt Air (and tourist companies) have timed the whole thing perfectly so tourist can finish Abu Simbel in half a day after which the river cruises can keep their schedules. When we reached the airport, Ticketing asked us if we'd mind taking an earlier flight back to Cairo - we welcomed that.
Per our revised schedule, the 9:55 am flight reached Abu Simbel at 10:40 am (136 miles.) Return flight leaving at 1 PM would return to Aswan at 1:45 PM, and within 15 minutes, at 2 PM, our flight from Aswan to Cairo would depart. We were assured that in case we miss that connection, a later flight would be available.
At Abu Simbel, yet another Rep picked us up and took us to a taxi. Upon reaching the temples, the taxi driver then connected us with a local guide who took us around. After explaining us the history, he asked us to visit the two temples on our own - main one for Ramses II and smaller one for his wife. Photography was not allowed inside, but people were taking photos when the security guard wasn't looking. The interior is really impressive. I was glad we decided to add this to our itinerary.
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| Abu Simbel - both temples |
History of Abu Simbel - Allegedly, Swiss explorer Burckhardt was led to the site by a boy named Abu Simbel in 1813 AD and the site was later named after him. The temples were buried in sand up to the necks of the grand colossi. Before High Dam was built, both temples of Abu Simbel were dismantled and moved 213 feet up onto the plateau of the cliffs they once sat below and re-built 690 feet to the north-west of their original location. Why is that important?
Solar alignment - It is believed that the original axis of the temple was positioned by ancient Egyptian architects in such a way that on October 21 and February 21, rays of the sun would penetrate the sanctuary and illuminate the sculptures on the back wall, except for the statue of Ptah, a god connected with the Underworld, who always remained in the dark. These dates are allegedly the king's birthday and coronation day, respectively - but in reality, it could be for some other great event. Due to the displacement of the temple and/or the accumulated drift of the Tropic of Cancer during the past 3280 years, it is widely believed that each of these two events has moved one day closer to the Solstice, so they would occur on October 22 and February 20. We were about a month away from the date.
There were others (everyone from our flight, actually.) but we were able to get pictures without anyone else in them, for the most part. Where there are people in photos, you can get a feel for how large the statues are in comparison. We then returned to the airport by taking the same taxi back. We were one of the first ones to return for this 1 PM flight. Eventually, security arrived and we took shuttle bus to the airplane. I was worried that any delay here might make us miss our next flight.
Back on the plane, we realized that it was the same plane and same crew we came here with. When we landed at Aswan, they announced that passengers continuing on to Cairo should remain in their seats - so we did. The rest deplaned and were taken to the terminal by bus. Minutes later, they asked us what flight we were on. Apparently, we should have been on 2 PM flight, and this plane was the 3 PM flight. Then the mad rush through the airport began.
They called a bus to take just the two of us back to the terminal, where we had to run back to go through security all over again. Although the line wasn't too long, it still takes time. On the other side of security, one airline person was anxiously waiting for us and radioed as soon as we cleared security. Another rush to that gate, where another bus took just the two of us back to our 2 PM flight. All flights being on Egypt Air, I suppose they would have waited for us anyways, but the funniest part was that our plane was sitting only 100 ft away from the plane we got off from. We could have just walked from one plane to the other - but NOOOOO! We concluded that the running around was just good exercise for us. Thankfully, our bags were checked from Aswan directly to Cairo early this morning. And they were on this 2 PM flight with us.
Our 2 hour flight landed in Cairo on time, and our Rep came to pick us up where the shuttle bus dropped us off. And then we waited for our bags - and waited. The first rush of bags came and a lot of people left. There were still a handful waiting just like us. The airline baggage person was standing there watching, and assured us that our bags will be here soon. Finally, they arrived and we were on our way.
It was however rush hour and we had to go from the airport, which is Northeast of Cairo, to the opposite side (Southwest) near Giza beyond the Nile. We took the loop around the city to get to our hotel an hour later. Along the loop, lots and lots of unfinished high rise buildings caught our attention. They were built illegally after the 2011 uprising, and are now awaiting their fate.
Barcelo Hotel, another 5 star hotel, but with quite a different experience. Just inside the revolving doors, in their small front lobby was security checkpoint. Once inside, we checked in. Because of change of plans, we now had an extra day tomorrow (Friday) to visit Egyptian Museum at leisure, then on Saturday, we could cover everything else as planned.
I was hoping to take local transportation, taxi or Uber to go to the Museum. Friday being a day off in Egypt like Sunday, traffic would be light. This is where I realized how things were different for foreigners in Egypt. I was told that for our security, we will be followed by someone - who may even be in our car if need be. Suddenly, it felt like we were prisoners.
Because there was no free WiFi/internet, we purchased a 24 hour card for 100 EGP (about $5.) From the ATM machine in the lobby, we got some local currency that came in handy for purchasing tickets for the Sound and Light show, as well as for tips.
For dinner, we stayed in the hotel instead of venturing out, and ate at their Italian Restaurant called Nefertary (wife of Ramses II.) - other option was a buffet dinner. This elegantly designed restaurant was completely empty - only one couple came in later. The food was good, and very reasonable - $10 for two, which we charged to the room.
Day 6: Breakfast was included and it was a lavish affair. It gets one's day started correctly - for most people.
I wanted to go for a walk to see what was out there. Although on a main thoroughfare, Al Haram, mere 3 miles away from the Pyramids, the area immediately around the hotel was completely run down. Before stepping outside the hotel, I checked with the security if that would be OK. There was plenty of traffic - vehicles and people. Minibuses were stopping by and picking commuters up. It was dusty, and not walk friendly. I turned around and returned to the hotel within 10 minutes. The security guy didn't remember me and asked for my name and room number - thankfully, I remembered.
For today, our Emilio Rep insisted that we NOT go around on our own, but for $15 pp, he will arrange for a car to take us round trip to the museum. He even came in the morning to pick us up. The driver waited for us at the Museum. We had a guide scheduled for the city tour tomorrow, who would have covered the Museum also. But if we wanted a guide for today, that would be extra - we declined. We figured that we would just read the signs ourselves. This museum however did not have very informative signs to explain the displays - though most were self-explanatory like the mummies, sarcophagi, other paraphernalia, and statues. Main attraction being the King Tut mask - no photography allowed.
We reached the museum 6 miles away around 9:30 am. There wasn't much traffic. The line outside Museum gates were for security - not too long, but slow. Our Rep already had our tickets, so we were inside the Egyptian Museum quickly after that. We expected to finish in 3 hours and agreed to meet the driver outside the museum around 12:30 PM at the same place where he dropped us off.
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| Egyptian Museum |
The museum was crowded in some areas - where tour groups were crowding around their guides. We were able to navigate around them without much trouble. A lot of ancient history is preserved here.
The Museum faces the Tahrir (Freedom) Square, where the 2011 Egyptian Revolution started on January 25th of that year - we were only days away from its anniversary. It is literally right across the street - may be 5 minutes away. The entire area however was barricaded off. I was hoping to visit the square and take some pictures, but was warned against it.
The larger version of the Museum, called Grand Egyptian Museum, is being built near the pyramids - to be opened shortly.
On the way back, on the west side of the Nile, is Cairo's tallest building - the Cairo Tower. Local's call it Nasser's Pineapple because of its partially open lattice-work design, which is intended to evoke a pharaonic lotus plant, an iconic symbol of Ancient Egypt. The tower is crowned by a circular observation deck and a rotating restaurant with a view over greater Cairo.
The story goes like this: In the 1960s, Egyptian President Nasser announced the construction of the Tower using $6 million personal gift given to him by the U.S. Government with the intent of currying his favor. To publicly rebuke the U.S. government, Nasser decided to transfer the entire funds to the Egyptian government for use in building the tower, visible from the US Embassy just across the Nile, as a taunting symbol of Arab resistance and pride. We did not visit the tower.
We had heard about the Sound and Light show at Pyramids and watched it tonight. The hotel concierge offered to drive us there and back for $17 - we purchased the tickets to the show ourselves (150 EGP, about $8) This open theater is right in front of Valley Temple of Khafre , with his pyramid behind it about 2000 ft away. The Great Pyramid is about 1000 ft to the right and Pyramid of Menkaure about the same distance to the left. Sphinx is in the front. All nicely framed in one place - photo-op. At night, it was difficult to gauge distances and sizes of the monuments, but that became clear the next day when we actually drove / walked around them.
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| Pyramids at night |
We thought our 7 PM show was the first after sunset - but there was another show before that. We left the hotel at 6 PM and reached the Show by 6:30 PM. Regular tickets were 125 EGP - after 4th row of chairs, with first 4 rows were reserved for priority 150 EGP.. Not wanting anyone else's heads in our photos, we purchased the priority tickets and were in the very first row, in seats of our choice. The show wasn't sold out at all - even the first row was practically empty..
While waiting for the previous show to end, we were able to watch the Pyramid of Khafre change colors in front of us, and hear some of the dialog. There were Sound and Light shows at every place we visited - Karnak, Philae, Kom Ombo, Abu Simbel. We couldn't have attended any of those due to our schedule, but even if we could, Pyramids would have been my first choice. After the show, we returned to the hotel and had a pizza at the same restaurant ($3.)
Day 7: We left the hotel at 8 am for a six hour city tour. We were advised that security could even be in our van (they weren't.) As mentioned earlier, they were there supposedly to protect us, but we felt like (and we actually were) being tracked. Our guide reported to the security when we left the hotel as to where we were going, and then every place we visited.
Taking a direct route through the city, we reached the Citadel of Salah Al Din and Mosque of Mohamed Ali before the traffic got bad. It was about 10 miles away - on the way to the airport further northeast. The sky was clear, but it was hazy/smoggy. The Mosque was impressive, and the shape looked very familiar. Salah Al Din had visited Istanbul's Hagia Sophia, and patterned the architecture of this mosque on it. He was the first Sultan of Egypt and built the Citadel as a protection against the crusaders. Some of the stones used to build the Citadel were taken from the Great Pyramid - how about that!.
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| Mosque of Mohamed Ali |
As we had already visited the Egyptian Museum yesterday, Old town churches were substituted in today's tour. In this 85% Muslim country, Christians - mainly Coptic, which was the dominant religion of Egypt before Islam - still have their churches. As we finished, it was 10 am and the sky was clearing. It was time, finally, to visit the Pyramids. Because of traffic, we took the freeway loop to get there.
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| Coptic Churches of Cairo |
Just as we reached the checkpoint for the Pyramids, a security guard with a clipboard saw us and asked "Indians?" Our guide truthfully replied, "Americans." The security guard didn't believe him. (This happened everywhere in Egypt - and also later.) I later asked our guide why he wouldn't just say that we are Indians, if that's what the security guards believed anyways. Even though I was carrying a US Passport, I was still born an Indian. Everywhere else - at the airports, tourist areas, souvenir shops - here as well as later in Tanzania and Istanbul, people knew instantly that we were Indians, not Americans - and they happened to like Indians much more so than Americans, that's for sure!
Security at the pyramids was another experience. Everyone, except the driver, was to get off with their belongings, walk through a building with metal detectors. The car and driver got screened separately. We then returned to the car and proceeded. The fun part was that some people were coming directly from the airport, and had their large suitcases to carry through the detectors before returning to their vehicles.
Pyramids were just beyond on a vast barren desert-land. Not too long ago, though, slums were allowed all the way to the base of the Pyramids. Those have now been moved away, so the Necropolis feels as it did centuries ago.
Cars are parked facing the north face of the Great Pyramid. Pyramids of Khafre and Menkaure were neatly stacked beyond to the West (right), next to each other just like the stars of the Orion (more on the pyramids later.) with Great Sphinx to the East (left.) Canals from the Nile allowed boats and rafts carrying granite rocks quarried from Upper Egypt near Aswan to reach right up to this area. One boat ramp in front of the Sphinx still exists. Just beyond that is the open theater for the Sound and Light show at Pyramids.
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| The Great Pyramid |
You begin at the North face of the pyramid where the entrance to the tomb (Robbers' Tunnel), as well as a portion of pyramids casing is visible. When the casing was in place, the entire pyramid must have shined like a 8-sided jewel. Even now, it is an impressive structure built with great precision and straight lines. With sun shining near the apex of the pyramid, it was a view to behold for sure. The Great Pyramid is even more impressive as you get closer. Some stones are really enormous, and to see them stacked so neatly with snug fit and able to support the structure above is quite an engineering feat. From one vantage point, you can see how parallel the edges of two pyramids (Great Pyramid and Pyramid of Khafre) are. The latter, though smaller, looks comparable in size because it is set at a higher elevation. Casing at the top of the Pyramid of Khafre still remains so you can imagine how well built these structures were. Over centuries of neglect, the pyramids were half submerged in sand. Only after French (Napoleon) and later British ruled Egypt, pyramids received much attention. (Greeks tourists, during their heydays, were known to have visited the three grand monuments.)
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| L to R: Pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure |
Today, horses, camels and horse carriages were everywhere offering to take you for a ride around. Cars were able to drive to a view point behind the pyramids (West) for a great panorama photo-op. There were some clouds on the horizon, but clear and sunny otherwise. Returning back to the Great Sphinx, we walked up close to see how deep they had to excavate to find the paws and tail of this lion-man statue. It took us about 1 1/2 hours to cover the entire complex - would have taken longer had we decided to visit any tomb. As we exited, souvenir shops were everywhere with shopkeepers calling us in Hindi to get our attention.
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| L to R: Pyramid of Khafre, Great sphinx and Great Pyramid |
As much as we resisted shopping, we ended up visiting three shops nevertheless. A small souvenir pyramid to keep on the desk would have been nice - but finding something unique that you'd find only locally, and for a reasonable price is a challenge. Especially in the touristy areas, they price gouge so much that for you to bring them down to $5 - what you will pay at Walmart - is too much hassle.
One thing I really wanted to see was papyrus - how it's made and how does it look/feel. Papyrus is not the origin for paper, which was invented in China, it is pretty ancient and based on the evidence, durable over the centuries. Stores give demonstration of how it is made, and then try to sell you the finished product as large as a whole wall, for thousands of dollars. Smaller versions don't look impressive/special enough to purchase and bring home.
On the way back, we passed by Dodi al Fayed's home near the Pyramids - Princess Diana's friend. Our last stop was an included lunch (all tour companies bring tourists here and get a kickback.) The place was crowded, and because we were late, nearly full, with food running out. This buffet lunch was nothing to write home about. With all boxes checked off from our list, we returned to the hotel around 2 PM. Both the guide and driver were very good - knowledgeable, courteous and on time.
The top floor of our hotel has a bar/restaurant with a balcony facing the pyramids. We went there early (5 PM) at which time it appeared that the sun was going to set exactly between the pyramids. But in the end, it set much further to the right. With the smog, the sunset was very colorful and memorable.
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| Pyramids at Sunset |
Day 8: Like most places, including the US, you are advised to get to the airport early. In another country with unfamiliar airport and traffic situation, that is usually a good advice. I still hate it if I have to wait 2 hours at the airport in the end. Our guide insisted on leaving the hotel at 6 am, for 9:35 am flight. Being early, we were able to cut through the city, drive by the Citadel, and reached airport by 7:30 am. The guide was to accompany us until we were on our way to the gate. The first security check right after entering the terminal was very slow, we were in the wrong line, etc. Thankfully, we had plenty of time. There was no waiting at the Turkish airlines counter where we could check our bags directly to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania (JRO) so we would have a hands free 6 hour layover at Istanbul (IST.)
