An introduction to Egypt

Egypt. The name conjures up so many different thoughts – certainly the ancient Egypt of King Tut and Cleopatra that we all learned about in school. Also, the dry desert, the more modern Muslim culture of Cairo, the Arab Spring and safety issues may come to mind. We went on a week-long trip there in March and it’s all of these things and so much more. Our admittedly short trip there far exceeded my expectations.

The Sphinx Complex

As I wrote about in my A day in Zurich blog post, this trip was a fairly impromptu affair inspired by a business-class flight deal from Going (formerly Scott’s Cheap Travel). I am a pretty adventurous person and avid researcher and travel planner but I will confess that Egypt made me a little nervous. Not to mention the fact that we had invited two friends to join us on the trip so the added pressure of guests worried me too. Given all of that unease, I decided that it would be best to use a travel planner/agency to help us with this trip. I’ve never used a service before and spent a good amount of time researching various options on the internet as well as many Egypt-oriented travel advice websites and blogs. We landed on an amazing company called Audley Travel and the service was absolutely top notch. In retrospect could we have done this on our own? I think we could have managed most but not all of the logistics but that it would have been a lot more stressful for us. The experience with Audley was very “white glove” with several meetings with me about what we did and did not want to do and a good amount of guidance and instruction from them. Our coordinator was experienced in travel in Egypt and was able to offer sound advice from his own personal point of view. We received detailed written materials in the mail before departure and they were open to last minute adjustments to the plan, even during the trip. The service was excellent and the bar has now been set high for future trips using travel companies.

A treasure from the Museum

A treasure from the Egyptian Museum

We flew SWISS Airlines from Zurich to Cairo in fairly typical European business class – essentially economy with the middle seat blocked off as well as a meal and alcohol. All fine but nothing terribly exciting. We landed in Cairo in the late afternoon and I was immediately impressed by the modernity of the airport. I’m not sure what I expected but the airport (and most of Egypt) was cleaner, more efficient and more modern than I thought it would be. Audley had arranged for someone to meet us as soon as we deplaned and we were quickly escorted through getting a tourist visa, passport control, getting our luggage, and into the car to take us to the hotel. Our host was a charming young man who was eager to ensure we had a wonderful time. The Egyptian custom of Baksheesh, tipping anyone and everyone for almost any act, was prevalent from the start as we handed variations of 100 Egyptian Pounds (about $3.30) to almost every service person we encountered (we had easily gotten Egyptian Pounds at an ATM in the airport). A very modern road took us from the airport to the St. Regis Cairo and we were quicky settled in to start our Egyptian journey.

The St. Regis Cairo and our Astor Room

The St. Regis Cairo is located on the Nile and close to El-Tahrir Square and the Egyptian Museum. The 36-story modern luxury hotel offers a blend of Egyptian design and influences with modern luxury and amenities. The hotel was buzzing on the Friday night that we arrived – loads of guests checking in and enjoying the many restaurants and bars. We were checked in fairly quickly and were taken to our Astor Room – a large room with separate sleeping, seating and working areas and lovely views of the hotel pool and the Nile River. We quickly freshened up and met our friends in the St. Regis Bar and Water Garden, soon to be a frequent place for us. We enjoyed a few cocktails, some light snacks, catching up and thinking of the journey ahead of us.

Mohammad Ali Mosque

Because this trip was organized and managed by Audley and included the Nile River cruise, we did not experience a lot of local restaurants and of course I didn’t do any of the planning myself (a real departure for me). Because of that, most of this blog will consist of sites we visited with less focus on recommendations for places to stay, eat and things to do. I learned that there is a fairly consistent tourist schedule and route – Cairo, Giza, a cruise with the same stops – and that was perfectly fine for us. The Egyptians have the tourist routine down pat and there are even “tourist police” to ensure that tourists are cared for. We felt perfectly safe throughout the trip, even as gay couples, and never once had any worry other than persistent appeals from the trinket sellers everywhere and the constant extended hand for a tip. It was a wonderful, once in a lifetime kind of trip, and we were all so taken by the breadth of the history and sites and the warmth of the people.

The Citadel and Mohammad Ali Mosque

Our first full day was focused on old Cairo, which came into power long after the decline of the ancient Egyptian culture. Cairo is a sprawling city of 10 million people and was more modern and had better infrastructure than I had expected. Though famed for its horrendous traffic, that is also something that I did not think was as bad as many other Middle Eastern, Indian or Asian cities. Our day started late with a visit to the Citadel and Mohammad Ali Mosque. Situated on a spur of the Muqattam Hills, the Citadel dominates Cairo’s skyline and was the nerve center of the city and Egypt for almost 700 years. The mosque is classically Ottoman with a large central dome and smaller ones surrounding it. It was really beautiful and the whole site offered panoramic views of Cairo, we could even see the Pyramids from there. We had a wonderful local guide who shared in depth knowledge about the site, the city and Egyptian and Muslim history and culture.

The Citadel

Upon leaving the Citadel we were asked if we wanted to do some shopping. This is a common question in places with poorer economies and heavy tourism – and usually it means very hard selling to get you to buy something probably of not the best quality. I’ve been similarly taken-in in Morocco and India, to name a few. We agreed to visit an essential oil shop and as expected we were taken to a couch, offered tea, and then taught all about the oil extraction process and various scents. Then asked what we wanted to buy. We did enjoy the experience and the oils so we all picked up something and went on our way. We were later offered similar experiences for cotton, papyrus, alabaster, and other unique Egyptian products – which we repeatedly declined. I don’t recall the name of the shop but I suspect there are dozens of them. We finished our day around historic Moez Street, with its abundance of old buildings and mosques, and the Khan El Khalili bazaar, one of the largest and most vibrant in Cairo. The bazaar was a hive of activity with so many shops and restaurants of all types (from herbs to toilets) and packed full of people – locals and tourists alike. We had dinner at Naguib Mahfouz Café, a local institution (though pretty touristy) where we had a set meal of Egyptian specialties. After dinner we grabbed a mint tea at a small café before we headed back to the St. Regis.

Our essential oil shopping

Moez Street and the Khan El Khalili Bazaar

Dinner at the Naguib Mahfouz Cafe and mint tea in the Bazaar

The following day was our introduction to ancient Egyptian culture with a trip to nearby Giza (part of greater Cairo) which is home to the famous Pyramids and the Sphinx (among other ancient sites). We stopped by to see the grounds of the new Grand Egyptian Museum, not yet open to the public but planned to be an impressive and modern home for the thousands of artifacts and treasures managed by the government. We then entered the Pyramid complex, dominated by the three grand pyramids of Old Kingdom Pharaohs Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure. It was truly incredible to see these 4,500-year-old Wonders of the World in person. Up close you see the huge blocks that were transported here and stacked one by one without the benefit of any technology to form these immense burial monuments. We were able to enter the Great Pyramid (that of Khufu) and ascend through very narrow passages to visit a chamber deep within the stones. It was strenuous, narrow, hot and a bit claustrophobic and the chamber was a plain, undecorated room, but what an experience to climb up through an ancient Pyramid!

The three grand Pyramids

Inside the Great Pyramid of Khufu

Finished with the three Pyramids, we moved to a nearby plateau for a camel ride. Clearly designed as a tourist experience, there were loads of grumpy camels and various (also grumpy) handlers. The camels kneel down so that you can climb up on them and then lurch up and you are walked towards the Pyramids. Bouncing around like a ship on the sea, it was a fun experience and provided lots of good photo opportunities. The camel jockeys had their routines down pat and knew the best places and tricks for good photos. Also, a great way to ask for big tips! While a bit cheesy, it was really a lot of fun! After the camel ride, our last site in Giza was to see the Sphinx complex, which consists of the Sphinx itself and associated temples and procession routes. In photos we mostly see the Sphinx from the front with that enigmatic smile so it was interesting to see it from all sides, including the tail curled around its backside. Though quite big, it's not a large as it appears in photos since they are generally taken from the ground looking up and it appears to be hulking over the landscape. Legend has it that the Sphinx questioned visitors with riddles and killed those who could not answer them. Luckily, we survived.

Touristy but fun - and great photo ops!

The Sphinx Complex

After this busy morning, we spent most of the afternoon in the enormous Museum of Egyptian Antiquities (more commonly called the Egyptian Museum). The museum itself is an antiquity, having been inaugurated in 1902, and has a very Victorian feel with an imposing façade, grand entrance and many small exhibition rooms and corridors filled to the brim with artifacts spanning all of ancient Egypt up to the Greco-Roman period. Apparently, there are thousands of items that aren’t even on display and given the age and dated preservation mechanisms in the museum, it’s clear why the new Grand Egyptian Museum is needed. Our guide took us through all the highlights of the museum, the star of which is still the many artifacts from King Tut’s tomb. There were so many beautiful statues but also everyday tools and a variety of objects using in the funerary rites and in the tombs of the ancient Egyptians. They were extremely focused on the afterlife and most of what we see and know today comes from the monuments, tombs, and objects they made to serve and honor the dead as they passed into the next world. The museum (and guide’s instructions) was an excellent place to get grounded in the various kingdoms, pharaohs, and common themes that we would see throughout the remainder of our trip.

A few of the thousands of treasures at the Egyptian Museum

Pretty tired from this very long day, we spent the evening enjoying the luxuries of the St. Regis. We all felt a little dusty and “camel-y” so a refreshing shower was in order before a light dinner in the bar. We had a very early departure the next day to fly to Luxor and on to our Nile cruise. More to come on that in my next blog post.