We arrived in Cairo just in time for dinner, still abuzz with the memories we have of Jordan. But Egypt would be a whole new adventure.
The next morning we met Ahmed Eleter, our guide for our time in Egypt, and he warned us that we would see all kinds of things in Egypt--and they would all be normal for Egypt. A family of five on a scooter? Normal. Women in full burkhas? Normal. Women in full Western dress? Normal. Tuktuks driving the wrong way on the freeway? Normal. It was the ideal presentation to get us to sit back and enjoy the ride.
We started at Saladin's Citadel and the Mohamed Ali Mosque, (the ruler of Egypt in the 1800s, not the boxer). There were stories to tell, and we got our first warning from Ahmed about the vendors. "Be careful. They will be persistent, and everything they sell was made in China." The vendors appeared at every single site we visited, and regularly implored the guides to help them. One of the other guides had a very simple system: "If I say this is a fantastic deal, it means don't buy it. If I say it is very good, then consider it as a reasonable purchase."
The mosque was impressive and lovely, but was soon eclipsed by the treasures in Cairo's Egyptian Museum.
Here Ahmed's degree in Archeology really came to the fore, as he talked us through many of the most important pieces in this huge museum, then set us free to see the Treasure's of King Tut's tomb (no photos or guides allowed--although some pieces, like his chair, were available outside the exhbit for photographs) and explore even more on our own, One of our favorite exhibits was the tomb goods from the tomb of Thuya and Yuya, a well-to-do couple whose tomb revealed much about their life, from the sandals they wore to the mummy masks that let them face the afterlife.
The museum is massive, and we nearly got lost trying to find out way back to Ahmed. And the New Egyptian Museum in Giza is slated to open soon: "Every year they say it will open in November," says Ahmed. But until they move King Tut's treasures there, this will still be the place to go to see the best collectiong of ancient Egyptian artifacts.
That made for a great first day in Cairo.
The following day was dedicated to pyramids. We began in Memphis, where we visited the first real pyramid in Egypt: King Djoser's step pyramid. We head read about this before the trip, but it was far larger than we expected, and Ahmed's explanations were great.
And then it was on to lunch in the Mena Hotel, a luxutry resort with sight of the pyramids in Giza, followed by a visit to the Great Pyramids themselves. They lived up to our expectations, as did the vendors there. Some chose to enter the Pyramid of Cheops (it was blistering hot outside, and a sauna inside, so we passed on that option) while we wandered around the outside and enjoyed the open air and the view. A second viewpoint also allowed those who wanted to ride a camel in the desert. Again, we chose to watch and take in the show.
And a final stop at the Sphinx was the one place that seemed crowded. Given that tourism in Egypt was down by some 60% because of the Israili/Hamas conflict, we could not imagine what this place was like during a high season. During our visit the vast parking lot was not even half full, and Ahmed just shook his head when we asked him what it was like during a busy season.
Our final day in Cairo took us into Old Cairo, where we visited a couple of Coptic churches and an ancient synagogue. Coptic Christians make up 20% of the population of Egypt, and we couldn't help thinking of Harrison Ford as we wandered through these old temples.
From there we took a flight to Luxor, where we boarded our Ama Waterways ship, the Amalilia.
That evening we sat on deck and enjoyed the sunset, sailing on the Nile.
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