Ancient Wonders of Egypt
Coptic Cairo and Old Cairo
We spent our first day touring Coptic Cairo, the ancient Christian quarter in Old Cairo, renowned for its ancient churches, including the Hanging Church and St. Sergius and Bacchus Church which housed the Holy family for 3 months when they hid from religious persecution. We also visited the 6th century Roman Babylon Fortress and the Coptic Museum that housed many ancient relics. We later stopped at a few historic mosques including the magnificent Mosque of Muhammad Ali. The grandeur of these mosques is awe-inspiring. We finished our day with a fantastic dinner at the floating restaurant Nile Maxim. The views were stunning.
Great Pyramids of Giza & Saqqara
No trip to Egypt is complete without seeing the Great Pyramids of Giza, just a short drive outside of Cairo. The size and precision is incredible. We took the tour inside the great pyramid. It was tight, hot and humid but well worth the trek through the narrow tunnels, crouching down to make it to the main room that once held the tomb. All artifacts are in the museums now, but you can visit the Grand Egyptian Museum that recently opened. After a long day of touring, we stopped at the famous Abou el Sid restaurant in Zamalek for traditional, upscale Egyptian food. This restaurant was made famous by Anthony Bourdain and Tom Hanks even dined here! Be sure to make a reservation in advance if you want to experience this delicious cuisine.
4-day Nile River Cruise
This was by far the best part of the trip! We flew from Cairo to Aswan to board our river cruise. We had a super early start (think 2am wake up!) to hit the road to see Abu Simbel, the historic area with 2 temples from Ramses II and his favorite wife, Nefertari. Throughout the cruise, we also visited many incredible and ancient temples, including Temple Philae, Edfu Temple, Kom Ombo, Karnak Temple and we finished at Luxor Temple and the Avenue of the Sphinx. Before leaving Luxor, we made our way to Valley of the Kings. We saw Hatshepsut's Temple and many of the underground tombs with the colorful hieroglyphics in the tombs of Ramses II, Seti and King Tut. We even got to see King Tut himself! (pictured left)
Desert Safari
After our cruise, we flew back to Cairo for a couple more days. We toured the Khan el Khalili ancient market still bustling with vendors and shoppers today. Our final day, we went on a desert safari several hours from Cairo into the Sahara. We visited Wadi al-Hitan, a prehistoric site of sea fossils in the desert. After a short stop, we went off-roading in the dunes of the Sahara which was super fun! We even made a stop at the top of a huge dune to go sandboarding. We finished the day at an oasis with a traditional Egyptian BBQ.
Egypt: A Must Visit!
Egypt was by far my most memorable trip and I don't know if anything will ever top it! The question on most peoples minds: Is it safe? And I answer with a resounding YES! Egyptians go out of their way to be kind and caring to you. Always be street smart wherever you visit, but I never felt unsafe walking around Cairo in the evening as a female. Be sure to dress modestly to respect their culture (cover shoulders and knees). In fact, many Egyptians were mesmerized by my niece and me, asking to take our photos. We even had our photos taken walking out of a public bathroom! I don't believe they are used to fair skinned people and it was completely harmless. We obliged the requests from school kids.
A few more pics of timeless egypt
