While standing in the Coliseum in Rome, it dawned on me that I was seeing something I’ve dreamed about seeing my entire childhood. This moment got me thinking where else I could travel where I could feel the same sense of wonder and excitement.
Flash forward three months and I’m standing in a deserted Cairo airport a little disoriented after a four hour flight from Frankfurt. My buddy and I walked around the airport terminal for a little bit trying to get the lay of the land to find a taxi to our hotel on the outskirts of Giza. After being approached by several taxi staff members we were initially concerned about, we prepaid for a car to deliver us to our hotel. After a 45 minute ride, we arrived at our hotel which overlooks the Pyramid Complex at Giza. Finally getting settled, we grabbed a quick Egyptian beer while enjoying the view of the Pyramids. We made arrangements for a private driver to show us around Cairo during our stay, something that was recommended to me by people familiar with Cairo.
We had our driver take us to downtown Cairo. The traffic was the most impressive thing I’ve ever seen. No right of way, no stoplights (for the most part), no crosswalks, no safety rules, nothing. Just mayhem. Despite the mayhem, traffic still moved and we made it to the shore of the Nile River, where our driver arranged a boat ride for us. We had hoped to get a boat ride in a traditional Felucca sailboat, but some apparent miscommunication resulted in our renting of a 35 foot party boat for an hour. The boat pilot guided us around the island of Zamalek as darkness took hold across Cairo. Our trusty driver acted as a tour guide, explaining which buildings were hotels, embassies, and government buildings. The 35 foot boat proved to be quite spacious and comfortable with its four occupants. What wasn’t comfortable was getting large particles of pollution in our eyes as we sailed on the river.
After breakfast, we met our driver and discussed a game plan for the day. His experience as a driver was extremely helpful in planning out what we could reasonably expect to see in a single day, as Cairo is not a city where you can simply walk around. It’s a massive place, with over 30 million people living there. He first took us to an area where Muslim, Jewish, and Christian houses of worship can all be found on the same street. This area is home to the famous Cairo Greek Coptic Church, the Babylon Fortress, the Hanging Church, Ben Ezra synagogue (one of the only synagogues left in Cairo), and the Amr ibn al-As Mosque (the oldest mosque in Africa). The mosque was one of the coolest human-built structures I’ve seen, despite being incredibly simple in design.
After getting our multi-religious experience, we headed to the Cairo Citadel. The views of the city were great, despite the pollution, and really showed how extensive the city is. It also shows how much of the city lives in absolutely abject poverty. The Citadel was also home to two beautiful mosques, one of which was modeled after Istanbul’s Blue Mosque.
We checked out a small market area to buy some papyrus art and sampled Cairo’s finest perfumes. Our driver obviously knew these merchants, but we didn’t get too bad of a deal. We rolled over to our driver’s favorite schwarma place and ate outside while drinking super strong Turkish coffee. Both were as delicious as advertised.
After lunch, we drove a short distance to the famous Al-Hussein Khan El Khalili bazaar. We wandered around exploring the shops and the stores for about an hour, until our driver took us to a juice stand. He ordered carrot juice for himself and sugar cane juice for my buddy and I. We were a bit leery of it, since it wasn’t the cleanest establishment and we were told to avoid juices while in Egypt. IT. WAS. DELICIOUS. AND ALSO NOT TOO SWEET.
After not getting food-borne illness, the driver took us through the European Quarter, where the buildings were styled similarly to what you’d see in a western European city. Most of the buildings had seen better days, but it was an interesting contrast to the other areas we visited on our trip.
At the end of the day, we drove to Zamalek and had some drinks at the Marriott hotel garden. It was a beautiful hotel and it felt far away from the rest of the crowded and noisy city. Not too far away from the hotel was the restaurant Sequoia, one of the fanciest in Cairo. We had an unbelievable meal for the equivalent of $45. I tried to order dates, so I could make an Indiana Jones joke about “bad dates“. Instead of dates, I ended up with date cake, which was delicious.
The day finally came. It was time to see the Pyramids. Up close and personal. Even the insides of one of them. Hell yes.
We got picked up from our hotel by a new driver and his “Egyptologist” comrade. Egyptologist is perhaps a relative term in this instance- the man was an Egyptian who knew some things about the ancient Egyptians. We drove to the Giza Pyramid Complex, where we walked up to the Great Pyramid of Khufu. Paying a little extra, we climbed up the steep incline to the burial chamber inside of the Pyramid. The chamber was pretty empty, except for the box that formerly held the Pharaoh’s sarcophagus. A few signs pointed out the nine massive stones making up the ceiling, weighing an incredible 400 tons total. The scale of these pyramids was incredible, just astounding to see.
While the other two main pyramids at the Giza complex were smaller, they were no less impressive. Driving up to the plateau overlooking the pyramids and the edge of the Sahara desert. Next up was the Sphinx. With the pyramids as the backdrop, it was a truly awe inspiring thing to see. The legs and the tail of the Sphinx were particularly well-preserved.
After grabbing some delicious falafel, we headed to Tahrir Square. The square was massive, much larger that how it seemed from the TV footage of the Arab Spring protests. On one side of the square sat the Egypt Museum. The collection was impressive in scale, but most of the artifacts weren’t in good shape and everything was jammed packed in the building. It was a shame to see such incredible things in that kind of shape…hopefully the Egyptians will be able to expand their museum and restore some of the artifacts in the future. After the museum, we returned to the Khan El Khalili to try our hand at bargaining in the famous bazaar for some small souvenirs.
On our final day in Egypt, we decided to visit the Al-Azhar Park before catching our flight. The park was beautiful and we had some tea while listening to the call to prayer echo across the city.
Months later, I still have to pinch myself when I think about this trip. Simply unforgettable.
Travel Frankly 