We arrived at Cairo International Airport just past midnight. Immigration and customs was a breeze and pretty soon we were outside the terminal building.
We were staying at the Ramses Hilton on the banks of Nile (close to Egyptian Antiquities Museum). I had researched various airport transfer options and based on Tripadvisor forum recommendations, I had opted for Cairo Airport Shuttle. The company operates 24/7 out of the airport and usually has the vehicles parked in the car lot outside the terminal. After confirming my prepaid booking, we were on our way to the hotel.
Day 1:
After waking up early and having a heavy breakfast at the hotel, we walked from the hotel to the Cairo Museum (Egyptian Antiquities Museum). Even though the museum is only a 5 minute walk from the hotel, it takes longer because you have to cross 2 busy streets. Crossing the streets in Cairo is an experience in itself and not for the faint of heart.
The Cairo Museum is pretty huge. Although there are some artifacts that have labels with enough of a description on them, there are many more that do not. For the Egyptian history fans, it might not be a bad idea to hire an official guide. One interesting note is that cameras were not allowed but cellphones were ok inside the museum.
We started out on the ground floor and went around the building (clock-wise) covering the Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom and finally New Kingdom. My favorite artifact on the ground floor was undoubtedly “The Coronation of Ramesses III”.
After walking one complete circle on the ground floor, we went upstairs where the Tutankhamun Collection is located. The most conspicuous thing you will see is the 4 giant boxes in a hallway that were recovered from the Tutankhamun tomb at Valley Of The Kings. Among other notable artifacts in the collection is the young king’s chariot, bust and royal scepter.
In a special room on the second floor lies one of the most popular artifact of this museum, the death mask of King Tut. The mask consists of 14 kilograms of solid gold.
After spending about 4 hours at the museum, we finally returned back to the hotel. Since we had a long journey from India the day before, we decided to take it easy for the rest of the day and do more sightseeing the next day.
Day 2:
I had researched many tour companies that operated day trips in Cairo. I had gotten replies from quite a few of them (including ones from the hotel we were staying). Based on Tripadvisor reviews, prices and itineraries, I chose Egypt Tailer Made as our company for our 2 day-trips in Cairo.
Early in the morning after having our breakfast, we got a call that our guide from Egypt Tailer Made (Laila Hassan) was waiting for us at the hotel lobby. After getting in our vehicle, we were on our way to the first stop of the day – Memphis.
The most popular attraction of Memphis is the open-air museum that hosts the colossus of Ramesses. It is a giant statue of Ramesses II laid inside a room. The carvings on the side of the statue as well as the real lifelike expression of the statue is simply amazing.
Outside the room hosting the Ramesses statue is the Sphinx of Memphis as well as another standing statue of Ramesses.
After Memphis we proceeded next to Saqqara. After reaching Saqqara, the scenery changes drastically. You are suddenly faced with the Sahara desert with a beautiful oasis in the middle.
Saqqara is known for old kingdom king Djoser’s Step-Pyramid, the first large scale stone structure in the history of the world. The Egyptians had not perfected the sloping style of the pyramids yet!! I was surprised to see so few tourists around here.
The pillars just past the entrance to the Step-Pyramid complex were amazing (considering they were constructed some 3000 years ago). There was large scale restoration work still going on around the side of the Step Pyramid while we were there.
After seeing the Step Pyramid, we walked to a nearby Pyramid of Teti and Mereruka Tomb. Our guide Laila mentioned that the chamber inside this pyramid is actually nicer than the interiors of the Great Pyramid (which costs 100 EGP separate entrance fee) while this one was included in the ticket. We followed the tomb guard down the stairs and entered the sarcophagus chamber. There were heiroglyphic carvings and pictures on the walls and painting on the roof of the tomb. You are not supposed to take pictures inside the tomb although you can slip the tomb guard a 10-20 EGP and he will actually encourage you to take as many pictures as you want.
Next to King Teti Pyramid is Mereruka Tomb, the resting place of the minister of the pharaoh. We ended up walking around that complex and saw lots of beautiful carvings on the walls (no pictures allowed in this one). You can spot all kinds of animals on the wall carvings. We saw plenty of carvings of ducks, lions, alligators, snakes and various birds.
After spending a couple of hours in Saqqara, it was time for a little bit of shopping before heading for Giza. Our guide took us to a government shop where my mom bought her first souvenir of this trip – a papyrus painting. After that, our guide got us some lunch (a pita stuffed with Baba Ganoush and another stuffed with falafel).
When we reached Giza it was around 2 pm. The fog had lifted and visibility was great. It was such an amazing feeling coming face to face with one of the seven wonders of the world (and the only one among those seven wonders still standing). For those who do not know, there are 3 big pyramids (and 3 small pyramid like structures of the wives) in this area of the Giza plateau: The Great Pyramid of Khufu, Pyramid of Khafre (son of Khufu) and smallest one of the three – Pyramid of Menkaure. The Pyramid of Khafre looks taller than the Great Pyramid because it is sitting on higher ground. The feature that distinguishes the two is that the Pyramid of Khafre still has the casings at the peak of the pyramid while its gone from the Great Pyramid.
We walked up the steps of the Pyramid to the entrance to get a sense of the history of this place. After spending about an hour, we drove past the Pyramids to a spot called the “Panoramic Viewpoint” where you can see all 3 pyramids in a line (with the smaller pyramids of the wives behind them). It was such a surreal feeling looking at the Pyramids in the distance.
We wanted to do a camel ride in Egypt and our guide had told us that the place to do that is this spot. There were lots of camels and horses. After negotiating we agreed on a price of 100 EGP total for the two of us for 15 minutes. After we climbed on the camel, the guide took us over the dunes to a few spots for great photo opportunities.
After spending some time at the viewpoint, we drove back past the pyramids to the place where the Sphinx is located. After paying the entry fee we entered the complex to get close to this amazing architectural piece of an era gone by.
After taking dozens of pictures of the area, we finally returned back to the hotel. On our way back, we passed by the Zamalek area which hosts one of Cairo’s popular landmarks, the Cairo Tower.
Day 3:
We had planned for Islamic Cairo and Coptic Cairo for this day and a visit to Khan el Khalili Bazaar for the grand finale of our trip to Cairo.
The day started with a photo stop on a bridge on the river Nile.
Next stop was Saladin’s Citadel. A fort located on a hill near the center of Cairo, this attraction is also the location for the Mohamed Ali Pasha Mosque. With Ottoman influenced architecture, this mosque looks a lot like the Blue Mosque of Istanbul.
Inside the mosque lies the chandelier presented by King Louis Philippe of France.
After spending about an hour in the Citadel, our next stop was Ibn Tulun Mosque. While much less impressive than the previous mosque, this one has a minaret that has a sweeping view of the city. It is however a quite steep climb to the top of the minaret and we ended up only getting about 3/4 of the way and finally gave up. 🙂
After Islamic Cairo, we moved on to Coptic Cairo. First stop – Hanging Church
At the entrance of the church, there is a depiction of the flight of the Holy Family to Egypt on the walls.
The church was built on top of a fort (as seen on the following picture, you are looking down into the fort below) and hence its name.
Within a short walk from the Hanging Church is the Saints Sergius and Bacchus Church which is supposedly the place where the Holy Family rested at the end of their journey to Egypt.
Lastly, just past this church lies the Ben Ezra Synagogue. It is believed that this is the location where baby Moses was found on the bank of the Nile. No pictures are allowed inside the synagogue.
After visiting the three churches we arrived at our last stop of our Cairo trip, the famous marketplace of Cairo – Khan el Khalili Bazaar. The bazaar is a network of streets with shops on both sides. After walking around for a while we ended up having some delicious Hawawshi at a street shop (which ended up being my most favorite food during our trip to Egypt).
