Egypt

Visiting Egypt is almost like visiting another world; it's so unique! The language and the culture and the architecture are all different than anything we've seen before.

We booked our entire stay in Egypt with a tour company called Egypt Tailor Made Tours  They were really great and took care of everything including booking our hotel (we were able to pick between two), all of the individual entrance fees to the sights we visited, and arranging our transfers to and from the airport. Walid was our coordinator and he was very responsive. The logistics all went smoothly and everyone we interacted with was friendly and professional. Our guide, Yasmine, was fantastic and she knew so much about all the sites we visited and was always happy to take lots of photos for us. She also acted as translator whenever we needed to liaison with local people who only spoke Arabic.

Getting around Egypt is not easy. Our driver, Sayed, was great and we were very thankful for him as he expertly navigated the crazy Egypt traffic. I literally can't imagine driving around there myself; there are no rules! Also there's hardly any street signs so if you don't know exactly where you're going you'll almost definitely get lost.

Our visit to Egypt was much different than the picture of Egypt we had before visiting. We had been worried about people giving us a very hard time for not dressing correctly and we had heard specifically that men would hiss or shout at tourist women who showed any skin. But that was not our experience at all. I dressed respectfully in long pants and a t-shirt that was not low-cut on our first day, but by the second day I was wearing shorts since our guide told us it was okay. I never received anything but kindness and respect from people. I also brought along a light scarf that I could wrap around my head if I ever needed to or felt uncomfortable but I never actually used it. I also saw tourist women dressed in short skirts and low-cut spaghetti strapped tank tops, but I wouldn't necessarily endorse that.

We kept the visit short since we had been concerned about our security there. But after being there I realize we needn't have worried and I wish we would've had a bit more time. Everyone we interacted with was respectful and other than the occasional hustle from a local vendor (which wasn't nearly as aggressive as what we dealt with in Southern Africa) we really had no trouble at all. Although the good behavior of the vendors may partially be due to the presence of our guide since she is there frequently and they have learned they probably won't get anywhere with us, so I can't say for sure if we would've had the same experience if we were there on our own. 

Most of the sights we visited did have armed guards at the entrances with AK-47s which might bother some people. We didn't worry about it since we knew they were there for the protection of everyone. 

Another thing we really worried about was getting "the pharoah's revenge" (aka, traveller's diarrhea). We had been told to be very careful and only drink sealed bottled water, drink nothing with ice cubes in it, and don't eat any fresh fruit or vegetables that may have been washed with bad water. Cooked food is generally fine but we avoided street food. Also to avoid getting water on our face in the shower and to use bottled water to brush our teeth. We were very lucky and never got sick although we weren't always as careful as we should've been. We ate some fresh fruit at our hotel breakfast buffet and I also ate a small salad at a reputable restaurant where I was assured several times that it would be okay. I also forgot and used the tap water to brush my teeth sometimes. Overall these were unnecessary risks that could've really soured our time in Egypt but we were fortunate. Our guide always provided good bottled water for us and warned us not to buy bottled water from around the pyramids as they refill it and she has gotten sick there.

The seemingly religious harmony in Egypt is interesting. Our guide shared with us that muslims, christians, and Jews have lived together in Egypt peacefully for many many years. There are areas with mosques, churches, and synagogues all together and they are all friends with each other. Our guide says it is "no problem at all". They've also recently accepted many Syrian refugees into Egypt and they seem to be perfectly content about this. "They make good food" is the comment we got from Yasmine. She does admit though that she doesn't watch the news anymore because even in Egypt the media paints a different picture than reality.

Another first for us about Egypt is the desert (unless you count our brief stop in Dubai). Besides the obvious things about Egypt that are really cool it was also just astounding to look out into the huge Sahara desert without any vegetation at all. Also, sometimes in the morning when I would check the weather app it would say something like "Sand 89 degrees". Lol

Link to all Egypt pictures

Overview of Our Trip

We only had 4 nights (barely, since we had to leave midnight our last night for a 3am flight) in Egypt so we had to make each day count. Our itinerary was to spend two full days in Cairo and a day trip to Alexandria. 

Cairo

Our first day in Cairo was packed with all of the famous Cairo sights. We started in Saqqara and visited the museum of the high priest Imhotep (not the same one from The Mummy) and learned a lot about the oldest pyramid in Egypt, the Step Pyramid. Then we were able to go into one of the pyramids which was the tomb of a king and also notable because it is only 1 of 2 pyramids with written text inside. We also explored the inside of the tomb of a rich priest where he had documented on the walls all of his titles and possessions so that he would be able to use them in the afterlife. Then we were able to walk all around the famous Step Pyramid and learn all about it.

Then we went to Memphis which was a previous capitol of Egypt. We saw the huge statue of Pharoah Ramses II and learned all about him. There are several other cool statues located there, including another smaller one of Ramses II and a small sphinx. 

We also visited the Giza Pyramids, which was amazing. The Great Pyramid is the oldest and only remaining wonder of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World! It was literally breathtaking seeing the pyramids and the Sahara Dessert in the background. It was also really cool to get on a couple of camels and take some pictures in the pyramids in the background. But our guide took us to people she knew and trusted for this and said a lot of the people will scam you and tell you one price to get on the camel and then charge you more to take you back or get off of the camel. Then we also went to see the Great Sphinx which was also really awesome. 

For more info on all of the sights we visited on our first day in Cairo please check here.

Our last day in Cairo had lots of interesting religious sites and we started with the Salah el Din Citadel of Cairo and learned the history there. We were also able to tour the two beautiful mosques inside. That area also had a fantastic view over Cairo and the pyramids in the distance.

Then we went to what's known as Coptic Cairo and visited two notable churches there. The first is called Cavern Church and is built over the cavern where it is believed the Holy Family stayed for 3 months when Jesus was a baby when they were fleeing the Roman persecution in Israel. We were able to go down into the cavern and see part of the original floor and the nook where it's believed that the baby Jesus slept. Needless to say that was pretty incredible. Then we also saw what's called the Hanging Church. It gets it's name from it's unique location built over a Roman gatehouse and seems to hang over it. 

We briefly visited the Egypt Museum in order to see the impressive gold collection that was found in King Tut's tomb and is on display there. The museum has lots of other things as well and if you're into statues and hieroglyphics then that's a great place to go.

Our last stops were the market and bazaar where there were lots of shops. Our guide told us we shouldn't really buy anything there because most of it is poor quality but we were still interested in seeing the area and what sorts of stuff were there. We really weren't hassled by the vendors at all; they would ask if we wanted to buy, we would say no, the end. We were asked by some local kids to take pictures with them and that was harmless, almost humbling and sweet. We were always very leery if it was a scam to distract and rob us so only one of us would ever take a picture at a time but they never attempted anything and seemed to be genuine. So much so that by the end I almost felt bad for thinking they had anything but pure intentions but unfortunately you kind of have to think that way when you're traveling... 

Anyway, for more info on our second day in Cairo please check here.

Alexandria

We just did a day trip to Alexandria which was 2-3 hours each way depending on traffic. We started by going to the catacombs of Kom El Shokafa and were able to explore the different burial rooms down there. It's a very unique place because the guy who built it mashed a combination of cultures together and had art that was a mix of Egyptian, Greek, and Roman.

After that we went to wander around the ruins of the Roman amphitheater which are still being excavated to this day. It was really pretty and it was fun to take silly pictures around the ruins.

We went to a really great place for lunch called the Fish Market and it overlooked the Mediterranean Sea. The fish was really good and served in a classic Egyptian style. Then we went to Qaitbay Fortress which is in the spot of the original Alexandria lighthouse and very beautiful with the sea as the backdrop.

Our last stop of the day was the Library of Alexandria which had several museums and exhibitions of it's own and you could spend all day there. The architecture of the library itself is very unique so taking the quick 20 min tour is worthwhile just to learn about it. Then because of our guide's recommendation we went to the exhibit on President Anwar Sadat which had a lot of information on his life and his legacy in Egypt and we learned a lot there.

For more information on our day in Alexandria please check here.

Budget

I spent $431 total while in Egypt. This doesn't include our international flights since they were bought with the rest of our itinerary. This is per person and in US dollars. There were two of us traveling together so most things were split equally two ways. Almost everything was purchased in our package with Egypt Tailor Made Tours so I don't have the breakdown other than the lodging. Other things that weren't included were food and souvenirs. The US dollar is really strong against the Egyptian pound right now so we benefited from that conversion.

Ground Transportation: $0. All of our ground transportation was taken care of by Egypt Tailor Made Tours. We had a private air-conditioned car with a driver that we knew everywhere we went.

Lodging: $132. This was also purchased with our package but we had the choice between two different hotels. We choose the nicer of the two which had better reviews and had a view of the pyramids. It was only about $60/night!

Activities: $231. This was the bulk of our expenses and it includes all entrance fees to the sights we went to and also includes the cost of our private guide and driver for the duration of our time there.

Food: $36. Food was cheap! Most of this was spent on dinners at our hotel.

Miscellaneous: $32. Since we're nearing the end of our international adventure we decided to start buying some small souvenirs!

Summary

I'm so glad we stuck with our plan and visited Egypt. I felt and still do feel that a world trip simply isn't complete without it. The history there is fascinating and the pyramids are breathtaking. Being in the cavern where Jesus stayed as a baby was a truly incredible experience. The people in Egypt were friendly and we had no security issues at all. Although getting around and communicating is very difficult so I can't stress enough the importance of having a guide and a driver. Our guide acted as a guide, translator, and photographer and each of those roles were important in making our trip successful.