A Glimpse of Egypt

“The world is a book and those who do not travel only read one page… The traveler is wiser than he who has never left his own doorstep.”

Cairo is a beautiful mixture of the old and new. Smells invade your senses, one minute it is the aroma of sheesha, then a strong whiff of vendor’s spices, then the exotic scent of street food and sometimes a rancid smell of trash. Next to an expressway will be a mosque from long before cars were even a thought in Henry Ford’s head. A sky scrapper will tower over a market that was once a spot were slaves were sold.

I believe that you could spend a week in Cairo and not see everything that you should. In our short time in Egypt, Kristin and I filled our time with as much as possible. In Cairo we saw the Citadel and its huge mosque, the Khan al-Khalili market, Islamic Cairo, the Egyptian Museum and the Nile. We also took a few side trips; the first included seeing the pyramids of Giza, the Pyramid and Temple of Saqqara and the ancient site of Memphis. The second was a full day trip to Luxor in Upper Egypt. We also made time to eat fabulous seafood in Alexandria. Egyptian food is fabulous and anyone who goes there should eat the local food without question. Our favorite meals ended up being Egyptian flat bread with hummus and other assortments of spreads and vegetables. Down the street from our hostel was another place that sold a dish that consisted of rice, chick peas, beans and a few other things. It was a great meal and only cost about 6 Egyptian pounds (roughly one US dollar).

The pyramids of Giza are extraordinary. The immense size is over whelming and it is impossible not to be moved when you remember that no machinery was used to make them. I did not realize that there are actually nine pyramids in Giza. The three large pyramids are for grandfather, son and grandson. The six smaller ones are for four wives and two children. Our tour of the pyramids and sphinx was atop a very large, smelly camel. I am glad that I experienced riding a camel but have absolutely no interest in doing it again! The Sphinx was beautiful but I have to admit somewhat of a letdown, I truly thought she would have been larger. It kind of reminded me of seeing the Mona Lisa for the first time. It is disappointing when something that you’ve built up seeing your whole life ends up being smaller than you thought or just somehow not as great. Saqqara (called a step pyramid) was beautiful and it was interesting to learn that it is the oldest pyramid in Egypt. Although Memphis was once the capital of Egypt, after the pharaoh Narmer unified Upper and Lower Egypt, there is almost nothing left of this once great place. There are still a few statues left and another sphinx. The best part of this site was seeing the huge statue of Ramses II that is laying flat in an enclosed space. It is the largest known statue of the famous Pharaoh.

Luxor is amazing and if there was one thing I could change about our trip, it would be to spend more time here. Kristin and I arrived in Luxor around 8 in the morning and immediately began our full day of site seeing. Our first stop was Valley of Kings on the West Bank. In all some 62 tombs have been excavated but only a few are open for viewing. We went into three and after almost sweating to death opted not to pay the additional fee to see King Tut’s tomb. The tombs are built differently based on the pharaoh’s preference. Some are a short distance down while others are much deeper with more space and ornate designs. The hieroglyphics were beautiful and unbelievable at the same time considering that the color has remained after all these years. The Valley of Queens was very similar but not quite as large. There were not nearly as many people, which was refreshing after patiently waiting in lines at the Valley of Kings. Unfortunately photographs are not allowed at either site. We also visited the Temple of Hatshepsut, which was carved out of the side of a mountain and is extremely impressive. Lastly we visited the Temple of Karnak and this was easily my favorite place of the entire trip. This site is spectacular and I do not think I can come close to describing its beauty in a way it deserves. The columns are colossal and the etching magnificent. If you look up you can still find some color left on the underside of the stone. There are also two striking obelisks found there and one that is lying on the ground that was not finished. If you ever go to Egypt – this is a must see! To finish the day we drove to the Temple of Luxor which is a straight shot from the Temple of Karnak. All you have to do is follow the Avenue of Sphinxes (some of which are still being uncovered but will take time due to the houses that were built over them!).

I could ramble on forever about how amazing Egypt is but I will say that to truly understand what I mean, you must go and see it for yourself. I promise that you will not regret it! Oh, just to entice you even more – at the Egyptian Museum you can see mummies! Some even still have hair!