Egypt was absolutely amazing. We made our way into Cairo still flying high from the best flight of our lives on Etihad airlines, and checked into the spacious Pension Roma to crash.
The next day we checked out the impressive display of treasures at the Cairo museum. Which aside from a few, climate controlled, heavily glassed rooms, felt more like the crammed attic of Indiana Jones. Pricey jewelry, King Tut’s magnificent bounty, and the phaoroic mummies, all the way down to ancient butt spoons that looked WAY too long and sharp.
While we loved the food in India, it was beyond heaven to dive into large plates of fire grilled meats. Piles and piles of it. Ohhh. And capped with an Egyptian pancake that isn’t anything like a pancake.
Our plans to visit the pyramids were stymied by Obama’s lackluster speech to the Islamic world. His presence pretty much locked down the entire, freshly painted city. We took the loss in stride and firmed up our plans to get the most out of Egypt in our new condensed schedule.
Upper Egypt, which is actually south, is bloody hot in the summer. The night train dumped us in Luxor early in the AM, giving us enough time to check out a couple of temples. First up was Karnak ¬¬– the largest, ancient religious site in the world. By far the most impressive feature was the collection of massive columns in Hypostyle Hall that created a wonderful shaded hangout area for hundreds, and the fact that all the sandstone used to create Karnak came from 100 miles down the Nile. Impressive and enjoyable as it was, it’s hard not to compare it to Angkor Wat. Edge goes to Angkor; and my apologies go to the 30 Pharaohs it took to construct the site. Second up was Luxor temple, which we decided was best explored from our conveniently located rooftop pool while sipping an ice cold overpriced beer.
The next day we got up at 5am, ferried across the Nile to the west bank and hired an AC taxi to explore what the mayor is attempting to turn into the world’s largest outdoor museum. It didn’t disappoint. We hit the Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, Tombs of the Nobles, Medinat Hab and the only admission free attraction, the Colossus Memnon. Pictures are forbidden in all the tombs, but by way of distraction and low-level bribery we managed to sneak a few. Being responsible enough in our unlawfulness to avoid using the pigment destroying flash. One girl we met in Cairo, who had opted out of the tombs due to the heat, proclaimed “they’re just holes in the ground.” Boy was she wrong. Every tomb was wonderful. One of the earliest tombs was nothing but black and red stick figures; another had gorgeous carvings that then gave way to pure paintings, due to the pharaoh’s unexpected departure. Almost all of the sarcophagi we’re painted or carved on the inside, usually containing the Pharaoh’s favorite wife. The best had a gentle carving of his wife with arms extended on the sides to wrap all the way around his preserved body.
The prettiest of all tombs were, surprise, in the Valley of the Queens. Where pictures focused mainly on romantic connection instead of war and power. I guess some things never change.
The next 60 hours was just weird. It somehow included a night train, a night bus, a fly infested sweltering afternoon nap on someone’s porch, a hot spring that took years off our skin and a late night of hanging out with the Berber men who sang some of the most beautifully strange songs under the dark dessert sky.
Leaving the dream world of the Siwa Oasis, we entered what is easily the friendliest big city we have ever been – Alexandria. Stroll around in the cool Mediterranean breeze for a couple of hours and no less than 50 people will have welcomed you to their city, none wanting anything more than to meet you.
Being by the water again stirred out souls and made our bellies rumble. Fortunately, the calamari at the Fish Market that over looked the harbor, was off the charts, and lured us in each day. We also had the pleasure of hunting down Hood Gondol – a local, back alley seafood restaurant where everything is flamed or greased right there in the street. As soon as we showed up, one of the workers started grabbing hunks of deliciousness and hand fed us until we decided what we wanted to order. Odd, but tasty.
Alexandria is famed for it’s coffee houses, so we planned to spend a whole day hoping from joint to joint, but got buzzed off our rears on the first stop and ended up taking two days, two nights and many breaks to complete the tour. It culminated with a little shisha and an epic sunset over the sea. We also visited the library of Alexandria, which is the oldest library on record, only it was burned down multiple times, by multiple forces and now entirely new, but, accordingly impressive.
Returning to Cairo, we spent our last day with the ultimate Egypt - the Pyramids. The Great Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx were first up. Getting there early was key as the largest pyramid belonging to Khufu (Cheops) has limited admission. You don’t realize how massive the structures are until you get inside and shimmy up and down the corridors. The inside of Cheops was much more plain than we had anticipated. Although all of the paths are blocked, except for the one to the supposed Tomb of Khufu. Some believe the real tombs have yet to be discovered. The precision cutting and scale of the blocks can really be appreciated from inside the dark echoing chamber. We decided to have a little fun and climb inside the sarcophagus for a few pictures. A few, unsuspecting tourists got the fright of their life when they peered over the edge.
I don’t know how the pyramids were built, but there’s a visible human learning curve that few bother to check out. In Saqqara, we saw the ancient step pyramid. You’re not allowed inside, which is a bummer, and there’s extensive conservation work going on that takes away from the view, but it was a very worthwhile stop and there was a great little museum that had just been built down the way. Comes complete with life saving AC.
Refreshed, we continued to our highlight of Egypt. Two pyramids for one King. The father of Khufu, and great builder King Snefaru, constructed the bent pyramid and red pyramid. Halfway up the Bent pyramid the angle changes from 55 to 43 degrees. Most believe it was to lessen the weight, fearing it would collapse as another had. While the pyramids of Giza have civilization and paved roads leading up to them the bent pyramid feels lost in the dessert and you along with it.
We were allowed to go inside King Snefaru’s second and perfected Red pyramid. This is where awesomeness ensued. We were the only people there! And the inside was by far the most interesting, with two huge chambers that had corbel-vaulted ceilings. The final chamber, which was concealed through a passage at the top of the second chamber, now has a wooden staircase for those who can’t fly. The final tomb has been left completely dark, smells of strong ammonia, and is more like a natural cave or big blasted hole in the ground. The red light on our camera served to illuminate the chamber a few seconds at a time. Being there, alone, in the dark, made us feel like like we truly discovered the wonders of ancient Egypt.
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