I visited Cairo last fall for roughly four days. The trip was on the end of a week in Turkey, time split between Istanbul and Cappadocia.
The trip was mostly a relaxation trip. Most of the time at the Four Seasons Cairo, the First Residence. (More on that another time).The day that I went out, I had a day tour with an independent tour company booked via Viator.
My guide messaged me earlier that morning to secure pick-up time and sent a picture of his car to identify him and true to his word, he was there on time and ready to go.
The first stop was the pyramids of Giza. Built in the 26th century, the monument stands as a testiment to the 4th dynasty of the pharoh Khufu. It is the largest pyramid in Egypt. The pyramids are tombs built for three different pharohs. The actual names of the pyramids are the Pyramid of Khufu, the pyramid of Khafre and the pyramid of Menkaure.
Once at the pyramids, my guide gave a detailed description of every pyramid, the history behind it as well as the family history of the leaders of Egypt over the years. I also visited to a few buildings in the area that gave additional knowledge of things I would not have known without him taking the initiative to take me.
The most interesting thing was Manshayat Nasser (Garbage City). The city stands out from the highway and you immediately get curious of the piles of garbage on roofs and basically anywhere for miles. This is a community of individuals that support their family picking up trash. It was amazing to see the resiliance of the people and the intuitive way they get by.
From the pyramid we took a short ride to the great Sphinx. .The great sphinx is a sculpture with a human head and the body of a lion which is meant to represent the sun god Ra-Horakthy. Its mean to protect the temple doors. I set up at the temple adjacent to the Sphinx for a quick photo op.
Next we ventured into the desert for a brief camel ride. This was probably one of the worst parts of the trip but I’ll leave that story for another day. (DM me if interested) Afterwards we went to a typical eatery so I can have authentic Egyptian food. I don't recall the acutal name of place but I had foods like Ful medames, Fattah, Falafel and Fetter.
Next stop was a paper production site, they have a show and exhibited a large array of finished art. Learning how paper(papyrus) was made 2000 years ago was an interesting experience. There is tea while you wait,(Hibiscus tea please)
The last stop on the tour was the Egyptian Museum. I spent the most time here and went through a large list of artifacts and learned a great deal about the Egyptian people.
I would definitely return to Egypt to see areas such as Luxor and Alexandria in the future. Would I recommend Cairo? I’ll say this, it’s for the more experienced travelers as their is a lot going on but if your an adventurer like myself, it’s worth the trip.
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