Several months ago, we happened to see a group tour to Egypt from Travel Discounters advertised on the TravelZoo weekly top 20 deals. We had always wanted to see the pyramids but didn't think we'd ever get there due to unrest in the region. After some research, we decided that it would not be wise to try to backpack there on our own and, after being sick so much in India, didn't want the hassle of trying to figure out travel through Egypt. So, we bought a tour package instead. The deal was one night in Cairo, then 5 nights on the Semiramis II Nile river cruise boat, and then a final 2 nights in Cairo. All of our transportation, including direct return flight from Toronto, was included as was our accommodation, almost all meals, tours every day with a qualified guide, and drinks on the boat. Easy travelling.
Since the revolution in 2011, Egypt tourism is down 80%. Instead of 15 or 16 million visitors per year, now there are about 2 million. The week before we left, there was also a massacre of dozens of people at a mosque in the Sinai. We heard later that because of that some tour groups cancelled tours that would have coincided with ours. We weren't sure what to expect but were fairly confident that the Nile River corridor would be reasonably safe.
After staying overnight in Toronto, we flew on Egypt Air to Cairo the next afternoon, Monday, November 27th, 2017. With the 7 hour time difference and almost 11 hour flight, we arrived at about 6:30 am Cairo time the next day. Blue Sky Travel Group was our tour operator in Egypt. Their rep met us before we got to immigration. We gave him the necessary $25 US each for visa on arrival stickers and he got them for us before we got to the immigration officer. The officer barely looked at us and stamped our passports. It's not hard for an older Canadian tourist to get into Egypt. At that time we also met Olga and Chris, a Canadian couple who had been on our plane and were to be part of our group.
After we got our luggage, a waiting van drove the 4 of us and the rep to Le Meridien Pyramids Hotel and Spa at Giza on the outskirts of Cairo, about an hour away from the airport. Since it was early morning, traffic wasn't too bad. However, it was easy to see that Cairo is a very congested city. About 25 million people live there and the traffic is often very slow.
From the hotel pool, we got our first glimpse of the pyramids. Very exciting! Our rep arranged early check-in and by about 10:30 am we were in our room. For the rest of the day, we had time to relax, sleep a bit and then have a good buffet dinner.
The next morning, our rep met us at 8 am and introduced us to Sahar, a woman in her 40s who has had 25 years experience guiding tourists around Cairo. It seems that all of the qualified guides (or Egyptologists) have completed 4 years of university in the study of ancient Egypt. When we saw the van outside, we thought that we would be in a group of a dozen or more tourists. Not so. It was just the 2 of us, our guide and the driver.
First we drove out to the ancient tombs and the stepped pyramid at Saqqara. For some reason, we hadn't realized that all of the tombs and temples we would see would be covered in ornate murals carved into the stone and painted, and accompanied by hieroglyphics revealing the history of ancient Egypt. The stepped pyramid is the oldest still existing manmade structure on Earth. We eventually got used to hearing the age of many artifacts as "4,500 years" or "3,500 years". It was difficult to absorb that such an advanced civilization existed so long ago.
After Saqqara, we went to Memphis, which was the capital of ancient Egypt for some time. At the open air museum we saw huge sculptures of ancient pharaohs. For lunch, we were taken to an outdoor restaurant where we feasted on appetizers of dips with traditional Egyptian bread made in a wood-fired oven and a main course of chicken and beef kebabs cooked on a small brazier brought right to the table. It was an excellent lunch.
In the afternoon, we visited the pyramids and the Sphinx at Giza. We rode around one pyramid on a camel, as part of our tour. It was fun although we wouldn't want to trek across the desert on one. The pyramids are awe inspiring. The Great Pyramid is 480 feet high. Originally, the pyramids were finished with a layer of fitted granite stones but much of that has fallen away. The grandeur of the pyramids is mesmerizing.
Over the next week, we were often besieged by school children who wanted a picture with us. We were used to that in India so we didn't mind. We enjoyed talking to them and letting them practise their English. Mostly, Egyptians speak Arabic.
The Sphinx was carved out of the rock near the base of the pyramids. It's not as big as many pictures seem to indicate but it's impressive nonetheless.
To finish the afternoon, we went to a papyrus institute where we learned how durable paper is made from the papyrus reed. We bought a small painting on real papyrus. Most of the so-called papyrus souvenirs sold by the aggressive vendors near any tourist site are not papyrus at all. In fact, most of the souvenirs sold by street vendors are apparently made in China. Buyer beware.
Back at our hotel, we tipped and said good-bye our tour guide and driver and waited for our ride back to the airport to fly to Luxor. It was a great first day of touring in Egypt.
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