I remember this moment very clearly. We were on a flight from Madrid to Abu Dhabi and luckily it was a day flight. I spent most of the time looking at the on-screen map and the landscape below – something I absolutely love to do. At one point, we were crossing over Egypt and I spotted the Nile river. It was quite a stunning sight – there was an endless desert except for a green portion that bordered the river. Indeed, the gift of the Nile!

That’s when the seed was planted – wouldn’t it be so awesome to visit the land of the pharaohs! Around 6 months after that moment, we found ourselves planning our trip to Egypt.

Egypt had fascinated me right from childhood. There were chapters in English and History about Howard Carter discovering the tomb of Tutankhamun, hieroglyphs and the ancient Egyptian monuments. It was truly amazing how these structures still stood tall after so many centuries – most of them very well preserved – including the human bodies! It is considered a cradle of civilization – a land that the most ancient humans inhabited before they spread across the rest of the world.

Contrast that against the Arab Spring and the volatile political landscape of the country. So, it’s quite tricky to confidently go ahead and pick Egypt as a holiday destination. Especially since we were traveling alone. But reading always helps. As usual, I pored over dozens of blogs and forum articles till I got the confidence to put together our itinerary.