When we met last, we were on the VIB overnight train from Luxor to Cairo. We had a private coupe and it was a comfortable journey.

Day 6

It was a special day. Nam’s birthday! Also, our last day of sightseeing in Egypt – we would leave next morning to Amman, Jordan (don’t forget to check out those blogs after this one). 

We woke up early expecting to reach Cairo. But to our dismay, the train was running more than 2 hours late. I was annoyed – this meant that we would have to cut off something in our itinerary for the day. Our tour operator, Massimo from Cleopatra Tours, called and told us to get down at the Giza station. Franco, our interim guide, was waiting for us at the station. We picked up our actual guide, Mohamed Gamel, on the way to the pyramids.

After turning at a signal, we spotted the pyramids at a distance – they were huge even from here! We went on a round-about route that gave us views of the pyramids from different angles. The pyramids complex had very high security – we had to unload all our bags from the car (we hadn’t checked into our hotel yet) and put them into the scanner. 

These were the oldest structures that we would see on our trip.

The Great Pyramid of Khufu in Giza featured in the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and continues to be the only wonder that still exists on the planet. Built in 2600 BC, it belongs to the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt – the first era of Egyptian civilization. All the places we saw in Luxor and Aswan mostly belonged to the New Kingdom (which came after the Old and Middle Kingdoms and a couple of turbulent Intermediate Periods). Egyptian history is fascinating and I really recommend you check out the History of Egypt podcast to learn more.

The Great Pyramid of Khufu was the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3800 years!! Can you imagine that? I find it absolutely mind boggling! It was surpassed by the Lincoln Cathedral in 1311 and the current holder of this position is the mesmerizing Burj Khalifa.

We walked in and saw the two large pyramids – the great pyramid of Khufu and the pyramid of Khafre. The pyramid of Khufu is called “great” because it is the tallest and oldest one in this complex. Khafre’s pyramid is the one which still has its top portion preserved. During their times, the pyramids had smooth outside edges (like a proper pyramid) which was basically a limestone casing. It is after thousands of years of erosion that we are now left with the huge blocks that we see now.

Khafre’s pyramid is a great example of Egyptian pharaohs trying to go one better than their predecessors – in this case, Khafre paid respect to his father by building a smaller pyramid but made it appear taller by building it on higher ground. 

Next, we walked over to one of the smaller pyramids dedicated to the queens. Our guide, Gamel, told us that we could enter this one – it was very similar to the great pyramid but not as crowded. In fact, we were the only people going inside (which made us a bit suspicious but we went ahead anyway). It was steep and narrow with a wooden ladder inside. At the bottom was a small room which opened into a larger chamber – both were empty. It was very cool inside despite the desert heat. We didn’t spend too much time inside as it was getting claustrophobic. 

Gamel then recommended a horse carriage ride into the desert. There was a spot in the desert from where you could see all 6 pyramids. You can also go there by camel but the horse carriages were much faster and felt less harmful to the animal – the camels were in bad shape. 

Once we reached the spot, we realized that our horse carriage driver was also a photographer – a super enthu one! He made us jump, hug, kiss and do every pose imaginable. We felt like this compensated for our wedding as we didn’t do a typical outdoor photoshoot. He even offered me his head scarf for one pose! After 20 mins of this photoshoot, we headed back to the pickup point and from there to the Great Sphinx of Giza. 

With the body of a lion and head of a human, the Sphinx is a mysterious figure. It is made in the likeness of the very same Pharaoh Khafre from the old dynasty. His headgear appears like hair which leads to the misconception that the sphinx is a woman! 

Now we had two options – go to Memphis as per the itinerary and spend 4 hours there or as Gamel suggested, skip Memphis and go straight to Cairo and visit a local mosque. Argh! All because the train was late! I was disappointed that we would miss the pyramid of Djoser (the first one ever built). But that’s how travel is – you need to adapt and change plans on the go. We picked Gamel’s option and headed to the Egyptian Museum at Tahrir Square in Cairo.

It was a simple two-storied structure with huge hallways and rooms filled with antiquities. As you enter you see a statue dedicated to French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette who dedicated his life to rediscovering the lost treasures of Egypt. Even his sarcophagus is preserved in the gardens of the museum as a tribute.

Each wing is dedicated to different eras and you can see the history of Egypt unfold. They explained the whole mummification process – after death of the pharaoh, his body would be placed on a slanting platform to drain all the blood out. The organs were removed and stored in canopic jars. Finally, the infecting body parts were cut off before embalming and wrapping the mummy. It was quite a sight!

One room was dedicated to the treasures found in Tutankhamun’s tomb (the one we visited in the Valley of the Kings, Luxor). From headgears and staffs to necklaces and medallions – it was pure gold! Just outside were the mummies of Yuya and Thuya – two of the most well preserved – we could clearly see their hair and nails!

All these artifacts in the Cairo museum are only around 50% of what was found. A lot of it was moved to the Louvre in Paris. We had seen these when we went there and had to rush past as the museum was closing.

As we waited outside on Tahrir square for our car to arrive, I innocently asked Gamel if he was impacted by the Arab Spring of 2011. His answer shook us to the core. The place where we stood was the epicentre of the revolution. Not only was he part of the protests, his friend was shot dead right next to him by the army. He even showed us the road where it happened! That put an end to any more political questions from my side. 

It was time for lunch and Gamel asked if we wanted to explore local cuisine and we jumped at the chance. Coincidentally, he suggested a place that was on top of our eating list as well – Abou Tarek Koshary! Koshary is a dish with rice, semolina, macaroni, chickpeas, tomato paste and fried onions – the perfect comfort food. It was so good – makes my mouth water just thinking about it! They served only this one item and made it like clockwork with amazing precision. 

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With full tummies we headed to Al Azhar mosque in the heart of Cairo. It was our very first time inside a mosque – in India, people of different religions aren’t usually allowed to visit places of worship (especially in temples and mosques). Gamel was shocked to hear that as it was very different from the Islam he followed. Nam had to wear a burqa to cover herself as per the tradition and we stepped into the cool courtyard. It was amazing. The structure itself was beautifully made and it was serene inside – it felt like a world away from the bustling streets outside.

I had mentioned to Gamel earlier (secretly) that it was Nam’s birthday and that I wanted to get her a cake. He disappeared for some time citing he had personal work and came back with a generic looking bag (he played his secret part perfectly!).

We walked through some narrow lanes to the heart of the famous Khan-el-Khalili market of Cairo. And to our surprise, Gamel took us straight to El Feshawi coffee shop. This was also part of our food checklist – it is one of the oldest coffee shops in the region. The tables were mostly outside on the market lanes. 

Gamel brought out the cake and a candle. Nam was taken aback as she did not expect it! And so, there she was, at an iconic lane in the markets of Cairo, cutting her birthday cake while a bunch of strangers sang “Happy birthday” (the people in other tables also joined in). We shared the cake with everyone there and it was a good time – something we couldn’t have imagined in our dreams! As a bonus, Nam also got milk coffee here (she was tired of having black coffee)!

We explored the market for some more time – looking at pretty lamps and trinkets. We had some delicious sugarcane juice and headed back to the hotel.

At the hotel, Gamel and Massimo had arranged yet another fruit basket and sweets – they had originally wanted to take us out to a fancy dinner to celebrate Nam’s birthday but we were too tired – so this was their way of making it up to us. 

That brings to an end our unforgettable Egyptian adventure – a week full of amazing monuments, history, people, culture and food! Next morning, we hopped onto our flight from the Cairo international airport to our next country, Jordan.

Check out the other Egypt blogs here:

• The Egypt Itinerary – planning your perfect trip to the land of the Pharaohs
• The Southern Tip of Egypt – Abu Simbel – the “Woah” moment of our trip
• Cruising on the Nile like a Pharaoh – experience the longest river in the world
• Meeting Tut in the Valley of the Kings, Luxor – exploring tombs and temples in the ancient capital city

If you’re done with these, you can move forward to our Jordan blogs:

• The Jordan Itinerary – how you can plan your perfect trip to Jordan
• A Visit to a World Wonder and the Red Planet – A guide to Petra and the Wadi Rum desert
• A Guide to Amman and the Amazing Jordanian Food – you can’t miss this!
• A Historical Melting Pot and a Sea Where you Cannot Drown – Day trips to Jerash, Mt. Nebo, Madaba, Kerak and the Dead Sea

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