Egypt was always a destination
which I wanted to visit at my own pace. I was skeptical about visiting Egypt
because of the political tensions. Actually I found there were none. I had
planned to visit upper and lower Egypt in 9 days. I visited Egypt with my wife
and since we are Indian citizens, we ensured that we apply for a tourist visa
well in advance at the Mumbai Consulate. We took Egyptian airlines from Mumbai
to Cairo. The flight was practically empty.
Egypt Air is a dry airline (No Alcohol) and also there is no flight
entertainment available on Egypt air flights from Mumbai.
We reached Cairo international
airport in the afternoon and the views while landing were amazing. Egypt is a
country which has 90% of desert and only 10% of land which can be used. The
Immigration at Cairo went smoothly. We had booked ourselves at Pyramids Inn and
were happy to see Mr. Abdul waiting for us in the arrivals area. Our flight
from Mumbai came 1 hour early so I felt for a moment that we might have to
wait, however Abdul was aware of this and escorted us to the parking lot.
Airport to our hotel was a 45 minutes’ drive.
Initially when we left airport
the traffic flow seemed organized however later on it became chaotic. I felt
this situation very similar to India. On the way to our hotel Mr. Abdul showed
us various hoardings advertising Shahrukh Khan and Salman Khan. I think Shahrukh Khan and Karina Kapoor are one of the most famous Bollywood
personalities in Egypt. When we were about to enter Giza City, we were shown
pyramids by Mr. Abdul. The colossal monuments can be seen from the national
highway. We were greeted by Mr. Mehmood at hotel pyramids view Inn. This hotel
is just in front of the pyramids near the south gate. One can get a panoramic
view of the sphinx and pyramids from the terrace of this hotel. We had booked a
room with a Pyramids View and it was worth it.
Vodafone is a preferred telecom operator in
Egypt and getting a sim is not a challenge. We went for a stroll in the city
and been a foody, I tried Kushari and Ful Medames in the Giza market. I loved
Ful Medames. There is a pizza hut right in front of the south gate of pyramids
so people who don’t want to try Egyptian food can enjoy Italian cuisine. The
only problem in that area is the continuous hassle by the touts
which can make the street walking extremely frustrating and irritating. I can
understand that since there are few issues going on in Egypt the tourism market
is down, however the aggressive behavior of people who want to take a
horseride or visit their papyrus show can be quiet irritating. A mere smile can
sometimes bring one in trouble. The best way to avoid them is to say “La
Shukran” and walk away. That night we enjoyed the light and sound show with the
sphinx telling us the story of pyramids which are more than 5000 years old. The
show runs in Arabic and English language so check before you get in. If you
stay in pyramids view Inn you can watch the show from the hotel’s terrace for
free. The show runs for 1 hour with no interval. It gets very chilly in the
desert during the night time so one should carry a jacket without fail.
Our day 2 started with Mr. Abdul
meeting us in the reception wherein he was ready with his car. We had planned
to visit the pyramids from inside and the sphinx. Mr. Abdul is a very
knowledgeable guide who knows the details about the Egyptian history and
ancient civilizations. We did enter a pyramid and it was a different experience
altogether. There were very few tourists around so we had the luxury of
spending good amount of time taking photos. I still remember a group of school
children claping loudly when my wife came out from one of the pyramids. I
strongly suggest that if you are not a fainthearted person this is the best
time to visit Egypt since the US dollar to Egyptian Pound conversion rate is
good and there are very few tourists around.
We
later took a camel ride to the 3rd pyramid which is abit far in the
sahara desert. Our last stop was sphinx and we saw a large statue which has
been guarding the pyramids. We heard stories about the statue
which were equally interesting.
After about 3 to 4 hours of
sightseeing, we left the campus and came back to our hotel. Later on we visited
the perfume factory and papyrus factory. Abdul took us to perfume factory and
papyrus shop. The visits were casual but it is recommended telling your guide
upfront that you might endup without buying anything. We again tried Kushari
which is the national dish of Egypt. We visited the Egyptian museum and Tahir
Square. These places are located in the heart of Cairo city and are heavily guarded
by the Egyptian military. Though I am not an museum person, I was interested in
seeing the mummies and the remains of Tuthakomon’s tomb. Cameras are not
allowed inside the museum. The museum is really nice and its one of its kind. The
mummies are well preserved and I don’t think there is any museum in the world
which holds so much collection of mummies.
After that we headed to Aswan
which was 950 Kms away from Cairo. We had booked a ticket on one of the sleeper
trains which runs from runs from Giza to Aswan. Since the official website of
Egyptian railways was always down we took help of Abdul in booking the tickets.
We boarded the tourist train at 8:30 PM from Giza for a 14 hours long journey
across the sahara desert and Nile River. The sleeper train had a comfortable
compartment for 2 adults and they served breakfast and dinner. We reached Aswan
at 11 AM and had booked a room in Philae hotel based on the reviews we read on
tripadvisor. We were greeted by Miss Yasmeen at Aswan Station. The hotel was
2-3 kms away from the train station. We were upgraded to a room with a nile
river view overlooking the Philae temple. We were also able to see the felucca
boats from our room. Nile is the longest river in the world and is considered
life of Africa.
We went to the Aswan evening market wherein we purchased few
sovineries. One needs to show hard bargaining skills while doing window
shopping in Egypt. After a walk along the nile river we came back to our hotel.Our
next day started pretty early at 3 AM. We had planned to visit Abu Simbel by a
convey which leaves Aswan at 3 AM. Abu Simbel is a must visit attraction if one
is in Lower Egypt. It is 125 miles away from Aswan and just 13 miles away from the
Sudanese border. The driver picked us up from Philae hotel and we started our
journey to Abu Simbel. We were joined by a Chinese student and a German
Engineer. Travelling to Abu Simbel was a unique experience. A convey of 12 – 15 cars go
together in a desert wherein one can’t see anything but desert for 100 odd
miles.
The
Temples of Abu Simbel are the greatest surviving masterpiece. I will say the
road trip from Aswan to Abu Simbel was one of the most unique experiences I had
in my life. There are 3 temples in that area of Abu Simbel, one for Ramses the
II and the other is for his beloved wife, Nefertary. When you get there the
scale of the place is stunning and its setting next to Lake Nasser very lovely.
It is located roughly 13 miles from the Egyptian Sudanese border.
The sunrise view
from the desert is amazing and Abu Simbel is used as a stopover by many people
before they enter the more serious sahara desert in Sudan. I will definitely
love travelling to Sudan using this route once in my life. We returned back to
Aswan the same day.
We have booked
for 2 nights and 3 days in nile cruise with a private operator called Tower
Prestige. There are around 200 different cruises available, but during our time
very few Nile boats were running which was a great pity as the area felt safe
and it is a fabulous destination. Entire Sightseeing takes place in the morning
and the sights are simply stunning, colossal in scale and incredibly well
preserved.... unmissable. We visited the historical ports of Kom Ombu and Edfu.
Afternoons are spent relaxing on the deck watching the Nile drift by- it is
mesmerising. The deck space is lovely, very relaxing with plenty of sun
loungers and a plunge pool - which was freezing!
Cabins are fine,
basic hotel room style, with Juliet balconies. Food was good, international
buffet style, and plentiful. There were few Egyptians dishes which were equally
good. There were plenty of salads and fish dishes and 'show cooking' where the
food was cooked to order. The staff is good and very eager to please. The room
stewards were particularly helpful. If you are considering a Nile cruise do go
ahead, as it is a great time to visit, good value, and also good to support the
local tourist industry which has suffered greatly. It is utterly fascinating to
take the Nile Cruise from Aswan to Luxor, which are interesting towns. Nile
Cruise was a great holiday destination and experience. The Northern section of
the Nile is a massive river, one of the biggest rivers in the world which
passes through Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Sudan and Egypt before it enters the
into the Mediterranean Sea.
We disembarked from
the Nile Cruise at Luxor. We had booked ourselves at Luxor, Sheraton and we
were upgraded to a nile river facing view room free of charge because the hotel
was practically empty. I will strongly suggest staying in this premier hotel
which is very close to Luxor and Karnak temples. We were heading to the flag
end of our trip and wanted to relax. Hotel Sheraton has two excellent swimming pools
facing the Nile River. Everyone we encountered smiled and greeted us, everyone
who served did so with a smile and professionalism. It’s nice to see the sunset
over the Nile. The only distraction was the paid wifi service but then it is
off and on all over Egypt. The restaurant offered a continental/mid-eastern
menu. Breakfast is a buffet with omelet and pancake stations. There is an
Indian Restaurant called Taj Mahal which serves Indian and South East Asian
cuisines. We had a relaxing time during the evening and it was a great to see
the sunset over the nile.
Our next day
started with a visit to Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el Bahari. This temple is
immense in size and looks even bigger when you're there. There are a lot of
stairs going up to the 3rd level so please take water with you. This beautiful
temple built for their Queen is very impressive. It has been painstakingly
rebuilt to its original form. And there is still a lot more to do. This temple
shows how skilled the craftsmen were over 2,000 years ago. Also shows the
resting places in the surrounding rock of some of her workers that she cared
and thanked for building such a fabulous Temple. Also, it gets really hot
during the day so don't forget to wear a hat. Photography is allowed inside the
campus. There is a massive mountain just behind the temple. Earlier tourists
were allowed to climb the mountain. The Egyptian authorities have banned
climbing the hill after the Luxor Massacre in 1997, at Deir el-Bahri.
The tourist industry in Egypt in
general and in Luxor in particular was seriously affected after that.
After deir el-
Bahri we visited valley of the kings. Valley of Kings is a valley in Egypt where, for a period
of nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th century BC, tombs were constructed for
the Pharaohs
and powerful nobles. The Valley was used for primary burial ground and more
than 60 tombs can
be found there. Most of the
tombs are not open to the public (18 of the tombs can be opened, but they are
rarely open at the same time), and officials occasionally close those that are
open for restoration work. Photography is no longer allowed in the tombs. The
tour guides are no longer allowed to lecture inside the tombs and visitors are
expected to proceed quietly and in single line through the tombs. We visited 3 tombs
which required additional tickets and close to 5 tombs wherein the entrance was
free. Most of the open tombs in the Valley of the Kings are located in the East
Valley, and this is where most tourists and facilities can be found.
On our last day
we visited the famous Karnak Temples.This is the temple in the Death on the Nile film and the recently released Ridley Scott's movie Exodus: Gods and Kings, and it is a lot bigger than
you think. The 3-4 hours we had was just not long enough to explore.Going to Karnak lets you begin to see the scale of the architectural
accomplishments of the ancient Egyptians, the nature of their religious
relationships, and opens the door to an entire Egyptian capital that was built
on those relationships. Karnak is the largest, ancient religious site in
the world, and it was the center of an entire network of temples. We missed the famous light and sound show at Karnak temple, since we had a take a flight back to Cairo. Luxor Airport is a very small airport however Egypt air offers ample flights to Cairo. We took our flight to Cairo and had a booked a connecting flight all the way to Mumbai.
9 nights and 10 days that we spent in Egypt are hardly ever to be forgotten! An authentic, wonderful,
mesmerising trip and an unforgettable experience. Whether it’s a desert adventure, a beach getaway, or the unfolding of history
you are interested in, Egypt will be the destination that sparks a burst of
inspiration in your heart and mind.
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