Egypt was a dream: Cairo to Giza

Egypt was a dream, not a nightmare as it may be portrayed. We left America the day of the deadliest terrorist attack in Egypt's modern history. The Sinai Peninsula is where a lot of these attacks happen and tourists just don't go there. Sure, this definitely made us uneasy but since we were staying far away from the peninsula, we drove to the airport anyways (we did get trip insurance on everything from flights to hotels in case something like an attack happened near an area we were going and we needed to cancel).

First, check out our video from our trip to Giza, Luxor and Marrakesh:

Our first stop was Giza.

The Cairo international terminal was a sight to see in itself. Thousands of people in all kinds of different traditional African garb, walking to their gates chatting in beautiful accents in languages we couldn't understand.

We organized transportation through our hotels which was great for many reasons. Having this prearranged pickup was pretty expensive, I think it was about $170 total for airport pick up and drop off... but they get away with it because you know... tourists want to make sure they actually live to see the pyramids.

MENA HOUSE HOTEL:

After getting scammed in the airport by some guy selling us on what was basically a visa gift card (when they say places don't accept cards and cash, they're lying - don't be fooled like us), we hop in the prearranged car to take us to the Mena House Hotel. It is impossible to explain how incredible this historic hotel is. We got in at night - the drive from the airport took a longer than an hour, but it was an interesting drive. Everyone drives crazy, yelling at each other as you ride by amazing, sprawling ancient cemeteries and ruins next door to crumbling modern structures. But Giza is where the pyramids are so you have to make the trip. It was so dark when we got in, we couldn't even see these man made mountains, there is no light pollution out here. We knew they were big, but we weren't ready for how seriously giant they are. It's incredible.

Mena House is a fortress. Every time you enter the premises, the driver has to turn the car off for a bomb sniffing dog to circle and the guard to inspect the underside of the vehicle. Once you get the all clear, the giant cylindrical posts sticking out of the ground retreat so the driveway is flat. When you pull up to the lobby, everything you bring must go through security - kind of like airport security. Then when you get to the wing of the hotel your room is in, you have to go through security again.

The hotel is giant. It was pretty sad really, there had to be hundreds of fabulous hotel rooms looking out over the pyramids and we were one of maybe five small groups staying there. That included Hilary Swank - who we ran into inside the great pyramid. Anyways, that being said, hotel rooms, with a balcony overlooking the pyramids were about $250 a night.

VISITING THE PYRAMIDS:

Our hotel driver took us to the pyramids, we initially said we didn't want a tour from him but changed our minds when we got to the front gates. This was the only time the whole trip I felt unsafe and a little scared, but it didn't last long. We were there on a major Muslim holiday which means everyone in Egypt was also there - which is unusual. The first thing that made us nervous was when a police officer walked up to our car while we sat in line outside the front entrance, and our drive turned around and said "don't tell anyone you are American. Even the police."

We joked about telling everyone we were Canadian while we were there but that's actually what had to happen. Almost at least: all our guides told police and ticket booth agents that we were English. Once they heard we were English, they lost interest. Our driver said they would just hassle us if they knew we were American and another guide told us that in order to enter the country, Americans had to have expensive, special guards the whole time. We didn't ask a lot of questions and stuck with being English. Which obviously work out well for us even though I don't think anyone actually believed we were English.

Outside the gates to the pyramids, were hundreds of people, children, yelling angrily and our driver walked us right past everyone to the front of the line. If you're a tourist, you go first apparently. In everything. Literally. We got in the gates (after a quick security screening, of course), he drop us with a guide and that guy walked us up the exit line streaming down the side of the great pyramid (literally up the side of the pyramid, and pretty high up - see below photo). After a yelling match in Arabic, they let us in front of a massive line of Egyptians. To be clear, we are fine waiting in line but things here move so fast and we couldn't fully follow the conversations, so you just go with what your guide is telling you do, and when he yells to follow, you just do it.

This is my favorite story about how different Egypt is than we all think. To go into the great pyramid, you couldn't take cameras. Hi. I'm Emily and there is always a camera attached to my hand. Well, we're in Egypt so we have to go in... so I pop my memory card out and hand my nice camera over to our guide who I was pretty sure we'd never see again. Once we got back outside, there he was jumping up and down, waving at us, camera in hand!

The thing is, these guys know their livelihoods are based on tourism. They know Egypt has a bad rep. They know if anything bad happens to us, it wouldn't be good for them and their country. While they were scurrying us around, I could feel them being sternly watchful the entire time. It made us feel very safe. This was the case for all of our guides throughout our time in Egypt. And to be clear, this guide wasn't one we set up before hand.

Anyways inside the great pyramid was neat enough, it was a rough climb in there and it definitely wouldn't be safe enough to be allowed in America, which made it that much cooler. It was hot, so humid and very dark. Half of the climb you had to do bent in half. We were sweating, panting, and didn't have a lot of time to appreciate how tall and grand the pathway inside was. Once we reached the top room with an empty sarcophagus, it was back down the way you came. Its awkward going down a steep decline bent in half but we survived - tip: go down facing backwards.

Then we hopped on camels for the most majestic hour and a half of my life. We were riding around the dessert around pyramids, yes, but also ruins scattered all over the area, just open for anyone to explore. Literally we ran into a homeless guy's sleeping area in one. Insane. It was incredible. I wish we had longer there.

As we were riding around on those camels or walking through the ruins, Egyptian kids and teenagers kept stopping us to take photos with them. They grouped in crowds of 10-15, jumping up and down with excitement to just SEE us, waving and cheering with the biggest smiles on their faces. Everyone we met was thrilled and excited to meet us. Several of them mentioned their disdain and embarrassment for the recent terror attack that happened in their country. To group this country together as people to fear is absurd. 

But I didn't know that yet. I'd heard Cairo and Giza were dangerous so we made it a quick trip. If I could change anything from our trip it would be to stay longer here. I could have spent an entire day exploring the pyramids. It was truly one of the best days of my life. Also, driving through Cairo was incredible, there are ruins all along the freeway and I imagine you could spend weeks exploring. Just think what is hiding under all those dilapidated high rise apartments.

Our second stop on the Egypt trip was to the south of Egypt: Luxor where you find temples around every corner, the Valley of the Kings and newly discovered archaeological sites. Luxor is ancient Thebes, the pharaohs’ capital at the height of power, dating all the way back to the 16th–11th centuries B.C. Read about that leg of the trip here.