Elegant Egypt

‘Egypt’ popularly known as the cultural and political hub of the Middle East. It is a country in North Africa with Egypt is famous for one of the world’s most ancient civilizations (more than 5000 years) and for housing the Great Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx. Well more about this beautiful country you can find at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypt.

Well, it was our first international travel together outside India and we had planned the whole trip on our own without the help of any travel agency. As per the visa rules for Indians and some other countries, we had to show the ticket and hotel bookings for getting visa. Getting tourist visa is not difficult for Egypt and if applying from India, you can apply to Mumbai or Delhi consulate for a visa. What you need to do is download a form from embassy site and fill it up. They need a copy of your travel ticket (to & fro) and your hotel Booking which you might have to do on net in case you are not going along with a travel agency. But you need these documents and a fee of 750/- INR (that’s what we paid per person check for the latest). And now the best part you need not be present for your visa part, you can give an authorization letter to someone and he/she can submit and collect the passport from Embassy. Easy right! you can save a few leaves here itself.

Day 1: 29th June 2009, Welcome to Egypt

 

We landed at Cairo (Capital City) International Airport at around 1300 Hrs and we hired a taxi straight to our hotel, which was around 45 minutes from airport. It was of course Hot since it was June.. Oops! Summer time.. Enjoy the sand in summer man.. What say?

Checked in at the hotel President by afternoon. It was a decent hotel with good service. After a good relaxing shower, we jumpstarted our tour with Nile River Cruise. What can be better than spending an evening with your loved one on board the Nile Cruise. Well a nice Egyptian food with music on board are the best toppings for this cruise dish.

The civilization of Egypt is dependent on River Nile since ancient times. Don't forget your camera to capture the night life of Cairo.

The Middle Eastern food was amazing and the cool winds blowing over the river Nile brought back to you the traces of life and wisdom which went beyond time.

  

Day 2: 30th June, In midst of Pyramids

It was a dream comes true for us to be at one of the oldest and most historical places of the world. It was a very hot humid day. But the excitement to explore the pyramids “One of the Seven Wonders of the World” made it all possible.

The Pyramids of Egypt are the only ancient wonders that survive today. The origin of the pyramids can be traced back to 2551 B.C. Also, it was built as a tomb for Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu (called Cheops in Greek) and constructed over duration of 20 years.

At the time of construction, it was 148.5 metres tall 9the tallest building for around 3800 years) and with erosion of its pyramidion (the topmost portion) its current height is around 138 metres.

It houses more than 2.3 million slabs of limestone rock. It is a mystery when it comes to explain the technology behind this construction. The most accepted theory is that the stones were lifted from a quarry and dragged along the slopes of the already constructed slabs and hence, lifting them in place

We started early in the morning around 7:00 a.m. and as soon as you enter the complex, you get to see the Sphinx. A sphinx is a mythological figure with a human head and the body of a recumbent lion. The Sphinxes were considered as temple guardians, according to Greek mythology. Although the date of its construction is unknown, the head of the Sphinx is believed to be of Pharaoh Kafra.

There are two pyramids in honor of Khufu, one satellite pyramid and the small pyramids for Khufu’s three wives.

It was a thrilling experience, to crawl up through the narrow ascending passage, lit with artificial lights today and enter the chamber that has a vertical sliding big slab of stone as a blocking wall.

The chamber was so still, with no noise and it was very cold up there. Somehow, it sent shivers down our spine and we rushed down to the exit.

Our next stop was at the second and third pyramids. Unfortunately, the tickets were sold out; hence, we could not enter those.

We then went to see the Solar Boat Museum, where the royal boat used to carry the body of Pharaoh Khufu to the Pyramid, was preserved in a very good state. This boat was buried under 11 slabs of big blocks of limestone and was discovered later in 1954.

Finally, we went to the panoramic view where you could see all of Khufu’s pyramids and the three queens’ pyramids at one go. It was a good place to take pictures of the entire landscape.

We also went inside the main architect’s tomb building to see some of the ancient hieroglyphics. These pictures were very clear and very mysterious, with strange combination of humans and natural forces.

We also stopped by a camel attendant and got our pictures with the camel set against the pyramid’s background. And we still remember those Egyptian English words “You hubby I hubby” , he meant  "You happy I happy". We had completely explored the area by noon and it was already very hot by then. Exhausted but thrilled, we decided to go back to our hotel and recharge our selves for the evening.

In the evening, we went to Khan-el-Khalili, a very famous market known for Egyptian goods, where you could bargain Indian style. This is an ancient shopping area, that dates back to 1382. We enjoyed tea and falafel in the shopping square. You do have to pay a bit extra beyond the menu prices, they said it was for the ambience the middle of the square offered :)

  Day 3: 1st July, The oldest civilization’s wonders

Early in the morning. we set off to explore Old Cairo, the part of the city that houses the Coptic Museum, Babylon Fortress, Hanging Church, the Greek Church of St,. George, many other Coptic churches, The Ben Ezra Synagogue and Amr Ibn Al’As mosque.

Some of these churches are around 800 years old. These churches, synagogue and mosque are all clustered in one location, so you don’t get to walk a lot when you visit them. The hanging church is so called because it is stands on pillars instead of a concrete foundation!

Later in the afternoon,  we set off for Egyptian museum. It is home to more than 136,000 Egyptian antiquities including mummies. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures. But, it was amazing to see how well preserved the bodies were even after 3000 years beyond their death. We were fascinated with the ancient Egyptian science and techniques used in the preservation of those bodies. The Egyptians believed that the bodies should be preserved so that the humans after their death can use them to make their journey to their heaven or the state of extreme bliss by passing a test where they can prove their righteousness of their acts on the Earth.

In the evening, we went to different shopping complexes, one a famous papyrus shop, another a famous Egyptian perfume shop, some Egyptian artificial jewelers shops and the last but not the least, Egyptian memoirs shop.

And last but not least, the 'Sound and Light show', a great way to end this beautiful journey. You learn a lot about Egyptian history, culture and birth & significance of pyramids thru this beautiful show. Its just the right sweet dish after a beautiful meal to complete your travel appetite.

For more details on this please visit http://www.soundandlight.com.eg/

We left for United States flight early the next morning. We wished we could make a road trip to Alexandria, but the non availability of sufficient time for touring as well as the hot weather did not permit us to undertake such an adventure.

Enjoy a video on the making of the pyramids. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIjN5X_JXhI

Finally some Do’s and DON’T’s

DO’s 

1. Get your Egyptian Visa well in advance so you have enough time to plan for your trip and buy reasonable travel tickets.
2. Buy the tickets to all the pyramids early in the morning so that they don’t get sold out.
3. Bargain well when you shop in the markets of Egypt.
4. Try to book the trip with a travel agent and go in a group. It will be more fun and the trip will be more relaxed.
5. Visit Old Cairo, its gives a good glimpse into the true culture of the city.

 Don’t

1. Don’t travel without sunglasses or a cap on the day of your visit to the Pyramids
2. Don’t accept any gifts / favors from any Stranger, not even the cops from the area, you may be asked for money later.
3. Don’t buy packed Egyptian perfumes even if you have smelled the samples. First, have a whiff from the packed bottles and then purchase them, else the fragrance will disappear as soon as you pay for them.
4. Don’t forget to take a good camera when you go for the early evening / night river Nile Cruise.

- Lakshmi Sanjeev ( March 20, 2010)