I arrived in Egypt early Friday morning on 04/15/2022. My trip lasted 12 days and was full of new experiences and dreams come true. This is the 5th and final installment regarding my adventures. As always, enjoy, and thank you for reading my blog.
Old Cairo
Our stay at the New Movenpick was only one night, so another early wakeup call and another boxed breakfast of bread. An hour delay at the Aswan airport puts us behind schedule and has us landing in Cairo at 10:00am. No time to rest as we board a bus taking us to El-Moez Street for a walking tour through Old Cairo, and then another foray into Khan El-Khalili Market.
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| People gather on a street in Cairo. |
It's an interesting walk through Old Cairo, but I am glad that, once we reach the market, we are able to rest at a café. The 91-degree heat, as well as all the touring and consumption of bread, is continuing to take its toll. We are given some free time to wander the market. As much as I want to sip my hibiscus tea and relax, I also want to wander the market again. Linda and I leave Christy at the café and set off to explore. The same guard who fetched us at the Nubian Spice Market, follows us the entire time. I guess he doesn't want a repeat of having to come after us because we were late to meet the group, but whatever his reasons, I am glad he is with us.
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| Enjoying a cup of hibiscus tea at Waly El Neam Cafe in the Khan El-Khalili Market. |
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| Waly El Neam Cafe - our guide sits upstairs, while we are downstairs. Since it is Ramadan, he does not sit with us whenever we are eating or drinking during the day. |
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| Shoppers at Khan El-Khalili Market. |
A dinner date
It is 2pm by the time we check into the InterContinental Citystars hotel in Cairo. It's nice to have the afternoon free, so Christy, Linda and I wander through a mall that is connected to the hotel. The Citystars Mall is huge with six levels and 750 stores, plus a cinema and numerous restaurants and food courts.
I eventually leave Christy and Linda to enjoy their dinner and go back to the hotel to get ready for my date. Several days into the trip, I matched with a man on a dating app. We’ve been chatting for several days and I agreed to go on a date with him when I returned to Cairo. Because our group is given strict instructions not to go outside the hotel or mall, Khaled meets me in the hotel lobby.
It's been 10 months since I've been on a date and I am feeling giddy, especially when I see him standing in the lobby. He is even more handsome in person with his dark hair and deep brown eyes, but I'm not sure how to react. Should I hug him? Shake his hand? Public displays of affection are frowned upon in the Muslim culture, more so when it is between two people who are not married. Khaled, however, makes it easy. As I approach, he takes my hand and kisses it. It's a sign of respect.
We walk next door to the mall for dinner. It is a wonderful date. Even with our cultural differences, we have a lot in common and conversation comes easily. His English is near perfect, and I love his accent. My face hurts from smiling, but unfortunately, I am so tired, our date ends after only a few hours. I don't want him to leave, but Christy has given me strict instructions that I am not to bring him back to our room! I can't sneak him in even if I wanted to, because I find out later, a Muslim man is not allowed to enter the hotel room of a woman who he is not married to.
We say goodbye in the hotel lobby, but this time we hug and Khaled gives me several kisses on my cheek. We promise to keep in touch, but sadly, as of this writing our communications have stopped.
**
Pyramids
GIZA!
My last full day in Egypt and what better way to spend it than to see the pyramids and ride a camel! This is the reason I've travelled thousands of miles to Egypt. Everything else I’ve seen and done for the last ten days is a mere bonus.
Breezy with clear skies, it's a perfect morning to have a dream come true.
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| Giza! A dream comes true! |
At the pyramids, we have two options. We can either go inside the Great Pyramid or listen to a lecture by an archaeologist. At first, Christy, Linda, and I choose to go inside the pyramid, because how awesome is it to say you went inside the Great Pyramid!? But when we hear it is very hot inside and we would have to crawl to reach a chamber that is void of any hieroglyphics or other design, we opt for the lecture.
That, by far, is the better choice.
Ashraf Mohie El-din is an Egyptologist, archaeologist, and the Director General of the pyramids. He has a big personality and exudes passion for his work. With his booming voice, he entertains us with tales of lost treasure and his behind-the-scenes antics of when he filmed two specials for National Geographic (Lost tomb of the Pyramids and Lost Treasures of Egypt).
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| "If you can build a pyramid, you can do anything" - Ashraf Mohie. |
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| Our guide Khaled, Christy and I in front of the Great Pyramid. |
A camel
Now it is time to ride a camel!
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| Majestic! |
We stand in a group watching the camels. They are magnificent as they rest in the sand with the beautiful pyramids in the background, but I am not fooled. Camels are temperamental. They grunt, groan, and bellow loudly which affirms their unpredictability. I am very nervous to ride one. The camel keeper helps me climb on top of the camel but gives me no instructions of how to ride it or how to keep from falling off, only that I should hold on to the saddle horn.
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| Don't look down, don't look down! Trying hard not to fall off! |
Watching a camel rise off the ground into a standing position is very different than being on top of a camel while it rises off the ground into a standing position. It first straightens its long back legs, and as its rump lifts into the air, I am abruptly thrown forward. Fortunately, my white-knuckle death grip on the saddle horn keeps me from somersaulting over the camel’s head. I scream anyway because it is such an unexpected motion and, in all seriousness, I thought I was going to die.
However, just as quickly, it stands with its front legs, so now I am flung backwards. Again, my death-grip saves me from going ass over teakettle, but now the camel is walking.
It doesn’t move with an easy rhythm, but with one that is shuffling and rolling like a ship at sea. I’m bouncing around on its back trying not to fall off and certainly trying not to look down.
My camel seems unnaturally tall. Dromedary camels can stand at over 7-feet at the shoulder with females being a bit smaller.
My camel’s name is Casanova, so I assume he is a male, but regardless, a few inches don't matter when I am a thousand feet in the air.
The ground seems far away and I know it would be extremely painful if I were to fall. My legs squeeze the camel tightly and my entire body tenses. My hands also hurt because I’ve retained my clench on the saddle horn. I don’t know how anyone could ride a camel across the desert for miles upon miles. It is an uncomfortable ride. I’ve gone maybe 300-feet and my butt hurts already.
My camel doesn’t entirely lift his feet when he walks. I don’t know if all camels walk like this or if mine is defective, but it’s scary. I’m trying not to think about my death by camel, but then Casanova stumbles and I panic. I’m about to callout to my camel handler and tell him I want to get off, but as I lift my gaze from the ground, I see the pyramids in the distance.
Beautiful under the Egyptian sun.
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| Pyramids |
I take a moment to reiterate that this is my dream come true. It is unbelievable that I am riding a camel in the Sahara Desert!
After a few calming breaths, I focus on my surroundings, on the experience, rather than on my fears and overestimation of how high in the air I am. My legs relax, as does my grip on the saddle. Instead of fighting against the motion, I let myself be jostled around by Casanova’s movements and eventually find a somewhat tolerable position.
Our group stops while we take turns getting our picture taken in front of the pyramids. Tim, one of the men in my tour group, is behind me on a camel named Ali Baba. It is tethered to mine. Ali Baba moves to stand next to me and pushes affectionately against my camel. I reach out to touch his hair and it is coarse and bristly. He nibbles my fingers with his lips and it feels gummy and wet.
He is a nice camel, but he continues leaning against Casanova and my leg is squished between the two. It doesn’t hurt, but I am unable to move it. That makes me a bit anxious as these camels can weigh as much as 1,800 pounds! My svelte little self is no match for their size and strength. I push Ali Baba and he moves enough for me to pull my leg out, but I’m pretty sure he didn't even feel me. He probably thought I was just a fly.
Now it’s my turn to have a picture taken.
Casanova and I are led into position with the pyramids standing majestic in the background, but he doesn’t want to cooperate. My camel handler whistles, waves, and calls to Casanova. Eventually he looks up and poses perfectly for our picture. It was a rough start, but I am enjoying myself immensely.
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| Cassanova and I have become friends. |
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| Not so gracefully getting off my camel. |
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| Having some fun after my camel ride. |
My day could have ended happily with me and my new bestie, Casanova, saying our goodbyes, but it didn’t.
There was one more thing to see - the Sphinx!
Standing guard at the approach to the Pyramid of Khafre, the Sphinx is the earliest known monument sculpture of Egypt. It dates to around 2500 BC and stands 66-feet high.
When the pyramids were built, the waters of the Nile came up to the edge of the Giza Plateau. Our guide draws a map in the sand showing where the canal and boat dock were and the path to the tomb. It is very helpful to get an overview of the area as it’s all desert sand now.
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| Walking on a marble floor that is over 5,000 years old. It must have been stunning at one time. Our guide says it led to an embalming room. |
Unfortunately, the area around the Sphinx is barricaded and we are unable to get very close, plus it is crowded.
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| The Sphinx - Guardian of the Giza Plateau. |
A security guard is yelling at a group of people who have climbed onto a stone wall to get a better look at the Sphinx. Just as they get down, another group climbs up. The guard then turns his attention to a group of Egyptian teenagers. I don’t know exactly what they are doing, but they run away laughing and acting silly like kids do. Our guide smiles, so I don’t think their antics were too serious, but the guard has clearly lost patience with people.
It’s 12:30 and 85-degrees.
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| Selfie! |
My Egyptian adventure comes to an end
Time to say goodbye.
That night we have a delicious farewell dinner at the hotel. Everyone is tired, but no one wants to be the first to leave the table and finalize the ending to a fabulous trip. Finally, at about 9pm with all of us falling asleep over our empty plates, one of the other women stands up. That’s our cue and the rest of us quickly follow her lead.
There are many different personalities in our group, but overall, it is a great mix of people. I am inspired by their tales of travel, specifically by those from a group of four women. They met several years ago while on a previous tour, and now they travel the world together. Christy and I are already thinking about our next trip, perhaps to Israel and Jordan...?
It is an amazing last day of an already amazing trip. It feels good to be able to share such a wonderful experience with friends, new and old, but now it’s time for sleep. I have one more early wakeup call and one last boxed breakfast of bread to eat before I begin my journey home.
Thank you, Egypt. I miss you already.
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| A souvenir from Egypt. I've named her Giza. |
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