Egypt - Part 1 - Land Of Pyramids

Why one should plan Egypt in their bucket list? – Its versatile story of ancient civilization, from intriguing mummies to the enchanting Nile, hot air balloon ride at Luxor where in it is amazing to see how the green fields abruptly turn into plain desert. Above all, visit to the great Pyramids and Sphinx, which is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Egypt never fails to astonish you.

My top 3 reasons to visit Egypt - Pyramids, Nile river cruise and hot air balloon ride. However, I came back with lot more exciting adventures and surprises than I had expected.

I had booked this tour from WOW (Women On Wanderlust) tour group since I had toured with them earlier to valley of flowers. It was a very well planned tour covering all-important iconic places of Egypt.

Day 1 – Arrival at Cairo International Airport

All of us arrived at Cairo International airport. We had to wait for our fellow travelers coming from other cities of India. Hence, it was almost lunch time by the time we checked into hotel. We were put up in Marriott Mena House and the best part of this hotel is its location. Overlooking the Great Pyramids of Giza, Marriott Mena House is very close to Giza Pyramids. Exciting isn’t it! J .

This was a day of leisure for us. We exchanged our currency at hotel Forex desk to get Egyptian Pound for 10 days stay based on our spending. We freshened up, had some ice breaking sessions and late evening when we took a stroll around the hotel, there was a lavish wedding going on. Best part was pyramids were looking amazing amidst the wedding lights. We were happy to get an incredible view of pyramids both during day and nighttime.

At around 7 PM we were taken to Nile Maxim cruise for Dinner followed by enjoying belly dancing and folklore show onboard.

Day 2 – Exploring pyramids of Giza

We woke up and had a long day with lot of interesting places to explore. In fact this was a dream come true day for me as I was about to see one of the 7 wonders of the world.

Giza Pyramids

Post breakfast we set off on our bus arranged by WOW and we had a very enthusiastic local guide with us. Our guide, an Egyptologist was qualified and had a good knowledge of Egyptian history.

It hardly took 15 minutes for us to reach pyramids from our hotel. As I got down from our bus, I was astonished to see such huge man-made magnificent structures standing right in front of me. You are bound to get impressed with the incredible feat of engineering which was involved in their construction.

One warning – its very hot here. Please carry your caps and lots of water to drink since you may tend to dehydrate.

There are 3 pyramids and we were given a ticket to get inside one of the pyramids. We quickly clicked pictures around the tallest pyramid.

There are camel rides available and you can opt for in case you want a ride around the pyramids in the desert. But please ensure you ask your local guide to negotiate on the fare since they tend to ask more in dollars at times rather than Egyptian pounds. It is seriously worth since you get to go throughout the Giza plateau on a camel and many beautiful pictures to take home.

Our next stop was tour inside the 3rd pyramid. We reached the entrance of the 3^rd pyramid now since we all were curious to know what exactly is present inside the pyramid. We showed our ticket and then to our surprise there was a small path that is made of wooden planks and a path for only one person to go at a time. So, it was all pitch black unless you have a torch or phone light. This makes the long climb interesting, as it is rather steep and narrow. One has to either crawl on all fours or move in a squat position the first 20 feet into the chamber. After that use the handrails and be careful with your steps. Do not go if you are claustrophobic!

When we reached down, all we could see a burial chamber with a single dim light. 

We quickly clicked pictures here and started our way up since it was really suffocating inside and some feeling of uneasiness.

Then we were asked to get into a bus and were taken to a viewpoint from where we could see all 3 pyramids together. This is the most famous tourist spot here since we can click all of them in a single frame J.

Sphinx

This was our next spot. It looks closer to pyramids but not walk-able. We had to reach here from our bus only.

We all were curious to know what Sphinx means and we asked our guide. He said - It is a mythical creature with the body of a lion and the head of a human. It is simply astonishing to watch this huge statue sitting with the backdrop of pyramid. This is the most iconic touristy place of Egypt.

Egyptian Museum

Our next stop was the Egyptian museum where you will see the world’s greatest collection of Ancient Egyptian artifacts, including 12 rooms filled with treasures from the tomb of the boy king Tutankhamen. We were not allowed to click pictures here hence I don't have any pictures to show. If you are seriously interested to know Egyptian history I felt you can easily spend half a day here.

Coptic old Cairo Churches

Coptic Cairo is the center of ancient Egyptian Christianity in Cairo. The area dates to the first century AD when Christianity was introduced in Egypt during the Roman period. This is the ancient heart of the Coptic Christian community featuring five original churches, the first mosque built in Egypt and the oldest synagogue, all representing three of the major world religions.

The area also has a lot of small houses and you have to walk through narrow streets to walk up-to the churches.

By now we were damn hungry so it was lunch time. Post lunch we were dropped to hotel to freshen up and relax a bit. Around late evening 7 PM, we were taken to the last attraction of the day – Light and Sound show at Giza Pyramids.

Light and Sound show

It is a unique event combining sound and light with a backdrop of the Pyramids & the Sphinx. The show is sure to make you travel back in time. It is amazing to watch these world famous monuments illuminated in colors, which keep changing along the story-line. You will also see some animations like warriors, horses etc pass by in front of these pyramids depicting history. Duration of the show is almost an hour and it is worth if you are interested in knowing the history behind Pyramids and Sphinx.

After such an exciting eventful day, we were brought back to hotel. All of us went back to our rooms since we were tired and gave ourselves a sound satisfying sleep J. I was overwhelmed with joy since my dream came true today. So here goes another tick from my bucket list – one of the 7 wonders of the world J.