Egypt

Egypt – The Land of Pharaohs

 

It was in October 2019 that Ajith and I were contemplating our second international trip. As both of us are fond of off-beat destinations and prefer natural and historical wonders, the cities and metropolitans were out of our list. Joining us were two great companions from the US, my cousin brother Kiran and his travel partner and friend Vivek. So the four of us discussed and zeroed upon Egypt which is an Arab country in northern Africa and has an array of long history associated with it. Egypt!! I couldn’t wait to go! Northern Africa seems more like the Middle East. 'Egypt', for me, the name conjures up images of pyramids, souks, hieroglyphics, exotic foods, and yes, even romance!

At the Muscat Intl Airport

Nowadays, it seems that it can be dangerous to go places such as Egypt in the Middle East, or northern Africa. Modern-day Egypt is…chaotic, hectic, frenetic, noisy, and downright overwhelming, and boy is it worth it.  Many people explore this exotic country by taking either a Nile cruise or at least a ride on a felucca, often captained by a local who knows the river and the area well.

Others take group, guided tours letting the tour guide do the hard work, not worrying about which hotels to book, where to go, and how to get there. This is a fantastic option for those who are worried or a little frightened about traveling in this area of the world. But we decided to choose the more adventurous path.

Since we had our one-year-old boy, the idea of booking a package trip was thought about. However, we took the challenge of planning our own itinerary and traveling on our own, instead of going for the expensive package tours. Spending days and nights searching on various travel websites and on getting to know more about Egypt paid off well. Our trip expense was well within our budget.

The trip started on 24^th November 2019 evening 7:30 pm from Muscat to Cairo Via AbuDhabi in Etihad Airways. The total traveling time was 7 hours and we reached Cairo at 12.00 am on the 25^th. We had a tough time locating the Airbnb apartment at Agouza on the bank of Nile, but with the proper guidance of the Uber driver, we could get to the apartment sooner.                                    

DAY 1-25^th Nov - Khan-El-Khalili Street

After a long night’s sleep, our days of Egypt exploration started. The feeling of being at a place surrounded by strangers, unfamiliar language, and the fact that we are on our own, was truly intimidating. Thanks to Google Maps, we set out exploring the nearby places for breakfast. We started looking for a restaurant our host had suggested, though we couldn’t figure out where it was, on the way ‘Abou Ammer’ a small coffee shop caught our attention. There were flocks of people around the shop taking away breakfast and dining there. The only problem that you will face in Egypt is “Language” and we were facing it right there. We somehow conveyed what we required in sign language and to our surprise, the staff was very supportive and helpful. Little did we know that it was meant to be our breakfast and dinner destination for the rest of the week. The food was sumptuous and reasonable. Wide varieties of Arab delicacies like ‘Paneer’, the sandwich with chicken nuggets stuffed inside, Falafel, falafel sandwiches were all tried.

At Abou Ammer

After lunch at ‘El Torr’ restaurant and having tried the ‘Koshary’, the staple food of Egypt we started towards Khan el-Khalili souk, which is a must-see historic market in old Cairo. We bought few souvenirs to take back home, in order to present to our loved ones and a papyrus painting of Pyramids and Tutankhamen. Remember, don’t buy anything if you can't bargain. Your expertise in bargaining comes to handy when you shop at the Khan since the vendors start their prices as high as double or triple the actual costs.

The commutations made by us were solely through Uber taxis which are readily available in Cairo; even though most of the drivers spoke a little English,  we never missed our destinations or never had a difficult time moving around.

Khan-El-Khalili Street

At the Khan

Day 2- Mohamed Ali Citadel and Nasr City

Our second day was well planned before setting out, starting with a visit to Mohamed Ali mosque at Cairo Citadel and then to City stars Mall in Nasr City. Perched high upon an arid hill above Egypt’s Capital, people interested in Islamic Cairo will find a medieval citadel full of architectonic wonders. The Citadel of Saladin (Qalaʿat Salāḥ ad-Dīn) dates back to 12th century and is now a dedicated UNESCO World Heritage site.

While there are many things to do in Cairo, few places will offer you a better glimpse into the Islamic past. It was built in 1830 by the Ottoman Governor of Egypt, Mohamed Ali in memory of his eldest Son. Mohamed Ali is regarded as the founder of modern Egypt. This spectacular mosque was built to rival the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul. Definitely, don’t miss to go inside and admire the gigantic chandelier hanging from the domed ceiling of the Mohammed Ali mosque. You should take your time exploring the grand terrace at the front of the mosque. It is by far the The citadel consists of other mosques, Al-Gawhara Palace, the National Military Museum and the Police Museum. It took around 2 hours to complete the tour of the citadel.

Citadel of Mohammed Ali

                                                              

Our next destination for the day was City Stars Mall situated in Nasr City. The mall is one of the biggest in Cairo and the food courts houses many international food chains. After lunch at the mall and some shopping, we wound up day 2. Our whole trip’s itinerary was planned in a way that suited our little one, visiting 2 places at the maximum each day, so as not to wear him out.

Day 3 - Egyptian Museum and the Nile cruise

After their Luxor and Aswan tour, Kiran and Vivek joined us on 27^th Nov morning. The day’s destinations were the Egyptian museum and Zamalek for the Nile cruise.

Egyptian museum is considered as the greatest treasure house on earth. With more than 120,000 items, this informative Museum has a specific amount of preserved artifacts to display. We were mesmerized by the artifacts and were ushered back to almost 3000years before, history was unfolding in front of us. The King Tutankhamen exhibit was so extensive and impressive. The mummy room was pretty incredible with its stacks of mummified remains. Egyptian museum houses most of the artifacts and funerary items dug out from the tombs of Pharaohs inside the pyramids as well as at the Valley of Kings at Luxor. Some of the major attractions are Tutankhamen's Golden Mask, many wooden and ornate coffins of various Kings, and the Mummy room. The mummy room has mummies of many renowned pharaohs like Ramses-II and Amenhotep.

    

After a two hour tour of the Museum, we set out on foot to which is a mix of rice, pasta, noodles, and tomato sauce with lemon. The koshary it offered was special and quite unique in taste.

                                                                                                                                                             

Abou Tarek

Yummy Koshari

                                              

The day ended with a visit to the Cairo tower and one-hour boating through the Nile at dusk. It will be once in a lifetime experience. Boating through one of the legendary rivers listening to our own Malayalam songs made it more special. The sun was setting fast and as the night came the river was lit with colorful lights which decorated the boats. It was a splendid day out with kids and cousins.

Boat Ride in the Mighty Nile

Day 4 - Great Pyramid of Giza                                  

The only destination for the day was Giza and the Pyramids. And I truly believe that one full day has to be there for it because this is going to be super special as you will be walking beside the highest manmade structure in the world which held that record for 3800 years. The tour started at 10 am and ended at 4 pm. You have to be fully prepared for the pyramids with lots of water, some food, and your passports. Please make sure that the ticket to enter the Great Pyramid of Kufu is also bought at the entrance itself. Giza is situated around 25 km away from Cairo. The pyramids, which are gigantic structures, come into sight the moment we take a turn around 5 km away towards the pyramid gardens. Just the sight of the massive structures made me gasp. 

 Those rocks were massive and the idea of moving it to that height when even the wheel was not invented made me wonder " how did they do it". So more than 4,600 years ago, the massive surface stones were cut and laid with incredible accuracy.  Some stones are estimated to weigh around 70 Tons. This is the only remaining structure of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. You just can't appreciate its sheer size until you have seen it up close and personal. The features of the Great Pyramid are so large that they can be seen from the moon and its base covers over 13.5 acres which are equivalent to 7 football pitches. A guide showed us around the pyramids on horses and camels around the pyramids and to the Sphinx. (If you can walk up to 5Km then do it). 

The way to the burial chamber of the Great Pyramid, through a narrow wooden staircase which we climbed up stooping over, was chilling and adventurous. It was an exhilarating climb as if moving back through the history, witnessing the sheer magnificence of the unbelievable structure. Pyramids left us mesmerized and mystified. 

    

Day 5 - Alexandria 

The day started at 5.30 am and it was meant to be a hectic day for us since we had to go to Alexandria which is around 220 km away from Cairo and come back. The onward journey was by a bus from Ramses Bus depot and till Sidi Gaber depot at Alexandria. I was wonderstruck by the long stretches of sandy desert and several stretches of cultivated crops like Grapes, bananas, etc on the way to Alexandria.

Our Peralam friend Sumesh was waiting to receive us at Alexandria and he showed us around the whole day. We visited the Aquarium and Library, which is one of the largest libraries in the world holding around 2.3 million books. Alexandria is hugely influenced by European culture and is really an organized city compared to the cluttered, bustling, and crowded Cairo. We were impressed with the city as the coastal climate means a lot more greenery and a lot less dust than we experienced in Cairo. Alexandria is a vibrant city and even worth a two-day visit. Our itinerary was really full and everything including the return ticket was booked in prior. The return journey to Cairo was by train which took less than 3 hours of travel. The train journey was very comfortable compared to the bus journey.

At Alexandria

Day 6 -  Back to Muscat

It was time to say goodbye to Cairo which was our home for the last few days. With memories etched deep we were bidding farewell to the Mummies, Pyramids, and cradle of human civilization – Egypt. I was already missing the daily bed tea I had with Ajith, overlooking the Nile. It is one of the most romantic moments I have ever had and would cherish all along. When the kids were fast asleep, we would sneak out and gaze at 

We all vacated the Airbnb apartment in search of one last destination, the Mandarine Kouider Bakery in Zamalek which sells the best Kunafa sweets in Cairo.

On the way back to Muscat, we had a pleasant surprise waiting for us in the form of Malayalam Movie makers Renji Panicker and Jayaraj who were at the airport on the way back to Kochi after attending The Cairo Film Festival.