Giza Pyramids & Cairo

The short flight from Muscat complete, I landed in the sand-blasted city of Cairo — at least that’s what all the buildings looked like on approach. Sand and dust covered every surface as I touched down. I was meeting Lux and Tash here for a week in Egypt. Lux’s flight was supposed to land at the same time as mine but was delayed by about 30 minutes. I took a leisurely stroll through the airport to immigration — a super-fast process, despite a random secondary check of the passport stamp by one guy immediately after immigration. You know, just in case you managed to sneak through without getting stamped.

I waited for Lux in the baggage hall and contemplated buying a bottle of wine from duty free to go with dinner tonight. I found a bottle of rosé for about $20 AUD and took it to the counter. I thought it was a bit odd that there was a customs counter here too. When the cashier said that I needed to pay the tax and duty first — about the same price as the wine itself — then buy the wine, I decided against it. Seemed it was not so duty-free duty free shopping here.

Lux arrived soon after, and we waited about 45 minutes for her bag to appear. Then it was time for a shuttle to the Airbnb we’d booked. Tash had arrived earlier and already checked in. Our transfer met us, and 45 minutes later we were at our Airbnb. The only real traffic congestion was around the corner from our home for the next few days. Not bad for a city with the same population as all of Australia.

The Airbnb is great — massive rooms, a nice old building, and Egyptian style. We woke Tash up (who’d been napping after her 30ish-hour journey from Melbourne) and decided to hunt and gather some dinner. The streets were busy with the sounds of car horns — not aggressive or chaotic, more like an audible replacement for indicators, letting others know where the gaps were. We wandered a few blocks, seemingly on men’s fashion street, with lots of shops spilling into the alleys offering their wares.

I’m used to the constant invites to buy things from my travels across Asia, so I’m comfortable ignoring the sales pitches. We found one shop with a huge line (must be good), but they didn’t have a menu, so we had no idea what they were selling. We ended up at a chicken wrap/burger place. I was delegated to order and grabbed Lux and me a burger and wrap, plus some chips. Tash just wanted chips. We retreated to the relative calm of the Airbnb, ate dinner, and crashed for the night.

I woke up early, went for a short wander, and grabbed a gross sandwich from the chain bakery across the road. The lemon mint lemonade was delicious though — I finished it and realised I’d just broken Egypt rule number one: don’t have ice. Oh well! So what do you do on your first day in Egypt? Go and see the Pyramids, of course! We’d booked a private tour, and our lovely guide, Basant, picked us up ready to explore. “If you can’t remember my name, just remember Basant means flower in Egyptian,” she explained as we drove towards Giza to explore one of the wonders of the world.

On the way we discussed the tour. There was a bit of confusion — we thought we were going to the new museum, but our package apparently only included the old one. We agreed to forfeit the old museum tickets and check out the new one instead. The flexibility of having a private guide was paying off already. First stop for today: the Pyramids of Giza.

All I can say is “Wow” — and then proceed to write a few paragraphs about it anyway. We got dropped off, went through security, and grabbed a seat while Basant explained some of the history. We’ve all seen photos of the Pyramids before, but seeing them in person is something else. The Sphinx sits in the foreground, with the three pyramids rising behind it. From a distance, they didn’t look impossibly big — more like, “oh yeah, that wouldn’t be too hard to build.” That opinion changed quickly once we got closer.

We crossed the remnants of where the Nile once reached before the high dam was built in the 1960s and ’70s. Back then, the Nile flooded right up to the base of the pyramids. Now it’s just dust, sand, and ruins. We walked around the Sphinx, took some photos, and then hopped on a shuttle bus to get up close to the grand pyramids. Standing between the two largest, the scale really hit — they’re massive! “How the hell did they make these 3–5,000 years ago?” I wondered.

Basant was quick to clarify that it wasn’t aliens or slaves — “we paid the workers who built these, there was never slavery here.” We’d hear this several times over the trip, but I’m still a bit sceptical on the “no slaves” part. Some workers apparently got killed after construction to protect the tomb from being looted — a tough employment contract if that’s not some form of forced labour.

We walked to the base of the Grand Pyramid, touched its stones, and Basant showed us all the best photo spots. Standing at the base and looking up toward the peak, you really feel the enormity of it — and the extent to which the ancient Egyptians valued the afterlife more than their actual lives. Another short bus ride later, we stopped at a panoramic viewpoint for a much-needed cool drink. I got another frozen mint lemonade — so refreshing.

Viewpoint explored, it was time for lunch. We were taken to a “local” restaurant — local in the geographic sense rather than somewhere actual locals eat. We got a great spread of breads and starters — dips galore! I can’t remember what we had for mains; I’d have to check with the foodie of the trip, Lux. But it was good. Lunch complete and bodies cooled from the heat, we headed to the Grand Egyptian Museum.

The opening of the museum has been delayed a few times, but the grand opening is now scheduled for November 1st this year. Fortunately, the soft opening has already happened with 12 galleries open to the public — and it’s already living up to its name. Basant gave us a guided tour of the highlights. “You’d need a week to see everything — I’ll show you the main sections, then you can have free time,” she explained as we walked in. The building itself is stunning. You enter through four symbolic icons of Egyptian belief (which I’ve already forgotten), then ascend a massive staircase that leads to a viewpoint overlooking the pyramids. That’s where the 12 galleries begin.

It was great having Basant lead us — I wouldn’t have known where to start. Of course, everything’s important in its own way, but some things are just more interesting than others. Queen Hatshepsut was the highlight — a queen who ruled as a man because women couldn’t rule. Go gurl! With something explained in pretty much every gallery, we were given some free time. I wasn’t sure what to do with it — there was so much to see but so little context. We opted to explore the main staircase again. Lux and Tash browsed the gift shop while I admired the architecture.

When we finished our free time, Basant and our driver took us back to the Airbnb for a much-needed rest. Tour one of many in Egypt complete, I took a short nap before we headed out for dinner. We were off to the Sofitel on the Nile for a fancy dinner to celebrate both my and Lux’s birthdays. It was a great spot — right on the riverbank, watching the sunset change the colours of the Cairo sky.

The food was delicious, even if we over-ordered and over-ate (a theme of this trip). We decided to walk it off with a 30ish-minute stroll back to the apartment. With the sun down, it was much cooler — still warm, but pleasant — even if crossing the roads was a little adventurous. I was the riskiest road crosser in the group, adopting the same strategy I use in Southeast Asia: avoid eye contact and keep a steady pace. Essentially the opposite of everything you’re taught in Australia about road safety.

Day one in Egypt complete, I walked to a local store, bought a beer for about $1 AUD, and finished the night sitting in our apartment reflecting on an exciting start to this Egyptian adventure.Read more