Walk like a Wayfarer: the Gals Explore Egypt!

The Wayfaring Gals decided to go to Egypt with G Adventures since it was the tour that offered the most excursions my sister and I wanted to see. We also did not want to take the overnight train from Cairo to Aswan since we heard horror stories. This trip had airline travel through Egypt, saving us time to see more. I also had to see the Temple of Hatshepsut (a female pharaoh), and Abu Simbel was included (which is normally an expensive optional that runs from $300 and up). G Adventures Egypt Upgraded is more expensive than the normal Egyptian tour since it has better accommodations, airline travel, and more included excursions (though not all are). I also like that G’s maximum group size is fourteen so you are not waiting for masses of people to get on and off buses. Flight to and from the country is not included either. I definitely recommend a tour if you are a woman traveling to Egypt and even then to go with a man. My sister and I could not go anywhere alone without being harassed by the men. It was very annoying. We dressed conservatively as well, but our guide said it didn’t matter because we were not wearing veils. Egypt is not a safe place for women traveling by themselves.

The first night we flew in we did not feel like doing anything but showering and sleeping since we had a ten hour flight to Amman, and then transferred to Cairo. A guide from G Adventures met us at the airport to help us navigate visas (you can buy one beforehand or at the airport), and he suggested how much currency to change over. The exchange rate is pretty good with American dollars. In hindsight I would have taken out more since not a lot of places take credit card in Egypt, and there are fees with taking money out of foreign ATMs. We were then taken to our hotel, the Mercure Sphinx in Giza where we just enjoyed our rest.

The next day we were up bright and early to visit the pyramids of Giza. The tour started at the pyramid of Khufu, which is the largest one. The pyramids are the only one of the seven wonders of the ancient world that are still standing. It is believed that construction began around 2560 BC during the fourth dynasty when Khufu was pharaoh. Our guide Mike gave us information regarding the history of this particular pyramid and pharaoh, and then let us wander around. We didn’t know we couldn’t walk around so were bombarded by men trying to sell us things, take pictures of us, and ask to be in our photos. By the way, don’t let anyone take a picture of you since they’ll want money and won’t return your phone (it’s a scam). We met up with a guy from our group, Lucas, who walked around the pyramid with us. It was much more peaceful when you left the front, and the men didn’t approach us as much (just to try to sell us something and not ask for our hands in marriage).

On the next stop, our guide arranged for us to go for a camel ride. You don’t realize how high up you are until you are on one. They are mean too…mine kept biting the blanket on my sister’s camel. We rode the camels to where we had a good view of the pyramids. The other two pyramids are of Khafre and Menkaure (the smallest of the three main pyramids). Khafre’s complex also consists of the Great Sphinx of Giza as well, which is thought to represent the pharaoh himself. I found the Sphinx to be amazing and loved how you see the pyramids behind the mythical creature. The pyramids are probably one of the most amazing sites I have seen…words and pictures do not do them justice!

After a busy morning, we ate lunch at a restaurant our guide took us to. I loved the babaganoush (type of dip made from eggplant) and kofta (type of meatball). I really loved lemonade with mint, which I drank whenever I could in Egypt. It’s so refreshing! Afterwards, we stopped at a Papyrus shop, which is a government regulated shop so the goods are authentic and prices cannot be manipulated. I wanted to get something that is not available at home and unique to the country. I bought a piece with Ramses II offering lotus flowers to the Goddess Isis, while my sister bought one with the sky goddess Nut.

After lunch we drove to the Monastery of St. Macarius the Great, founded in 360 AD, which is between Cairo and Alexandria. The crypt of St John the Baptist was also discovered at the monastery. We had a monk give us tour of the monastery, pointing out the highlights and significant artifacts. The Christian churches in Egypt are now guarded by the police and army due to the damage done after the revolutions.  This was a beautiful, peaceful place and a perfect way to end a busy day.

Afterwards, we checked into our hotel in Alexandria and after such a busy day all I wanted was some R&R. This hotel had the best wifi since you could even have it in your room. Most hotels in Egypt only have wifi in the lobby and it’s not good. My sister has an international phone that is unlocked so she bought a sim card and hot spotted me. My recommendation is that you travel with an unlocked phone so you can do that since the wifi is not good in Egypt. I am going to skip over our day in Alexandria for the sake of the length of this post, and that I don’t think it is a needed place to visit when in Egypt.

The next day we went back to Cairo to visit the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities, which has an extensive collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts. I have been a huge fan of ancient Egyptian history and mythology, so it was an amazing experience to see some of the treasures from my books in person. A new museum is being built that will be bigger and better organized so a lot of artifacts were moved there already. I would have loved to see the new museum, but it was still an enjoyable experience to see the old one. The new museum will be much better organized and catalogued.

I really enjoyed the exhibit dedicated to Tutankhamun (King Tut), where you can view the objects found in his tomb. Our guide pointed out a bust of Queen Hatshepsut, where I couldn’t resist doing my Rosie the Riveter pose. The museum has statues of the pharaohs that built the pyramids of Giza: Khufu, Menkaure, and Khafre. There is also a section devoted to the controversial pharaoh Akhenaten who was married to the famous Nefertiti. You can spend hours getting lost in this museum; it’s definitely a must see when in Cairo! No visit to Cairo is complete without seeing this museum!

My next post will be about Aswan in southern Egypt so stay tuned for more exciting adventures! Also, let me know if you have any suggestions. If you like my Facebook page, there are videos from the trip posted that you can check out as well. I also update the Instagram WayfaringGal page (which has more photos from the trip) with new posts. Thank you for reading, and comments and feedback are always welcome since that is how we learn and grow.