One of the reasons we loved Istanbul so much was the feeling that it was truly preparing us for what we would experience in Egypt. Akin to starting in the shallow end of the pool instead of cannonballing into the deep end. In hindsight, Istanbul was far more European than what we had naively thought.

The Arrival

In the days leading up to our flight, I realized I had made a crucial mistake. For Americans, you need to have a travel visa, good for 30 days. You can currently purchase e-visa's before your trip but you need to do so 7 days in advance. I had thought it was only 4 so we missed out on that. The whole reason I bring this up is that if you don't purchase an e-visa online you need to purchase one in person on arrival...for $25 USD per person...and they don't give change. This led to last-minute scrambling in Athens to take euros out of an atm, walk across the street to a currency exchange and convert those euros BACK to USD. Once we'd landed in Cairo we made our way toward immigration. There are a few banks that have some very small signs for visa purchases. It took a moment to figure out the order of operations but let me tell you that I was glad that we figured out the cash beforehand. Others in line with us were not as knowledgable and were burned for it (they really really wont give you change). After the visa, everything else happened relatively easily and we were off to our hotel in little time.

We decided that, as both a Christmas present to ourselves and to ease into Egypt life, we would start with the western-comfort side of things and stay near the airport for a few days. One thing we have learned from long term traveling is that you need to combine known comforts with local experiences or you'll burn out. We had been saving and building up credit card points for some time so we thought this would be a good use of some of them.

The section of Cairo that the JW Marriott is in is technically Mirage City but many people were just calling the whole area New Cairo. Arriving at night the whole area was lit up and has a quasi Vegas feeling with billboards stacked 5 high on every inch of the highway. This is clearly where the new money is located.

JW Marriott

Upon entering the JW Marriott resort you need to go through metal detectors (which was a little alarming but, safety, amirite?) but once through you feel like you are at any other resort, which is a good thing. We chose the JW with all intention of not leaving the hotel during our short stay. We even decided to have our room be in the pool bungalow area so that we could leave from the back of our room and into the pool. The hotel boasts 14 restaurants, 4 pools, a volleyball court, tennis courts, full sauna/steam rooms, and spa. Everything one could need. In addition to all of that, it included a FANTASTIC breakfast. Imagine fresh fruit, juices of at least 7 different fruits/vegetables, a mountain of baked goods and options to please every pallet from around the world and you get the idea of what it was like.

It is not particularly warm in Egypt in the winter months, which even though we knew going in, as Native Michiganders we were in a bit of denial as to how cold it would really be. The outdoor pools, including the waterpark, while technically open were deserted because swimming in unheated water in low 70's temperature isn't exactly fun.

The saving grace was a really cool indoor heated pool that even had a section to swim to the outside. This happened to be attached to the extremely large fitness center and sauna so we ended up spending a large chunk of time here.

The hotel also offers a few free excursions for guests; a nightly shuttle to the Festival City Mall and on Fridays, a free trip/guide to the pyramids of Giza. We declined the trip to Giza as we were planning on spending the next few days there anyway but we did take them up on the shuttle to the mall which ended up being a ton of fun. H even got his arcade fix and won a little stuffy which is still traveling with him now.

Giza

Once we were sufficiently relaxed and pampered it was time to shake ourselves out of that life and what better way to do so than an Uber ride to Giza. Over the ride that cost around $8USD and lasted about 30 minutes on a single road, we went from a place where people seem to materially have everything to a place where people seem to have little at all. At one point a donkey and cart got on the expressway with us. The entire way people were running across, weaving through traffic on the busy road as it is one of the only ways to get across, only slowing down to roll over the speed bumps that are periodically placed. Getting the first glimpses of the great pyramids in the distance blinded us to the world around us getting crazier and crazier with every mile we traveled. Dubbed 'cement city' by one of our guides, this section of Giza is an extremely jarring swath of land covered by half-finished cement buildings, dirt roads, and very little infrastructure. Not since becoming a father have I ever felt such a combination of excitement and trepidation as I did going back and forth between the awe-inducing view of those pyramids getting closer and the weaving of chaos on the road.

Once dropped between the feet of the Sphinx and the greatest Pizza Hut location in the world, it was time to find our guesthouse. There are many guesthouses in the area of the pyramids all catering to independent budget travelers and they all seem to be named Great Pyramid View. We landed on a well-reviewed one on booking.com and went with it. The guesthouse itself was simple, it had a private bathroom and included breakfast every morning along with a FANTASTIC view from the roof. Let's just look at that view for a moment, this was the reason for it all.

I'm not sure that a person could ever tire of that view.

After the initial drop off and the constant bombardment of people either wanting to transport you or sell you things we decided that the time had finally come where hiring a driver and guide was not only important but possibly a necessity. See, Giza isn't exactly a place that I would recommend anyone to just wander around. Not that it is dangerous but, IT. IS. WORK. Between the chaos of the cars, camels, horses and tuk-tuk's on the street and the constant harassment of "Hey, what's your name?" and "Excuse me, where are you from?" (quickly learned as an 'in' to sell you something and not just trying to be friendly) it is downright exhausting to just walk down the street. If you think I'm overreacting, I'm not. You cant look in someone's general direction without them seeing you as a target. Laura loved this part because they only spoke to me and never to her. She and H walked around the area themselves for an hour and not once were bothered. Feeling that we needed a driver now, we landed on 2 tours, one of the Pyramids of Giza/Egyptian Museum and another day for Saqqara/Memphis/Dahshur with each one coming out to $105, not including admission to the attractions.

We also found information regarding admission prices to be frustratingly inconsistent online and not to the fault of other bloggers. Prices are creeping and only about half the time those we found online were actually accurate. Likely these prices also soon will be incorrect but I feel they can be used as a baseline. The student tickets are the prices for the kid's tickets. While much of Egypt is still very affordable, the monuments are where they will make up for it and there are a lot of monuments you will want to see. None of these places take credit card and while there are atm's seemingly on every street corner its important to ALWAYS have cash on hand, and not just cash but small denominations for tipping (because you will indeed be asked all the time!)

Tour 1 - Pyramids of Giza/Egyptian Museum

Pyramids of Giza/Great Sphinx

Picking us up in the morning we met our guide and driver for the day and made a trip to the papyrus institute first.  I lost track of counting how many Papyrus Institute/Research centers, perfume factories, and artist villages I have seen in Egypt. This is clearly a stop on all guided tours and one that we humored but didn't buy anything because ultimately we are traveling long term and need to watch our souvenirs. The next stop was the cotton "factory". We only stopped here because I inquired about a scarf and it ended up being much more touristy than I was hoping for but I bought one anyway and like it even if it may not be the highest quality. Then it was on to the Pyramids. There are actually 2 entrances to the pyramids. One is almost right outside of our hotel that is very intimidating and non-inviting and the second, the one we were brought to, clearly is for the big groups because it was MUCH nicer and much busier.

This was the moment that I had been waiting for since childhood, the reason why Egypt was a non-negotiable spot on this trip of ours. Walking up to the pyramids was a sensation that goes beyond what any picture can show or text can ever say. The view from the guesthouse was magnificent but the sheer scale and wonder of these structures right up close are on a whole other level of awesomeness. Let's break down the cost of this for a moment because I feel that information out there can be a tad bit confusing.

Entrance to general area: 200egp adult/100egp student ($13/$6.50USD)

Entrance to Khufu's Pyramids: 400egp adult/200egp student ($25/$13USD)

Entrance to Khafree’s Pyramid: 100egp adult/50egp student ($6.50/$3.25USD)

The general ticket does include access to 3 small tombs but you need to know how to search them out a little. H and I chose to go into Khafree's pyramid as it was cheaper and everyone told us they are empty and plain inside and also very similar. But if you come all this way we felt we needed to go into at least one of them. It takes only a few moments to scramble down to the center chamber of Khafree's pyramid and it is true, there isn't much to see inside but just knowing how old and how massive this structure is made it all worth it.

Pro-tip: Photography isn't allowed inside but we found that it pertains to actual cameras. Everyone had their cellphones out and it seemed to be encouraged by the guardians. Just don't be a monster, turn that flash off!

Once we had our temporary fill of the pyramids up close we went up to a popular panoramic viewing area that has a fantastic view. Here you can clamor in front of others to get that perfect gram that gives the illusion that you have the place to yourself or you can hire a camel (the camels at the time were dressed as Santa's for the season). Much to H's dismay, we chose not to. The going rate for a ride is 350egp($22USD) for an hour which isn't awful but we didn't have the cash on us at the time and we figured we would have an opportunity to ride a camel in the future.

After the panoramic view, we hopped back in the car to head down to the front of the site and get up close to the Sphinx. I feel that I often heard people discount the Sphinx because it is on the small side. It is, but I think only because of the looming massiveness of the pyramids behind it. On its own, I feel that it totally holds its weight and is a beauty. Once completed of the sites and avoiding the persistent salespeople hawking trinkets we were on our way to the Egyptian Museum in downtown Cairo.

Egyptian Museum

Founded in 1902, The Egyptian museum stands as a pink beauty in the middle of downtown Cairo. While not incredibly large by today's standards, it oozes with classical romantic antiquity charm. Here is the fee breakdown:

Entrance to the museum - including King Tut room: 200egp adult/100egp student ($13/$6.50USD)

Mummy room: 180egp adult/90egp student ($11/$6USD)

Photography ticket: 50egp ($3)

I sprung for the photography ticket as I wanted to be able to use my camera inside without any hassle. I'm not sure I needed it as no one ever asked to see it but it was a small amount to pay in the long run. This does not allow you to take pictures in the King Tut mask area or mummy room and believe me, they will get angry with you for doing so.

Inside the museum is a bit hard to exactly put into words. There are a lot of artifacts in here and little to no information or wayfinding about the pieces. All of this is heightened by a transitional feeling inside the museum because they are actively working on slowly moving the pieces out to a new museum near the pyramids of Giza that is scheduled to open anywhere from 2017-2035. I kid, of course, it is scheduled right now for 2020 but has been pushed back several times and by the look of the current construction, I think I would be surprised if a 2020 opening happened. After being whopped over the head with Egyptian history for an hour we got to the real star of the museum; King Tuts treasure room. After having our imaginations stirred during a traveling exhibit at our local museum last year we were beyond excited to see the real objects. Here you will see many of his treasures found in the tomb including his beautiful sarcophagi, several tombs, and his magnificent mask. In our opinion, it lived up to the hype 100%

Tour 2 - Saqqara/Memphis/Dashur

Saqqara

For our second tour, we decided to go around 20km south of Giza to the ruins of Saqqara, Memphis, and Dahshur. While one could do any combination of these I get the feeling that they are almost always combined when traveling in the area. Starting with Saqqara you start by entering the Imhotep museum which is dedicated to the priest and was surprisingly modern for Egypt standards but much to Laura's sadness, this priest Imhotep has nothing to do with the movie, The Mummy. This Imhotep was considered the architect of the pyramid of Djoser, located at the Saqqara necropolis. The pyramid of Djoser is also known as the Step Pyramid due to its 6 tiers and is the oldest pyramid in Egypt. The Saqqara necropolis is pretty large overall but in my opinion, there wasn't too much to see outside of the Step Pyramid, which in itself is pretty amazing but there are no pyramids to walk into. Still a solid stop overall.

Entrance to Saqqara/Imhotep Museum: 180EGP adult/90EGP student ($11/$6USD)

Memphis

Next on our trip was traveling through Memphis. Memphis is a bit like stepping back through time and shows a very rural Egypt. Once it's capital in ancient times it is now mostly an open-air museum but does have a small town called Mit Rahina that you need to pass through to get to it. Heading down the main street you'll have the chance to witness camel meat being chopped up on the street, fruit, and vegetables being sold and maybe even stop for some sugar cane juice as we did. The Egyptians LOVE their sugar and are often seen chomping on sugar cane. The sugar cane juice is exactly how you can imagine it...like sugar water. It was refreshing but I was done with it after a few sips.

One of the main attractions of Memphis is the giant Rameses II statue. Laura, H and I had little knowledge of what to expect in Memphis and so we were feeling a little underwhelmed until we were brought to the building that houses this giant statue that has fallen and let me tell you, it was one of the greatest things I have seen in Egypt. Rediscovered laying down in the water it is said to have broken even further when the British attempted to remove it for themselves (of course they would). Even while missing its calves downward this statue is HUGE.

Entrance to Memphis: 80EGP adult/40EGP student ($5/$2.50USD)

Dahshur

After a quick lunch it was on to our last stop; Dahshur, home of 2 massive pyramids. Sneferu, father of Khufu (Pharoh of The Great Pyramid of Giza) wanted to build the first sloping, smooth-sided pyramid. Their first attempt ended up as a failure due to some catastrophic decisions and is now known as the Bent Pyramid. Using what they learned they decided to try again and this time was successful. Now known as the Red Pyramid due to the red limestone used is believed to be Sneferu's resting place.

After being closed for many years and only reopening in June 2019 the Bent Pyramid can now be accessed. Our guide gave a slight caution on the challenge of the journey but while acknowledging his warnings, H and I decided to give it a go. After several flights of stairs, we reached the entrance to the pyramid. Looking down the small narrow tunnel it became apparent very quickly how different this would be from accessing the pyramids in Giza. This is the true adventurer's tomb to visit. Setting down the 200m 45deg slope that maybe is 4ft x 4ft tall and wide you can't quite find a comfortable position to...waddle...down. Imagine walking down steps in a duck walk position and your back slouched over for 200 meters and you get the idea of how uncomfortable it is. Once at the bottom, the journey is only a third over.

You then need to climb a small flight of tall stone steps into the first chamber. The feelings in this first chamber are both awe-inducing and mixed with regret. It's at this point you finally have a moment to catch your breath and realize how hard it already is to breathe due to there only being a small entrance for air to come in. The chamber itself is empty but extremely tall and you are presented with your next challenge, a roughly 10 flight wooden staircase. This, I looked at with strange gratitude because it did not require duck walking but still did not give me a moment to catch my breath and rest my burning legs.

Once at the top with the feeling that there can't possibly be more, you are met with your third and final challenge. A tunnel of roughly 3ftx3ft you need to scramble through on your hands and knees and just pray no one is attempting to exit while you are trying to enter. Thankfully it is only about 25m and you are faced with your reward. A burial chamber that while empty and not decorated still has wooden beams inside of it and is now the home to hundreds of bats. Yes, quite the surprise as you are unsuccessfully attempting to catch your breath being surrounded by hundreds of sleeping bats. I would have stayed longer than a few minutes if I wasn't for slight claustrophobia creeping in and the feeling of dread that I would need to actually reverse this journey to get out or risk having this pyramid be my final resting place. Fear was starting to set in. After a quick scramble through the small passageway and moving down the stairs passing many exhausted adventurers, I finally got back to the final challenge on exit, the dreaded duck-walk, only this time upstairs. With my legs still burning from the journey down H and I made a very slow painful exit and while there were moments that I honestly wondered if my legs would give out on me we finally made it back out to fresh air and a welcoming Laura. If reading this you feel that I am overreacting please understand that I'm not. It is a very challenging tomb, one that I wouldn't suggest if you out of shape at all and my legs hurt for days after. Was it worth it though? Yes, it was worth every bit of it. There was nothing else I would see in Egypt that was quite like it.

Entrance to Dahshur: 60EGP adult/30EGP student ($4/$2)

The total price of tickets between those two days for the three of us was around $128USD. Not inexpensive but at the same time, looking at what you are experiencing, it was all worth it.

We ended up spending a full week in Giza, which may have been a bit overkill. After our time here we boarded an overnight train to Luxor, but that's all for another post.

What we would do differently next time

Looking back at our time in the Cairo area I feel that we would be able to make some improvements for next time. We would have taken advantage of the free guide/shuttle to the pyramids from the JW Marriott and then hired an uber to the Egyptian Museum on another day and spent longer there. In addition, we probably would have just hired a driver only for the Saqqara/Memphis/Dahshur day. While I feel that the guide was worth it, having the driver was monumentally important. I really enjoyed our guesthouse but there are limited activities in Giza and the food options are incredibly limited and challenging so a full week was a bit much. Having all of those days, however, did give us the chance to go back to the Giza pyramids for a second time on our own, this time braving the once intimidating Sphinx entrance which was just as great as the first visit.

Thanks for following, and until next time!

Jonathan