After an amazing week in Jordan, we took our late night flight from Amman to Cairo. An easy one hour and a half hour flight which wasn’t as cheap as I expected. We flew EgyptAir and paid 400 USD for both of us. But at the end of the day, the cost of our flight from on Auckland-Istanbul-Beirut-Amman-Cairo and back to Istanbul and Auckland was the same as the normal cost of the Auckland-Cairo return flight!! So I’m still happy with how our flights scenario worked out.
When we decided to add Egypt as the last leg of our Middle East tour, Cairo wasn’t on our itinerary!! We planned to leave Jordan at Aqaba and get to Taba in Egypt by a ferry, spend a week or two in Sinnai Peninsula which was always on my bucket list due to its unique geopolitical and historical location and also for its great access to the Red sea!!! Apart from Sharm El Sheikh and it’s touristic vibe and resorts, there are plenty of options to stay in small fishing villages and explore the red sea BUT I had to change our plans when we were in Lebanon, due to complications with our flight arrangements and other factors, so in the last minute before leaving Beirut, I booked a flight from Amman to Cairo and we landed in Cairo just when Cairo started to be unstable again and people got back to the streets in late 2019!
Arriving at Cairo airport was fine. We had to stay in queue to get our visa and for the passport check but apart from that everything went smoothly. Because of the news about Cairo prior to our departure, we decided to stay in Giza instead of Cairo city center. I booked a hotel for 17 NZD ( 12 USD) per night with breakfast in a walking distance from the Pyramids and to avoid Cairo chaos and traffic, we picked a late night flight and arranged for a taxi prior to our arrival. Getting out of arrival hall, I was so glad that we did book our taxi before! After an hour drive we got to Giza and the small family run hotel that I booked earlier. Even though I knew about the location of the hotel and have seen few photos, it was still a shock for me! Amir kept asking if we are on the right track and it’s where we suppose to be 🙂
Giza is an interesting spot ! Definitely glad that we picked Giza for our first three nights in Egypt. When I was a teenager and read Alchemist for the first time, I did fantasized Pyramids for a while but as I grew up and read more and more about Egypt and Cairo specifically , I knew that it doesn’t look as a dream location as I imagined when I was 16. Giza city center is busy and hectic, almost as bad as Cairo but getting closer to the Pyramids, roads are closed for vehicles and all you can see is horses, carriages, donkeys and camels and of course rubbish, a lot of rubbish!!! Cairo and Giza were one of the worst cities that we’ve ever seen in term of rubbish.
Adding pollution, traffic, heat and noise to the equation, all these elements push you out of Cairo and that was the main reason that we didn’t want to come in the first place. But I think it did definitely worth it. Cairo absolutely worth a two to three day visit. Let’s have a look around Giza and the Pyramids before heading to Cairo!!!
Everyday, we were waking up early, getting to the rooftop to watch the Pyramids in sunrise and watch the city wakes up including all the locals, camels, donkeys ad horses. Fresh bread smell were coming out of the bakeries and pigeon were flying above the ugly buildings of Giza and amazing Pyramids of Giza which are surprisingly close to each other and creates such an unreal combination.
Then we spent the day out to visit the old Cairo and Pyramids and ended up back on the rooftop to watch the sunset over the Pyramids! Couldn’t expect more, right?
Pyramids of Giza:
After staying in Giza for two days and admiring the Pyramids from our rooftop, on our last day, we finally got up early and walked for 5 minutes to the Pyramids southern entry. Paid for the normal ticket and got in. There are few ticket options, depending on the fact that you want to enter the Pyramids or not. Getting in from the south side, Sphinx is located first and it’s slightly up hill to get to the Pyramids. Most of the tourist buses enter from the north side and they can park right next to the biggest Pyramid.
Let’s get to few simple facts about the Pyramids that sounds interesting to me without getting deep into Pharaohs history lessons.
Pyramids of Giza is the only one still standing from the ancient seven wonders of the world, the rest are all gone. What we call 7 wonders of the world now are basically the modern wonders of the world so Pyramids are kinda really cool in this regard.
Apart from the numbers and figures, they are super impressive when you get close and personal to them!! The size is impressive and I don’t think, there is any way to give them a justice and capture their size in one photo shot.
The other interesting fact is the size of the Pyramids complex!!! It’s too big and it gives you the opportunity to spend time on your own and daydream in Pyramids without getting hassled or at least not getting hassled too much. Leaving the pavements and sealed road from the main entrances to the Pyramids, there’s another world. A long walk or perhaps a ride with a horse or camel toward desert sand dunes to get the best view from the Pyramids. That’s the golden spot that all the perfect shots of the Pyramids are coming from and gives the viewer the illusion that Pyramids are in the middle of nowhere. They might have been when Santiago visited the Pyramids in alchemist but not now.
Tips on visiting Pyramids:
If staying in Cairo, leave really early, I mean too early. Cairo drive to Giza can take easily an hour to an hour and a half. Giza is on the eastern side of the Nile, and passing any bridge to get to Giza can be a challenge at any time of the day or night.
There’s no shelter at pyramids, so early in the morning is the best time to skip the heat and the crowds of course.
There’s no amenities on site, so bring your own water and a bite to eat. There’s no food stall inside and toilets are available only at the entrance, and you need to pay for that extra!
It’s easy to skip the crowd and still enjoy the view. For getting inside the great Pyramids, there is always s queue but apart from that, we had to problem being on our own away from the crowd.
In general, Egypt is pretty bad in terms of street vendors hassling tourists for buying stuff. Cairo touristic spots and the Pyramids were the worst. starting early in the morning definitely helps because there are less vendors around but still try to get to the site with your best attitude and don’t get annoyed with them. With the whole economic situation and less tourists coming to visit Egypt after the 2011 revolution, it is understandable that lots of these people need the money, but sometimes it gets too much. Bring your best attitude, and you’ll be just fine 🙂
We were finished by 11:00 am, starting before 8:00 am. In summer time, they open at 7:00 am but from October till April, you cannot enter before 8:00. We got back to the hotel to take a shower before heading to Cairo because even in October, we were soaking wet walking down to the hotel at 11:00 am! In the next post, we visit Old Cairo together before leaving the chaos behind and heading somewhere cool!!!
