Egypt: The Land of Pyramids and Pharaohs

Defying the sands of time

For my Mother had dreamt of it...

It was my mother’s dream to visit Egypt, the pharaohs and the pyramids beckoned her. Sadly, she moved on a few years back and what was left behind was the dream. A dream yet to be fulfilled. Also, many decades ago, a 14 years old me had sat in front of the computer finishing her history summer project: the Egyptian civilization. So, between an unfulfilled dream and a project only on paper, I geared up to make the dream and project turn real; to see yet another wonder of the world, the pyramids and the country that is its home, Egypt.

It was a Wednesday of maybe sometime in mid-July. Either a holiday or just a work-from-home for my husband. He spent 12 hours of his dear life in front of his laptop, on his phone with his travel agent getting the best deal. Ultimately, this was the plan: Portland – New York – Cairo – Dubai – Bangalore – Kolkata – Hong Kong – Seoul – Seattle! And then a drive back home. I know, you can breathe again now!! :D

PS - jump to the bottom of the page for some detailed FAQs.

Day 1: Food Gala at Felfela

Cairo welcomed us with a beautiful day and sunny smile. We had chosen to travel with Memphis Travels in Egypt and Mahmoud welcomed us even before we got to the immigrations kiosks. It was like living the life of a movie star. Someone handles the paper work, people let you through – wow!

Tip: of course you may choose to travel by yourselves, but, in Egypt the travel agents are extremely well organized and reliable. My experience there was wonderful. Especially with kids, I would recommend travelling with an agent.

My in-laws were to join us during our visit in Egypt. The kids were super excited. We waited outside the airport for a bit and soon they walked out – the kids were bouncing with joy! J We boarded our van and made it to Le Meridien, which also made us neighbors to the very Pyramids and Sphinx. We got our ‘welcome drinks’ = packaged local drinks but, they were yummy! We picked up some quick lunch from a local fast food joint called Felfela! Mediterranean food at its best. I remember I had some kind of a bun or  tortilla stuffed with meat – uuff, makes me want to go back.

Tip: Felfela has pasta in red sauce on the menu – and it works fabulously for kids.

Checked in to our lavish room. Rupkatha and Abesh were tired and I put them to bed round 5:30 hoping they would sleep through the night. My husband and in-laws went to see the light-and-sound show at the Pyramids and Sphinx. They say it was good. I got a better deal, well rested kids J.

The illuminated Giza pyramids

Day 2: Memories Mummified

What a day, my dear reader, what a day! I rode the time machine, went back thousands of years back in time, lived a day and came back. Phew!

Our morning started early with slightly jetlagged kids (they woke up at like 5:30ish), which perfectly suited our schedule. And this was also the day when our little 2.5 years old Abesh ate 16 cocktail sausages. I know I’m not the most ideal parent.

Tip: children will be jetlagged and there’s absolutely nothing one can do about it. Make your schedule accordingly instead of freaking out over it. The children will be happy and so will you.

Also, carry snacks they are used to. Like I carry Goldfish, applesauce, breadsticks. Kids when tired often tend to look for comfort food and known snacks are very handy in that.

Also, carry small toys in your backpack to keep them busy while you bargain or stare at sculptures they clearly are not interested in.

Our guide, Salim picked us up from the hotel. Before long, all I was left with was humility as I stood before the 5000 years old wonder of the world, Pyramids of Giza! I’m still trying to find words for the emotions I had felt then, I am feeling now. My husband and father-in-law proceeded to go inside the Pyramid.

Tip & warning: it is steep, stuffy and slanting inside the Pyramid – not recommended for kids at all. Best to wait outside. Take turns be the need.

Tip: carry a hat or cap and sunscreen. Even in winters, you would need the extra protection.

Superman came to save Sphinx's nose! But was ~5000 years late :(

My mother-in-law, kids and I remained outside gaping the magnificent pyramids. My kids’ reaction was the best, they put their back towards the pyramids and happily played with all the sand and pebbles there. I did take them to climb a few stairs on the pyramid though.

Next, was the camel ride! One more movie star moment in my life as we trudged along the dessert on camel back.

Next, where did the nose go? Yes yes yes, you guessed it right – the almighty Sphinx! For a small city girl with simple dreams, moments like these do knock the daylight out of one.

Once back in the van, we drove through the busy streets of old Cairo, through their market and visited a Papyrus factory and store. I remember the rejuvenating and sugary mint tea they had served. This is where I put my bargaining cap on (as instructed by my dear husband).

Tip: you really need to bargain everywhere in Egypt. Start at 50% the price. I was quoted a price of $180. I paid $120 and managed to get 6 free book marks with our names written in hierographic script on them.

Loaded with papyruses and bookmarks we went for lunch. That was a true food affair! Starters were baba ganoush, hummus, potatoes carrots curry & soup. Main course followed with meat, rice & fries. And desert was a grand fruit platter. I was ready for a nice long nap :D

But, the day was far from over. Our next stop was the Egyptian Museum at the Tahrir Square. Luckily, the moment we were inside both my kids dozed off in the prams and remained sleeping for the next 3 hours. We saw Tutankhamen’s mask and throne, plate of Narmer to mention a few. One thing I distinctly remember was a room with tiny figurines and one specifically of a village couple, the man brown and big and woman white and small. Beautiful!

Our final stop was a room where some special mummies are preserved, including Ramses II. In one word, it was fascinating! The mummies were like 2000 – 5000 years old, and I could see their hair, teeth and nails – intact, as is! It’s crazy to see it with your own eyes. I think I’ve stopped breathing even as I type now and my mind takes me back to that very room.

Tut-ankh-amun's royal throne.

Finally, we called it a day and headed back to our hotel. My kids did wake up long enough to quickly grab a nibble from Felfela again and snored off happily.

Day 3: Being Royalty Onboard Royal Lilly  

Kids woke up early and thankfully so. We had enough time to pack up, shower & have some good hot breakfast (with Abesh’s cocktail sausage count at 12 this morning). We flew from Cairo to Luxor where we would board the very first Cruise of my life. Only regret: it got over! ;)

We checked into our cruise next, Royal Lilly. Our sailing home on Nile! We were welcomed with refreshing juices and sherbets, and some tiny biscuits.  

We visited the Temple of Karnak and the Temple of Luxor. I will always the remember the illuminated pillars at the Temple of Luxor against the silver skies of the setting sun. Timeless in its true sense. Our guide was now, Sameh (with his famous Yalla Yalla Sim Sim, his call to beckon us travelers).

Warning: always keep a strict eye on your kids. There are little hallways, rooms in these temples where children can run into and lose you.

Temples of Karnak and Luxor 

If I remember correctly, lunch was served in the flight. But, dinner was a huge gala in the cruise dinner hall. What a splash - different types of cheese, fruits, salads, breads, meats, vegetables, rice and desserts to choose from. Over the next few days we were offered fresh fired felafal, Egyptian goat cheese, halwa (dessert) and above all, koshari. Koshari is a peasant meal of pasta, rice, meat, vegetables and tomato passata; originally made from leftovers, now has hit the plates of travelers in search of authentic culinary adventures.

Tip: Koshari is a very child friendly food. Tummy filling, easy to swallow and healthy.

Cruise afloat the Nile, tummies full of delicacies and hearts full of memories we went into our rooms to have a good night’s rest.

Day 4: The Pink Tutankhamen

Breakfast was as expected fit for an emperor. I do remember Abesh still devouring chicken sausages, but, the count fails my memory now.

Bread and butter on the cruise

Today we entered the tombs of pharaohs. The feeling still gives me goosebumps. What they had made thousands of years ago stands the test of time and will stand for thousands more. And what we build today collapses sometimes with a few years, doesn’t even last a decade. Whatever! K

We took a little boat across Nile to board a bus which would take us to the Valley of Kings. The boat ride was beautiful. We could actually touch the Nile waters. The kids enjoyed and sat looking like they were having a time of their lives.

Once at the venue, we boarded these yellow buggee-like-carts which took us to The Valley. And was it sunny or what. In a country so close to the equator, even the otherwise frigid chilly November is sunny and hot. The first tomb we went into was that of Ramses III. The hierographic and esthetics were very beautiful and ornate. It is intriguing to think that man would create so much for life after a death, a path no one knows anything about. Imagination can really bring out the creativity of man, and woman :D

Next, we went into the much awaited one: the tomb of Tutankhamen. I still clearly remember it. We could see the head and the feet of the mummy, enough to make a shiver run down your spine. Ancient Egyptians were either short people or imagined people would stoop and walk after death – quite low ceilings. And I’m just 5 feet tall and saying this, imagine! ;)

While we were coming to the Valley, we also saw Howard Carter’s house. He is famous for having discovered Tutankhamen’s tomb, an insignificant king no doubt but, the only tomb found intact and untouched by dacoits

The modern day Howard Carters

We also stopped by some souvenir store to pick up magnets for ourselves and friends. Special mention to Rupkatha’s pink Tutankhamen magnet. J It sits proudly on our fridge now.

Tip: ask your tour guide to take you to stores for little trinkets. I was accompanied to one such magnet store. I think I paid $15 for the otherwise quoted $21.

Request: common Egyptian man isn’t rich. I would say do not bargain hard with them. A little is fine. Also, if the wares are being sold by kids, humor them to buy some. If you have any extra food, pass it on to them along with the money. Or just give them food even if you don’t buy anything. I would give fruit or candy to children even if I didn’t buy anything from them.

Next we went to the temple of Hatshepsut. If my memory isn’t playing tricks, this was the only temple solely devoted to a woman. It was close to midday by the time we reached here, the heat and sun convinced me to not to take my kids to the temple. Instead we sat at the restaurant as my kids happily shredded through sugar sachets.

Back at the cruise and after a humungous lunch, we went to rest in our rooms. We spent the entire afternoon and evening running around the cruise and chilling on the deck. There’s a beer in Egypt, Sakara and of course a few cans of it made it to our tummies. :D

Day 5: The Merciful Claws of Crocodiles and Falcons

This was an exciting morning as we were to board horse driven carriages. Our horse’s name was Ali Baba (or Alu Baba as Abesh called the horse). You can imagine the glee buzzing around. It drove us through the streets of Edfo. We saw kids going to school and hollering at the coachman for a drive. Little food shops starting the day. Mothers hustling around to get the day started. I simply loved that. Yes, seeing history is important and that’s why you travel half way across the world; but, to me simply observing life has its own charm.

Soon we were at the Temple of Edfu – the temple of Horas, the falcon God.

In the afternoon we did a quick stop at Temple of Kom Ombo, a temple dedicated to Sobec, the crocodile God and Horas. They even had a museum where they had mummified crocodiles. Apparently, ancient Egyptians fancied crocodiles enough to mummify them as well. My husband and Rupkatha of course went to visit the museum, while the rest of us came back.

The Team at Temple of Kom Ombo 

There was a party that evening on the cruise where people would dress up in authentic Egyptian clothes. My little princess dazzled in a black Tutankhamen gown and my little imp jumped around in a souvenir T-shirt. I still remember the locals on the cruise were all like ‘masha-allah’ when they saw my dressed up kids. Oh, how I love those two! <3 J

Day 6: Sometimes, what you shall lose you shall also find

Tip: whenever you’re happily tucking in on scrumptious breakfast, always grab some fruits for your little ones to nimble on later. If you can find packaged yogurt, pudding and juice – grab some for each kid. It’s a blessing when you’re waiting on a photographer husband.

We were in Aswan this morning. We’d sailed from Luxor to Aswan over the past few days. We boarded out little bus and went all the way to the Nile Dam or Aswan Dam and the man created Lake Naser. It was a very pretty sight indeed.

Post that we were accompanied to a Perfumery. “Itr” is perfume in Arabic. Different perfumes in pretty bottles smiled back at us. The best was the free massage. I went to the beautifully decorated basement with my girl where we both got massages. It was truly fun to see little Rupkatha get a massage on her little back. And from her face I could see she felt like a grown up and absolutely enjoyed it. Once, back at the store, our little Abesh was given a foot massage and he too enjoyed it. Bless them! This is when my husband sat all somber and revealed that he’d lost his back-pack back at the dam. Luckily his expensive camera was on him.

From here we went to the Temple of Philae, dedicated to Isis and Hathor, and a reminisce of the Ptolemic era. Most of memory is around me shopping for toy camels for my kids and earrings for myself. Guilty!

By the way, it was a good day as my husband got back his backpack and the $800 that was in it.

After some good rest, we boarded quaint boats again and crossed the Nile to visit the Nubian village. I remember these village boys on small boats which they would just row with their hands latch on to our boat and sing for little somethings.

Tip: if you can always carry extra candy, chocolates and little food items. Our tour guide informed us that it was better to offer these kids food than money. As the food will do good but, money as we all know always doesn’t do good. I personally carried fruit and chocolate bars to give away to these kids.

Playing the casual tourist in Aswan

Everyone also got to splash in waters of Nile, it was I daresay a historic moment. The Nubian village was a peaceful hamlet far away from the maddening crowd. Mountains of fragrant spices, colorful embroidered clothes, blue walls of the houses and locals going about their life. It was indeed sublime. There was a family which had pet crocodiles. Goes without saying my brave husband and son were happily petting and holding them soon. Refreshing mint tea was served and ‘juice’ for the kids.

Warning: Juice was actually Fanta, orange soda. As a mother you might always want to ensure what will be served when people say juice. I personally believe in letting my hair down and my kids’ hair down when on a trip. So, soda once in a dozen blue moons is fine with me.

We came back to the cruise for our final evening and night on it. Of course, we spent a large part of the evening on the deck soaking in beer, cool breeze and the beauty all around us. This part is unasked for and just my feelings. Of course a cruise ships offers its own luxuries and that is a huge part of the fun. But, what I liked the most was as I sat on the deck I could see thousands of years old temples and monuments on one side and rustic dusty little modern day villages on the other. On one side, time sang of the riches that once were and on the other, villagers today struggling to make a better life. Also, come sunset the evening air was filled with Azan, the call for prayer from the local mosques. All in all, it was magical in its own special way.

The Gift of Nile: Our Memories

Day 7: The Gift of Camel

My husband and MIL did a lot of shopping in the little gift store in the cruise. Coffee mugs, scarves, bookmarks and what nots. J After that it was ‘allahafiz’ (goodbye) time and we with mixed emotions bid adieu to our sailing home for the last time.

We boarded the mini bus to go to Abu Simbel, undoubtedly an absolute marvel. Our guide was now Ramy for the day. I could see he was new to the job, but, his eagerness to explain the history and to help was remarkable. Bless him!

The grandeur of the structures, the beauty of the ornate carvings and the million little rooms inside are a must see if you’re in Egypt. They also have little golf carts going to and fro to help the elderly and people with children. You can of course walk it up, it isn’t much at all. We boarded one and the man driving it took a liking for our son and gifted him a small camel. He still plays with it, it’s his pet camel. J

After a wonderful lunch at the resort there, we headed out for the Aswan airport to board our flight to Cairo.

The marvelous Abu-Simbel with our little guide

Day 8: Curtain Fall

The very last day. There wasn’t really an agenda. We packed, showered and got ready. We bought some perfume from the gift store.

Soon we were driving towards the Cairo airport to board our flight to Bangalore, my city in India!

So falls the curtain to our good times in Egypt! J

Topic	Info	Additional Notes
Places visited	Cairo, Giza, Luxor, Edfo, Aswan, Lake Naser
Weather	Pleasant/warm in November
Currency	Egyptian Pound	British Pound, Euro, Dollar accepted
Language	Arabic
Visa Requirement	Yes
Safety	5 if with travel agent, otherwise not sure 1 – low safety, 5 – very safe
Cash in Hand Requirement	3 1 – cash driven, 5 – plastic
Water	Need to buy drinking water
Tourist Agency	https://www.memphistours.co.uk/
Must Try Foods	Koshari Falafal Goat cheese Halwa Sharwarma	Mint tea Egyptian coffee Local beer: Sakara
Child Friendly Bites	Koshari (pasta, rice, meat, veggies, red pasta) Packaged yogurt Pasta
Tipping Culture	Everywhere (from restrooms where someone will hand over some toilet paper to tour guides)	Approx 25 cents to the toilet paper handlers. $1-$2 to drivers. $20 to tour guides at the end of entire tour.

Historical significance of places visited:

Temple/Tomb	Location	Time Period	Persona	Notes
Pyramids of Giza	Giza (almost Cairo)	2580 – 2560 BC	Khufu, Khafren, Menkaure	Three pyramids. Visit inside the pyramid. Camel ride ($20 in 2018 approx). Pyramid of Khufu – largest.
Sphinx	Giza	2500 BC	Sphinx	Broken nose mystery Khafren’s head and lion’s body
Egyptian Museum	Cairo		Ramses II, Tutankhamen, Hatsheusut	Mummies (extra ticket) but, a must. Sculptures. At least 3 hours.
Abu Simbel	Lake Naser Banks	1213 – 1300 BC	Ramses II, Nefertari	Celebration of Battle of Kadesh. Monolithic. Named after the village where people discovered the lost marvel.
Temple of Karnak	Kanran (a minutes from Luxor)	2000 BC  - 30 BC	Amun (Clan God), Mut (Mother Earth), Khonsu (Amun’s and Mut’s son)	Main worship complex. Face of Hatsepshut removed. Beer offered.
Temple of Luxor	Luxor	1400 BC	Sun court of Amenhotep, Statue of Ramses II	Alexander the Great had visited and built chapels. Obelic at the entrance. Fortress. Home of Roman government & converted to chapels.
Temple of Hatshepsut	Deir-el-Bahari (near Luxor)		Hatshepsut	Only temple dedicated solely to woman Bone cancer detected from mummied body
Temple of Edfu	Edfo	Helenestic period 237 – 57 BC	Horas (falcon God), Hathor (mother Goddess)
Temple of Comombo	Edfo (near)	180 – 47 BC	Horas (falcon God) Sobec (crocodile God)	Southern  half for Sobec, known to be the creator of the world.
Temple of Philae	Aswan	Ptolemic era 116 BC	Isis, Hathor	Isis resurrected her slain husband and mother of Horas
Valley of the Kings – TutanKhamun’s Tomb	Luxor	1325 BC	Tutankhamen	Howard Carter discovered in 1922. Tomb number: KV62.
Valley of the Kings – Ramses III’s Tomb	Luxor	1155 BC	Ramses III	Tomb number: KV11. Extended to KV14. Beautiful colorful hierographic.