Bonjour de la Suisse: The mysteries of Egypt: Part one

I used to think Boston was really old. I remember on my NYC/New England trip with Chica and Siff a few years back, I found myself standing in Paul Revere's house (built in 1680) and I was absolutely amazed at how old it was. The first time I arrived in Europe I realized that 1680 was actually pretty recent. But when it comes to old sights, nothing compares to Egypt (مصر), the oldest tourist destination on earth, where the ancient Greeks and Romans used to come to sightsee. It is hard to really phantom how old the temples and pyramids are that tourists are still able to stand in and marvel at today.

But before we could see the sights, we had to get there... and that turned out to be more challenging than we ever imagined. I booked our tickets through Alitalia, which I found out later has one of the worst reputations for canceled flights and lost luggage. We arrived at the airport at 6am and actually made it out to the runway before we were brought back to the terminal (due to technical issues) and the flight was canceled. Bad news, but it would get much worse. We were flying out the Saturday before the big Easter weekend, and since most of Europe gets at least part of this week off (G had 2 days off for Easter), so everyone is jetting off for vacation. When we tried to rebook our flight, the earliest flight (from ANY airport in Europe) to Cairo was MONDAY night!!! We would be missing 3 days of our 8 day trip!

After 45 minutes clicking away on the computer, the guy who was helping us put us on standby for a flight to Cairo through Tunisia on Tunisair (we actually live upstairs from their Geneva office). Somehow we made it! We did almost loose our luggage, (our packs were supposed to be checked all the way through to Cairo, but as we happened to be walking though luggage claim in Tunis, there they were!) but even though we were several hours late, we were finally in Egypt, luggage in hand. We were so happy to be in Cairo that we didn't even mind when we found out our hotel was just across the street from the Syrian embassy. It didn't get any points for ambiance, but we could still have been sitting in our apartment in Geneva, so we were happy.

On our first full day we started out with a bang and headed straight to the Pyramids of Giza, which are over 4,500 years old and the sole survivors of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World. The pyramids are litteraly on the edge of Cairo, on the outskirts of Giza City. It is amazing just how big these tombs of the pharoses are, so big that up close they seem almost two dimensional. You can actually go inside, down a steep, humid and slightly closterphobic passage to the heart of the pyramid.

Once we ascended back to the outside world, we traveled a bit further down the road for a bit of a photo shoot and a camel ride. Yeah, it was a little touristy, but we had to do it! We were then taken to the Great Sphinx of Giza, which was surprisingly within walking distance of The Pyramids. It was also surprising to see just how small it is, although it was still quite stunning none the less. I could not take my eyes off of this legendary monument.

We made a quick stop at a "Perfume Museum" which was really a store where we were given a five minute demonstration of how the glass vials are blown and an explanation of what each of the "essences" are used for and what they smell like. We were suckers and ended up purchasing a box of six essences, ranging from stress-relieving Lotus Flower to anti-asthma Frankincense.

After a quick local falafel lunch we were headed over to The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities which has over 120,000 relics including the treasures of Tutankhamen and The Royal Mummy Room. There was no way to see it all, but we hit the highlights and got a good overview of Egyptian history. (And I thought we had a lot to learn in my high school US History class!) For dinner we were taken to a Nile cruise dinner show, which was a lot of fun. We watched traditional dancers and G was even selected as one of the reluctant volunteers who got up on stage to shake their money maker (it was MUCH too short for me though!)

Our first day was a fantastic whirlwind of activity. It was also our first day with our amazing guide, Ali who is a graduate of Cairo University in Egyptology and knows just about everything there is to know about Egypt. I was a bit reluctant about our tour company, One World Tours, since it was relatively inexpensive (compared to other companies offering similar tours) and I could not find any reviews on line. I figured we would be packed in a bus with a dozen other tourists with mediocre service, I was prepared for the worst. But to my pleasant surprise we ended up with our own private minivan, our own personal driver (actually a couple of drivers throughout the week), and our own "representative", Heni, who met us at the airport and took care of all of our needs throughout the week. And to top it all off, we were thrilled to have a fantastic guide, Ali.

Our second day was just as jam packed as the first. We started in the heart of the huge, busy city of Cairo (القاهرة). This is no understatement, considering Cairo is the largest city in both the Middle East and Africa. It is also one of the world's most densely populated cities, with over 18 million inhabitants. This "Mother of Cities" is staggering, chaotic, and overwhelming at times, but it is also an exhilarating, awe inspiring place full of wonderful sights and experiences.

We started in Islamic Cairo at The Citadel (قلعة صلاح الدين), the fortified complex which dominates the skyline. Here is the home of the Mohamed Ali Mosque which we were able to go into. Once inside, our guide, Ali gave us a lesson in the Islamic faith and the traditions of Muslims, explaining many things to us, including the Five Pillars of Islam and the call to prayer. It was really fascinating to me and I appreciated learning so much about a religion I really didn't know a whole lot about. We then ventured to Old Cairo, with narrow winding streets, where we visited the Hanging Church and the Ben Ezra Synagogue. It was interesting to see three completely different places of worship all in one day.

In the afternoon we headed to Saqqara (سقارة), the huge burial complex of ancient Memphis (the capital of the Old Kingdom) which peacefully sits on the edge of the desert. The most famous monument here is the Step Pyramid, the world's earliest stone monument. But there are several pyramids, tombs, and mastabas (another type of tomb) here and we were fortunate to get to explore several. It was much less crowded than the tourist-packed sights of the day before. This was also our first chance to study hieroglyphics up close. I was fascinated.

We were scheduled to take the overnight train to Luxor and on the way to the train station we stopped in to a "Papyrus Museum", which was very similar to the "Perfume Museum"... we got a five minute demonstration and a half hour later we walked out with a purchase of a fine papyrus print (or two). It was still relatively early, about six or so and Ali told us that our train wasn't leaving until nine! We had time to kill, so he took us to have tea (and a shisha pipe smoke) at his local tea bar. We met up with another guide, his wife, and our driver. I really felt like a local.

After a while it was time to catch our train. We got our own private sleeping compartment (complete with a sink), we were served a nice dinner, and soon we were settling in for the long journey to the South. When we woke the next morning, we had arrived in Upper Egypt. (I learned on our trip that Upper Egypt is in the South and Lower Egypt is in the North, the terminology derives from the flow of the Nile from South to North, where it flows into the Mediterranean.) Our next adventure was waiting just around the corner...