Egypt -Cairo and the Nile

Egypt, a country that both Bunnies have wanted to see for a long time yet put off going due to the overwhelming reports we have read and heard regarding the continual clawing of begging hands, tipping harassment and beggars. Even the airport isn`t safe from scammers we read, passports withheld until money changes hands, scams? you name it, we read about it. For years this clouded my judgement and kept me away from what has since turned out to be one of the best tours I have ever taken.

Unlike most other places we have visited, Egypt we did with the aid of a Travel Agent. Best Decision Ever. The tour ran like clockwork from moment one, though it would have saved us a lot of stress and unnecessary worry if Cyplon Holidays had told us in advance that we would be met at the airport by an agent who would take our passports off us and arrange our visas whilst we waited in line. Tiny oversight there Cyplon!

We flew into Cairo from Heathrow, not entirely certain why we were not able to catch the Manchester flight that landed 36 seconds after our London flight,(slight grrr there) and as I said, met by a young gentlemen with just our names on a card, who promptly relieved of us of our passports and walked briskly way from us at the airport. "Mr B, follow those passports as though your life depends on it, never mind me, I`ll meet you by the door! "To say they were the longest 30 mins of our lives would be an understatement, as Mr B tailed this guy closer than a gnat on a hippos backside, and I had no clue where he was, but Bless this Mans dear Heart, he was entirely genuine, returning our passports to us with visas paid and paperwork in order. He guided us through that horrifically disorientating airport safely, quickly and delivered us into the hands of our next man in Egypt, the taxi driver and a tour guide. No money changed hands. Just smiles of joy, and a grateful and voluntary tip given willingly with a huge sigh of relief and gratitude. We left the airport and headed for our first base, Cairo.

Cairo

Leaving the airport towards the city with its clean smooth tarmac roads, stunning bright neon lights, amazing buildings and impressive architecture we were just a little in awe. We were of the opinion that Cairo was filthy, old, run down, smoggy and rubbish strewn. No, that would be Old Cairo, New Cairo, the area in which the airport lies is amazing. Our journey of around one hour 20 mins unfortunately deteriorated rapidly, with wows turning quickly into oh`s. From glorious to grubby and beyond. Our hotel, situated in Giza, the promised `walking distance to the new Museum it was not, and you were absolutely not walking to the Pyramids even if you could see them from your bedroom window. (eyes squinted, craned neck and binoculars) I also do not think we could have picked a worse day to arrive. It was Day two or three of Ramadan, and with hindsight, possibly something I should have researched a little prior to leaving. Mr B failed to clock the obvious, but Mrs B felt exceptionally out of place the nearer we got to our hotel, as every single person on the street, restaurant, cafe or sidewalk, was male. Young, exuberant joyfully happy persons, but still all male. This chunky dumpy 5` 1 Bunny with 2 bouncing appendages perched on the apparent wrong height of a body was more than just a little obvious elephant in the room. I sat back, said nothing, but squeaked in fear at a loud `gunshot` type sound followed quickly by a young guy careering into the parked car at the side of us proceeding to tear off his shirt. A firecracker. His mates, in high spirits had pushed a cheap firecracker down his jumper. I think my heart was still racing as we pulled up in front of the hotel, the sounds of great hilarity from those young men still ringing in my ears. Ramadan, a time of celebration and happiness, not crime and punishment!

Cairo New Museum

Day Two. A private, or so we had thought, tour to the new Museum and the Great Pyramids of Giza. Turns out our private tour was for 4, and as we waited for the other guests, to say we were a little miffed would be an understatement. Then we met David and Robert. To our delight they were the nicest guys ever. Intelligent, articulate, funny, raw, and entirely more drawn to Mr B than Mrs, catch my drift, these two guys, of slightly advancing years, were an absolute delight to be with. In fact, we would chose to spend the next two evenings dining with them, rather than alone. To the museum the four of us then went. Designed by Dublin based Heneghan and Shih-Fu Peng, this building is nothing short of an architectural wonder. Designed to resemble and enhance the area and to simulate the Pyramids, this wonderous building is just glorious. The Museum newly opened in 2025 is stunning, and was the only reason, that and the Grand Pyramids, to draw me to Cairo. I love a good museum, the older and more interesting the artifacts, the longer I can browse. Cairo Museum, housing the worlds most spectacular and priceless artifacts, and I was given three hours!. Three measly hours! I will stamp my feet and tell anyone who listens, You cannot see the new Cairo Museum in 3 hours! We were raced around the museum, passing cases housing what appeared to be the most well preserved objects, to stand in front of a tablet of stone. A large statue. Two figures. Every object priceless, but the rest? over there? what`s that? Is that a mummy? This Bunny was teased in the cruellest manner ever. Time point blank refused to be our friend, and marched on relentlessly, a snippet here, a talk there, an impressive statue, until we arrived at the main event. The wing devoted to King Tut. To say this wing was busy was an understatement. I think every tour from every country landed in the museum that day. Elbows at the ready guys, We`ve been to China and know the drill. We have stood in front of the mask of King Tut. We have seen the incredible colours, the markings, the hieroglyphs, and nothing or nobody could you change your mind about what it is. Breath taking. Detailed. Colours so vivid your brain cannot compute the age. We all know that his possessions were found with him, his chariot for example. Yet there it stands in all its golden glory, not a model, life size, real. Chairs so exquisite you just stare with wonder. Jewellery so delicate and perfect it defies belief. The chest of gold on which the black dog of Anubis sits, looks like it was created yesterday. The Sarcophagus. Seven in total. Each one larger than the previous, decorated both inside and out. Over 5500 artifacts found just from the Tomb of Tut, all displayed, all in the museum, and I had three hours. 3.5 Hours actually, I could have cried. I will return. We need to.

The Great Pyramids of Giza.

A short drive away, stand the Great Pyramids. No longer can you just walk up and wander. The Pyramids, and quite rightly so, are well protected, with armed guards and high fences. David, our new friend had told us the story how as a young man he had been challenged by a German colleague to race with him, first one to the top of the Pyramid. Thankfully you can no longer climb the Pyramids, and since the sad and unfortunate incident many years later, tighter border controls overall have come into play. Such is the scale of the area, the fences go unnoticed, but they are there. A tiny little museum shows a few of the tools they found when excavating the Pyramids, possibly more in the big museum had I been given the chance to look, grr, but these few tools give you a humbling insight into the simple tools that built these mighty, structures. Our guide, a bit of a joker, liked to have a laugh by asking us to guess things like, How much did each brick weigh? or How many stones to make one Pyramid. We were woefully off mark. 2.5 Tonnes per stone on average, and 2.3 million stones to create the Great Pyramid. Built 4500 years ago, and still standing. Just incredible. We were then escorted to the Pyramids themselves in one of the many little buses that runs to and from the plateau on which the Pyramids stand. At first I was a little disappointed, I thought they were bigger, but the closer you get, the nearer you stand and the real scale of these things becomes apparent. At base level, the first block you stand next too is knee high, large, solid and heavy. At level two blocks are the size of a mans torso, and up to a tonne in weight each. Then you raise your eyes and just gaze in awe as you then start to fully appreciate the complexity and skill of these ancient builders.

A sad part of the Pyramids were the annoying and slightly aggressive sellers of tat. They pose as friendly tour guides, but a single smile and your hooked into their spiel and sales. Very hard to ignore, and pushing the tat back into their hands earns you a mouthy response. Breath. Smile. Ignore. Keep Walking. Our guide was very good, gave us plenty of time to wander whilst giving us lots of information re the Pyramids, most of which I`m loathed to admit went in one ear and straight out the other. After gazing our fill at the Pyramids, we headed back onto one of the little buses and onto the site of the Sphynx. We ran yet another gauntlet of market sellers of T.S and walked in a slightly upwards direction where our guide said we could get the very best views and photos of the Sphynx. We both admit we were a little disinclined to join what was a rather long slow moving queue through what I now know to be an ancient preparation room, mostly ruins, but interesting enough that I wish our guide had encouraged us to join said queue. We would also have been able to see the Sphynx much closer, rather then our view from a slightly elevated position distorting its true size.

Naturally no good tour is going to end without the traditional tour of a local large scale factory shop. Good Prices! Great Discounts! Just for Today! the usual cr.p. This time it was the turn of a Papyrus Showroom. How its made, and here are some of the pictures you can buy. Trust me people, there is not a single thing in those shops that isn`t available anywhere and everywhere for a fraction of the price. We have learned the hard way, that these shops lull you into buying their t.s with offers of a hot drink , a clean loo and a no hassle shopping experience. Don`t fall for it ! Resist resist.

Cairo

Not a lot I can say about Cairo. There may well be masses of fantastic tours, sights, smells, and interest out there, but its not for us. Just the short drives from hotel to museum, to the motorway, to the Pyramids was more than enough sight seeing for me. The sheer amount of dirt, rubbish, rubble, air pollution, crazy cars, appalling traffic was enough to put us off even considering venturing further. We had no internet without buying E Sim packages. Uber isn`t really a thing. The language barrier, and the hassle and its a great big No Thanks. Even our lovely guys with whom we spent the evenings admitted that they walked down the street where the hotel lay, and walked back with the opinion that that was more than enough for one day. When people tell you that Egypt is hassle, it is, nothing you cannot handle, but very tiring. Our dear friend in Australia would be so cross knowing we chose not to venture further, she has wandered Cairo at length, with no problems. I really do need to study that little firebird at close quarters to see how she does it :-)

Bottom line. Tour Cairo if you must, but get yourself a guide. Visit The New Cairo Museum. Plan to spend at the very least, one Full Day there. If your an avid reader of descriptions, take two days. See some artifacts, have your lunch there in one of the many available restaurants and cafes, continue. The Old museum still houses many many artifacts as well if the New One still leaves you wanting more. The Pyramids. Half a day is quite sufficient. Sphynx. Join that queue. You're only there once (?) Go and get as close as you can.

Next, the Nile. Our trip continues.