Egypt is a land where the past is always present, the present is ever changing, and every moment is an opportunity for discovery. In today's episode, I give a preview of what's to come in this series, I go over our itinerary, and then we travel 25 hours from the US to Cairo for our trip using Adventures by Disney. Welcome to Egypt!
I always say that the best way to get to know a city is to get out on foot and explore! Cairo is a chaotic city, but it’s not unapproachable. We head to the top of Cairo Tower. From there, all of Cairo is laid out before us. To the east, and right below us, we see large high rises and grand hotels right along the banks. To the west, through the haze, we can barely make out the distinctive shapes of the Pyramids.
We’ve been on our own up until now, but we are now joining our tour group! Most importantly we meet our Adventure Guides Team - Mostafa, Mika, Nesrine & Magdy! We then head to the Mosque of Muhammad Ali, which has been a staple on the skyline of Cairo since it was added in the mid 1800s. We end our day at the original Egyptian Museum in Cairo!
We’re finally heading to the Pyramids! We get up close & personal with the Sphinx & take a private tour inside the Great Pyramid. But first, we’re headed to the Khan el-Khalili Bazaar.
We leave Cairo and head south (which is Upper Egypt), and visit Abu Simbel, an amazing ancient Egyptian monument with a fascinating modern story! We then fly to Aswan, where we board the M/S Tamr for a three night river cruise along the Nile. We end our night with dinner at the Old Cataract Hotel, where Agatha Christie wrote her novel, "Death on the Nile".
We visit the fascinating Temple of Philae, which, much like Abu Simbel, was moved with the creation of the Aswan High Dam. We take a relaxing Felucca ride along the Nile, and we visit Kom Ombo - a temple dedicated to local god of crocodiles, Sobek. We also see the Crocodile Museum, which has 40 mummified crocodiles on display.
In this jam packed final Egypt vlog, we visit the Temples of Karnak, and we have a private tour of the Temple of Luxor. We take a stroll in King Tut's Tomb in the Valley of the Kings, we visit the Papyrus Museum, and I transact some business via boat.