Hey Fashionistas,
This is part three of my travel series. Our next stop is Cairo, Egypt. Bevor I start telling you about what we did I want to talk about Egypt as a whole.
The number question we received from friends, family and other people we met along the way is “Did you feel safe”, or “Is it safe to visit Egypt”. Yes, we felt safe but we also didn’t walk around at night. We only booked private tours and we don’t look like a super tourist with a huge camera hanging around my neck. If you acknowledge your surroundings and don’t act naive you will have a good experience - but that applies to anywhere you’re going.
Day 1:
Our first tour took us to Luxor. If you ever decide to visit Egypt I strongly recommend Memphis tours. This was by far the best-organized tour we ever had on our vacation. The tour company stayed in touch with us the day before and throughout the entire day of our tour to make sure that our trip is going as smooth as possible. Luxor is about an hour away with a plane and this was the first time we flew to business class - and probably the last.
Luxor looks very different compared to Cairo. Cairo is very noisy, very busy, and also very dirty. I can't fully remember but Cairo it's one of the top five of the most polluted cities in the world. So it's actually much nicer to stay in Luxor or rather than in Cairo.
Luxor has plenty of temples to visit on our day trip we visited:
We started our tour with the visit to Valley of the Kings. this area is known for the ancient Egypt tombs. we were able to visit three tombs ( you can visit more than three Tunes in one day by law). Just a side note Egyptians used to build pyramids to bury the Kings inside them. But tomb Raider's and people who build the pyramids stole all the belongings inside the tombs. That’s the reason they started to built the tombs inside the mountain so it's harder for Tomb Raider's to find the tombs and to steal the belongings. The tombs to be visited we're absolutely breathtaking I've never seen anything like this in my life before. everything is so well maintained and kept although it's thousands of years old.
Next was the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, the only pharaonic woman who ever ruled ancient Egypt. You did such an Egypt in June and it was burning hot. This Temple - with 115 Fahreneinheit and pure sun - was probably the hottest place we've been at.
After we stopped at these two templates we took a boat rides on the Nile River to go to a lunch place. After lunch, we visited the Karnak Temple. unfortunately, my pictures don't do justice on how beautiful this place was. When you think about that the people built this without using any machines - it's absolutely incredible to me.
We returned back to the airport and drove back to the Hotel. We stayed in a hotel in Giza with an amazing view of the Pyramids. Every night we ate dinner at the rooftop at the hotel facing the great pyramid of Giza and the sphinx. Every night we watched the light show that happened at the pyramids.
Day 2:
It’s finally time to see the pyramids. Our private tour picked us up at the hotel and drove us to the pyramids (which were almost walking distance). Our guide told us about the history of pyramids and we also decided to go inside the great pyramid of Giza.
I don’t want to disappoint you but there’s nothing to see inside a pyramid. You walk - no I should say - you crawl a narrow hallway up to the tomb. The tomb’s empty so there is nothing special to see. If you want to see hieroglyphs you need to visit the tombs in Luxor.
Each of us also wrote a camel to the pyramids and we visited the Sphinx.
Inside the Great pyramid of Giza |
After a lunch break, we made our way for the Egyptian museum to see the mummies (this is an extra ticket) and to learn more about the culture. This museum also has the biggest collection of King tut’s tomb.
This marks the end of this amazing day. Before we headed to the airport that night we enjoyed the light show one last time and indulged in some yummy Egyptian (middle eastern) food.
If you are thinking about traveling to Cairo here are my tips:
- Don’t forget to apply for a visa for at least 4 weeks in advance.
- Book a private tour to see all the sights - don’t try to do it by yourself. Especially with the “fear” of visiting Egypt, that’s your best option. A private tour will drive you around in a small vehicle with a local guide
- Don’t buy any souvenirs from the street market. These people straight up screw you over and everything is made in china. Again, book a tour so they can take you so authentic souvenir spots
- Don’t rent a car, they drive like crazy
- Stay in Luxor on visit Cairo in a day trip
- Don’t go out at night or run around on your own
- Dress appropriately - My outfits stayed within the earth tones and wear made out of linen and other breathable materials
Did you see my previous Travel blog posts? Head over to my favorite London Instagram Spots and Milan Instagram Spots.
Thanks for stopping by!
This looks and sounds amazing Nina. Fabulous photos. I’ve always wanted to visit Egypt - hope I get to one day. Love Abbey xxx
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