A Bit of Egypt
August 26, 2024
Egypt has been among the travel destinations that are out of my solo traveling comfort zone. Very exotic culture (to me), a significant language barrier. It is perhaps a little bit too complex for me to figure out how and where to get started. Despite its absolutely long and splendid history, my source of knowledge was seemingly shamefully limited – little more than the textbook photos of pyramids and their other ancient artifacts, plus its occasional appearance on international news. But really what is like now and back in time. I know so little beyond the stereotypical impressions.
But this time was the prefect time to visit. Two friends were getting married and sending me an invite to their wedding. It was a very kind and nice gesture, and I’m very grateful. Their wedding happened to overlap my plans of going back home. On top of everything else, the plane tickets were suspiciously cheap. It was really the best time, I thought.
I am usually a spontaneous traveler but for this trip I spent some fair amount of time making detailed plans and everything. It was a lot of efforts (for me), but the trip turned out very rewarding. But anyway, here are some of my favorite photos from the trip.
Probably Egypt is most famous for the Giza Pyramids, and of course, that was the first destination after my landing in Cairo. It was a spectacular spot, especially when looking from a distance for the first time. The Pyramids are located in the city of Giza, a rather smaller city bordering Cairo, therefore not so many tall buildings around. Plus the pyramids themselves are built on a plateau, makes themselves totally dwarf the what’s around them.
I also took a small walk around the area near the pyramids and my hotel. To be honest, I don’t know why I made such a decision back then when it’s so scorching outside. The streets were dusty, traffic was busy, and it happened to have many construction going. So it probably wasn’t the ideal walk if you want a peaceful and tranquil time. But the most memorable was the friendliness I felt in the locals’ eyes when we looked at each other. This is the feeling I didn’t get when in the tourist sites. Probably outside of souvenir shops, the normal Egyptian people still aren’t quite used to have interactions with travelers from abroad. I got many attention, but never in an offensive way. I understood that people were just quite curious about this foreign-looking face. Sometimes, I felt welcomed, even though the we didn’t understand a word from each other. But just from a nod, a smile, or a wave from the teenager boys sitting at the back of that pickup truck, I sense the genuine friendliness that I will never forget.
Oh, of course, equally memorable were these adorable two cuties I came across. They were quite chill to hang out with. It was a peaceful time to take a break, staying the shades and having a nice chat with them. Well, if you count me trying to make cat sounds and they looking at me silently as a “nice chat”.
Got back in time to see the sunset from the terrace of the hotel. Also had some delivery food of Koshari following a friend’s recommendations – forgot to take photos but it was pretty tasty.
After a two-night stay in Giza, I moved to the city center of Cairo. I stayed in a super small hostel on the top floor of a residential building, but it was a nice time. I spent my time mostly visiting the museums and walking through the streets of Cairo.
These were taken in the Egyptian Museum in the city center of Cairo.
This was a really fun one. Apparently when Egypt was under the Romans’ rules, this guy (probably Augustus) was also thought as a Pharaoh of some sort. Then this was what you got. The stereotypical Roman face meshing together with the Egyptian style standing sculpture.
There is a newer (but smaller) museum to the south of the city, displaying ancient antiques and many mummy bodies.
In the touristy spots, I could clearly feel the city was trying hard to build a good image. And this museum even had a famous French cafe chain inside, next to the artificial oasis, fancily named “Lac du Cairo”. For sure I’d lost my mind for a second about which country I was actually in when I first saw all this.
I appreciate all the efforts of maintaining tourist attractions like this. While I surely enjoyed my time immersing in the wonderful exhibitions, the other more organic side of the city arguably attracted me even more.
This photo captured one of the most memorable moments I had in Cairo. I was standing at this spot, on the sidewalk of a busy overpass, listening to the chattering and honking all around me, and watching the sun sinking into the end of the city. The gloomy sky looked as if it was before the apocalypse or something. It’s chaotically nice (emphasis on “nice”).
But seriously, if I have to pick one moment during my trip to experience again, this probably would be the choice.
Shoutout to the quality coffee.
I feel like I got overwhelmingly too much to speak about this trip. People and places, good and bad things. But maybe let’s leave that for another time when we have a drink together.
Let me end with this photo. It was dusk time after visiting one of the museums. Hopped on the uber of which the driver was an exceptionally good storysteller, as you probably can tell from his gesture.
Hope you enjoy your time reading this one. Ping me for joining the next trip to Egypt.