Destination Cairo
Last month, I had the privilege of visiting a destination that has been near the top of my bucket list, the amazing Cairo in Egypt. It is in times like that, that I truly feel blessed to have a job which allows me to travel the world.
I’ve been wanting to visit Cairo for the longest of time and after months of bidding for the trip, I finally managed to get it. My biggest reason for excitement wasn’t only to visit this beautiful place, but that I would be sharing this adventure with a special person; my mum. I have been waiting to take her with me on a trip for a while now, and this was the perfect opportunity, knowing that she was very keen to visit the Great Pyramids of Giza. So even though my trip would be less than 24hrs, I was absolutely chuffed to be going there at all!
Our experience of Cairo couldn’t have been better in 24hrs. Ahead of the time, we booked a tour with the lovely Nevin. We already knew what our itinerary would be, where we were going and all the famous landmarks we would see. Despite only having 1 hour of sleep before we were picked up, our spirits were high in excitement, anticipating the day ahead of us.
8am. The first thing on the agenda was seeing the pyramids. Already excited to head there, Nevin had a mini surprise for us, food! She stopped off on the way to get my mum and I local falafel from a place called Falfela (somewhat not ironically). Normally I would have taken a photo beforehand, but I was so hungry, and the falafel was so delicious, I completely devoured it before taking a ‘before’ photo. #inhaledmyfood
The real next stop on the tour was the highly anticipated Great Pyramids of Giza! It is the 2nd ancient wonder of the world, I have been lucky enough to visit, and as you can imagine, I was in absolute awe. We stepped out of the car and were able to walk around to really absorb it all. It was fantastic! We spent quite a while staring at these great ancient structures, genuinely amazed that they were built before modern cranes, how did they do it?!
Once we were satisfied with seeing the pyramids up close, Nevin then took us a bit further out land, to gaze our eyes on the panoramic views of the pyramids of Giza as well as the city. This was like a mirage of where ancient history collides with a modern city. The juxtaposition of the two made me realise how two people can be standing in the same place, hundreds of years apart.
To mark the ancient exploration, my mum and I stopped off to pick up some souvenirs as memorabilia from a small selection of local bazaars known to that particular spot. Having Nevin was such a great addition to the trip, she bought the ancient city alive while we were absorbing in the sights, with her narrative Egyptian accent, as if I was taking an archaeological tour.
The next stop was the Pyramids of the Queens. Here, we entered one and only tomb of Queen Hetepheres I, who was the principal wife of King Sneferu and the mother of King Khufu. It was such a fascinating experience, to learn about their ancient traditions and how they lived, but also a little scary at the same time. The tomb was old and had a musty smell, the walk ways were narrow, and it almost felt like the walls were closing in. There was something a little bit frightening about entering someone’s resting place, as well as going deep underground in this tight dark tunnel. Despite this, I was compelled and interested to continue this learning journey, into one of the world’s greatest wonders, the history behind the ancient people of Cairo and what happened thousands of years ago.
However, just like every unrealistic Tomb Raider, GI Joe, film I’ve ever seen, I was also half expecting something totally dramatic to happen, to find some trap door that would lead me to ancient jewels, but much to my surprise (or lack thereof), this did not happen. Either way, I felt like Lara Croft on an exploration mission, the tombs were an exhilarating experience!
The next stop on our tour was the Great Sphinx. A large human-headed lion that was carved from a mound of natural rock almost 4,500 years ago, where it still stands even now, guarding Khafra’s pyramid. It is also considered the world’s largest monolith statue. It measures 20.22 meters in height, 19.3 meters in width and 73.5 meters in length!
I was soon starting to learn, that the one thing Egypt is not short of, is history. It was so fascinating to learn about the Great Sphinx as well as why the monument is missing its nose. It is believed that the Sphinx lost its nose when Napoleon Bonaparte led a siege in Egypt. It is also believed that the cannon fire from one of Napoleon’s group destroyed the nose. However, the 18th-century sketches show the Sphinx was already missing the nose (hahhaha a scooby-do mystery solved).
Continuing this trip through Egypt’s rich cultural history, Nevin took us to a well-known papyrus shop, where we learnt how papyrus was made and how it withstood the test of time over the years. The paper is made from the core stalk of Cyperus papyrus plant sliced into very thin strips that are as broad as possible. Next, the strips are soaked in water for around three days, to remove the decomposable sugar content making the fibers flexible and transparent, its wet spongy texture is then rolled flat and left to dry before the strips are cut to the desired length. The strips are then pounded to removed excess water, placed side by side, overlapping slightly at right angles to the first layer and then again overlapping slightly. The raw papyrus sheet is pounded once again and left under a heavy weight (usually a stone slab) to dry for approximately six days. The remaining sugar within the papyrus seals the strips together. Once dry, the surface of the papyrus sheet is polished smooth by rubbing it with a shell or a piece of smooth ivory and then, ta da! The paper is ready to use.
We were lucky enough, after the presentation, to explore the rest of the gallery and had the chance to purchase some papyrus pieces ourselves and include our names written in hieroglyphics, this was super cool.
The next stop in our tour was Old Cairo. This has to be the most breath-taking place, as if all time stood still in this once place and I entered a world hundreds of years old. It was amazing walking through the old city streets full of architecture, old bricks, original doors. Before I knew it, we had walked so far into Old Cairo that we reached the Church of St Sergius and Bacchus – the oldest Coptic Church in Egypt, which is believed to be where the Holy family rested at the end of their journey in Egypt. Whether you believe it or not, the church was extraordinary and well worth a visit for the unchanged architecture and beauty if nothing else. The Church was so unassumingly located in a little backstreet, with an uninspiring entrance, I was simply amazed when I passed through it. I had no idea that such a place could exist, as if out of nowhere, it was a wonderful spiritual experience, that was not planned. A sacred spot so fitting for the story and life journey, that we know to be of the holy family.
From one place of worship to another, the next stop was Ben Ezra Synagogue. Hidden at the far end of the Coptic quarter this synagogue was a must see, small in size but beautifully intricately decorated and once again, full of history. We learnt that this beautiful synagogue was supposedly built on the site where baby Moses was pulled from the river Nile by the Pharaoh’s daughter. I couldn’t believe that these are the places I was told about as a child in church growing up as a catholic. To now be standing at these historical sites, it was surreal. Whilst I stood here and looked out across the horizon, I couldn’t help but think of times before my existence, the journey of the Israelites and Egyptians, and sadly that my trip would soon be coming to an end.
The final stop in our magical 24 hours in Egypt, concluded at the Khan Al-Khalili Bazaar, located in the heart of Islamic Cairo. This busy and colourful open-air bazaar was filled with unique and exotic items from spices and perfumes to jewellery and souvenirs. It a busy bustling market, full of life and trade of every sort. Nevin, noticing we were slightly overwhelmed by our day, but also by the market, took us to a very cute spot for a coffee called Naguib Mahfouz Cafe. The cafe was cosy, authentic and like a breath of fresh air from the hectic atmosphere of the Bazaar. We had some traditional Egyptian tea as well as balaclava. Whilst, sipping on tea I had a moment to reflect on the entire day, and the journey through time and history. It was also so great to have met Nevin, who made this trip a day to remember for a lifetime, in the city of a thousand stories, I couldn’t have asked for a better day.
I don’t think one day is ever enough in a beautiful, enchanted and historical place like Cairo, where ancient meets modern and the dwelling of two religions sit parallel on the Nile. I would have loved to have visited Cairo Museum, but walking the ancient land brought the history of Cairo to life. For now, I have satisfied my Tomb Raider requests for exploration, until my next adventure, wadaeaan Cairo…
Polka-Vita 