Global Wanderer

7/4/24 – 10/4/24

After a mad dash through Amman’s airport (leaving the domestic arrivals area, running around like a crazy person to international departures, going through security and passport control), I made it to the gate for my flight to Cairo with a few minutes to spare. It was a relatively short and uneventful flight, which was in stark contrast to the situation at Cairo Airport when we landed – people everywhere and completely frantic!

Whilst many passengers walked to the bank kiosk to pay for their Visa on Arrival, I was armed with an eVisa, and went into the passport control lanes. There were hordes of people in the queues, and the border control guys were less than impressed as people kept overstepping the yellow ‘Keep Behind This Line’ markings on the floor. After understanding what was being asked (in Arabic), I translated to some American and Korean tourists nearby, which earned me some kudos with the border guards, and I was asked to come through the queue, and had my passport stamped – nobody even checked my Visa (or the passport page, it seems, as the entry stamp was placed almost directly over a Bulgarian one!). After beating one queue, it was back to another as the entire airport’s arrivals that evening were funnelled through a single customs lane, before being hounded by taxi drivers outside. It was the Cairo I’d been told to expect, so luckily, I wasn’t too fazed!

My accommodation in Cairo, the Holy Sheet Plus Hotel, had sent a driver to pick me up, which was handy as I was able to avoid the taxi drivers! Armed with a SIM card I’d bought in the airport, I was able to call the driver so he could work out my location in the crowds.

Hello, Egypt! The arrivals hall at Cairo Airport, and my room at Holy Sheet.

I didn’t bother with food that night, but went straight to bed – I had two busy days in Cairo coming up!

The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, a staple in any Cairo visit, will eventually be replaced by the new Grand Egyptian Museum, a building which has been ‘in construction’ for 20 years, and keeps getting given ‘opening dates’ which are inevitably pushed back. Until then, however, most artefacts from ancient Egypt remain at the old museum, housed in dusty exhibits (albeit in a beautiful, instantly recognisable building!). I spent most of my day in the museum, going exhibit to exhibit, until the staff eventually kicked me out at closing time!

Some shots from the old Museum of Egyptian Antiquities.

As it was afternoon, and fast approaching iftar (only a few days until Eid al-Fitr!), I meandered down Islamic Cairo’s winding streets, getting a feel for the city – hectic but not unpleasant, and certainly not like Delhi-levels of chaos! – before heading back towards Tahrir Square to visit Abou Tarek, a famous koshary restaurant in the heart of Cairo. Anthony Bourdain ate here on an episode of No Reservations, and I wanted to try what he described as Egypt’s original fast food. Koshary is a traditional street food in Egypt, and is made of pasta, fried rice, and noodles, topped with a tomato-based sauce, lentils, chickpeas, and crispy onions – it has to be seen to be believed, tastes utterly incredible, and its ingredients are testament to Egypt’s crazy cultural history.

Koshary at Abou Tarek, and the streets of Cairo.

My next day in Cairo was to be spent on the western side of the Nile (how incredible, walking on a bridge over the Nile!), in Giza. I had two things to see – the pyramids and sphinx, of course, as well as a sneak preview tour of the Grand Egyptian Museum I spoke about earlier.

The museum was first on my list, as I had booked my ticket for early in the morning. Whilst the structure itself is complete, the infrastructure around the building is not, and the taxi I took had to drop me on the side of the road by the museum entrance. Once it is open, this place is going to look incredible, and is going to be far better equipped at dealing with the number of people wanting to visit than the old Egyptian Museum. Once entering (through a pyramid-shaped entrance, no less), you’re greeted by the 11m tall statue of Ramses II, which was so large it had to be placed before construction began, so that the museum could be built around it!

There are several other statues gracing the foyer, including two that were dredged up from the ocean floor off the coast of Alexandria.

I also had the chance to visit the Tutankhamun Experience, which was an immersive show created in partnership with a museum in Madrid, detailing the mythology around Tutankhamun and Egypt during that time – I thought this was quite well done!

Finally, I was given the chance to roam up the museum’s Grand Staircase, which houses a large collection of oversize statues and artefacts, arranged in chronological order going up the staircase. Each statue has a detailed, multilingual descriptor underneath, unlike at the old museum, and everything is very well laid out.

The best is saved for last here, though – at the top of the Grand Staircase, you’re greeted with a gigantic window, perfectly framing the pyramids on the other side of the Giza plateau.

One day, as part of the site masterplan, the Grand Egyptian Museum will be connected by a walkway directly to the pyramids. Unfortunately for me, as you can see, no such pathway exists yet, and so after I left the museum, I was forced to walk 15 minutes down the hard shoulder of a newly-constructed highway – no path in sight – to get to the entrance to the pyramids!

The Great Pyramid is the only surviving Ancient Wonder of the World, and the site is obviously a well-touristed destination – for good reason! I bought my ticket, and headed into the complex relatively hassle-free, aside from one guy inside who asked to see my ticket – anyone INSIDE the complex doing this, except at the actual entrances to the pyramids, is a scammer, who will inevitably tell you that your ticket is wrong and will ask for money – but my strongly-worded ‘absolutely not’ in Arabic sent him on his way!

It is hard to put into words how incredible these structures are – the size and scale of them are immense! I spent quite some time walking around the complex viewing the pyramids and the Sphinx from different angles – all of the photos were taken on my phone though, because as I pulled my camera out, I realised I had completely forgotten to charge the battery. Whoops.

After spending quite a bit of time here, I’m convinced that I’ll need to come and see the rest that ancient Egypt has to offer, at Luxor, Aswan, and Abu Simbel – another trip, I am sure!

The streets back in Cairo were heaving, as tonight was likely to be the last iftar before Eid, depending on the moon-sighting (confirmed the next morning!). I spent the evening darting through crowds, eating kebabs, and finally, settling down with a mix of Egyptians and Sudanese refugees outside a teahouse with a TV showing the Arsenal and Manchester City games in the EPL (hoping for a slip-up from both!).

This drew my time in Cairo to a close – the next morning, after a hefty breakfast, I headed out to the airport, waving goodbye to Egypt – not for long though, I hope!