Jayley on the Road: Welcome to Egypt

Arriving in Cairo airport we could not have been more thankful that we had arranged to do a tour. A representative from the tour company met us before we even got through customs and as they walked us through the airport the culture shock was overwhelming. Due to the political situation in Cairo tourist numbers are low, this meant that asides from a handful of others we were not just the only white people but as a female I was the only one not in Muslim dress (covered head to toe). We were stared at like animals in a zoo. So to be guided straight into an awaiting car out front of the airport and onto our hotel was the hugest relief.

We chose not to stray too far from the hotel for safety and to avoid the 45 degree plus heat asides from visiting the sights with the safety and comfort of our tour group. For our first stop we drove to Sakkara to see the first pyramid ever built - The Step Pyramid of Djoser. Built in the 27th century BC means that unfortunately it is only still standing with some modern day construction surrounding it but it was still unbelievable to see. From there it was on to the The Great Pyramids of Giza which consists of 3 major pyramids, the Sphinx and a number of other smaller pyramids which were built for kings wives and children. Now this is a must see sight and of course we took every touristy picture under the sun. We also got a chance to see inside one of the pyramids which still boggles our mind - "did we really stand inside an actual Egyptian Pyramid??", unfortunately we couldn't take pictures inside so the memory could easily be confused as a dream.

The oldest pyramid!

Inside the tombs around the pyramid

The Great Pyramid of Giza

Couldn't leave without kissing the sphinx

We left Cairo on an overnight train and were ecstatic to see our hotel was right on the banks of the River Nile in Aswan. We visited the temple of Philae (built around 380 BC) and asides from the sheer magnificence of the temple itself we soon learned that due to flooding after a dam was built in the River Nile, the entire temple was dismantled and moved to a higher island in the 1960's!