Egypt
Foreword (T) G has wanted to visit Egypt since he was a little boy because it’s the source of so many great adventures and is historically significant for all of humanity. He even had Egypt adventure-themed Lego sets. It was a must-visit place for him. I wasn’t so convinced. While I agreed with his points, I was more concerned about our safety. It seemed like nearly all the travel horror stories that were popping up on r/travel were about Egypt and it was especially bad for women. With it being that important to G, I thought we had to include it in our itinerary, but with a guided tour. Looking back, I cannot imagine visiting Egypt without a guide. It would be absolute chaos. If you decide to travel to Egypt and are looking for a tour company, we had a good experience with Jakada Tours.
October 27th, 2022 (G) - Diplomats Only?
Upon our arrival in Cairo, we had arranged with a local tour company, Jakada Tours, to guide us through our time there. The representative met us prior to security or customs. He was sent to assist us with the visa and customs process. Without much explanation, he guided us to a line, asked for our passports, and quickly disappeared with them to another line somewhere. T and I had a fleeting moment of anxiety, but fortunately, he soon returned with the passports in hand which now contained Egyptian visas. All that was left was customs.
Lines (or queues for you Brits out there) don’t exactly work the same way in Egypt. I had anticipated running into this in other locations, but not necessarily in the airport. The “Line” is more of a wedge formation with generally subtle shouldering tactics to slip in front of as many people in the line as possible. When our passports had been returned to us we were shepherded to a new line. Not the back of the line, but the front. Our guide utilized expert wedge tactics as we moved to the front of the shortest available line.
Now T and I are many things, but we are certainly not diplomats, so it was a bit puzzling to us when we realized we were in the front of the diplomat passport line. Feeling slightly mortified that we had cut at least twenty people (likely actual diplomats from their appearance) in line and that we may very well be in the wrong line altogether, we stood stoically behind our guide as he approached the desk. After a brief conversation in Arabic, he gestured for our passports. The man behind the desk looked them over, stamped them, and sent us on our way without so much as a second look.
We exited the relative safety of the airport and with our guide found a car with a driver waiting for us. We set out towards Giza where our hotel was situated directly across from the Great Pyramids. The drive there was hectic, to put it mildly. The general appearance of the city was rough, very rough. Trash was everywhere, strewn about with disregard, and most buildings appeared unfinished, in disrepair, damaged, or partially demolished to make way for the highway. Any form of respect for lanes was void. All manner of vehicles swarmed into and through any available gap. Those gaps too small for cars were filled with horses, camels, or people. All move at different speeds and at times in different directions. Our driver would later confess that every time he would go for a drive, it felt like a mission, an impossible mission.
We did spot one area that seemed to be well-ordered and beautifully constructed, this was New Cairo. Built outside of the existing city and inhabited only by the wealthy, it appeared to our left as we drove toward Giza, a fleeting vision of what perhaps could be. We soon passed over the Nile, the lifeblood of all Egypt. Unsurprisingly, it did not appear as spectacular as one might expect, having been overhyped by years of Hollywood adventure films. Still, water is life, and the Nile is understandably precious to the Egyptian people.
Turning down a small dusty street, lined with small shops and vendors, we soon came to a stop in front of the narrow entrance of our hotel. Greeted by our Cairo guide, Abdul, we covered the day’s itinerary (which fortunately only included resting and dinner from a rooftop terrace) and the plan for catching our flight to Aswan the following morning. We were strongly advised against leaving the hotel. When we inquired a little further, our guide told us simply that it wasn’t safe for us to leave on our own. Noted.
After finding our room, which was rather nice considering the humble facade of the hotel, we ventured up to the rooftop terrace. It had a spectacular view of the pyramids and I could even spot the sphinx to the lower left of them poking its head just above the buildings. As awesome as the view was, we were both exhausted. So, T and I returned to our room for a long nap before dinner. Dinner consisted of a lamb kebab sandwich split between us since neither of us had a large appetite. Knowing that our 3 am wake-up would come quickly, we didn’t spend much time on the roof that night instead opting for more rest.
October 28th, 2022 (T) - Flight to Aswan and Temple of Philae.
3 am arrived as fast as you’d expect. We didn’t bother unpacking the night before so we grabbed our bags and headed downstairs. Time for another drive to the airport. Cairo still holds the title for the city with the most chaotic driving (and we’ve even been to Delhi now). G introduced you to the driving a little bit ago, but I’m going to try to paint a picture for you to really imagine it.
There’s a 4-lane road. The paint is worn so you can’t see the lanes well. That doesn’t really matter because the lanes are suggestions and the road is used for 5 to 7 lanes filled with cars, motorcycles, bicycles, scooters, tuk tuks, horse+carriages, donkey+carriages, people riding horses, people riding donkeys, and sometimes people riding camels, kids riding bikes, and stray dogs. Crosswalks? No. Egyptians are pro-level at real-life Frogger, crossing the middle of the interstate during rush hour. Speedbumps are randomly placed on the roads with no signs for them and no paint over them so you really have to pay attention to know where they are. Honking is constant, but it’s not necessarily aggressive. For example, you honk instead of using a turn signal. Public transportation is 15-passenger white vans with no real pickup and drop-off points, so they often pull off of or onto the road. Many side streets are dirt.
So anyway, we made it back to the airport with our driver and airport escort taking an alternative route than the previous day. It was faster but we drove mostly through dark neighborhoods which made G and I a little nervous at 3 am. We arrived just fine though.
Security seemed strict for a domestic flight. We had to go through 2 security areas and bag checks. Egypt was the first country we had been to where men and women had to go through separate lines. We’d later figure out this is normal for Muslim countries in particular and other countries where everyone gets a pat down. We walked to our gate and waited for boarding. When it was time to board everyone crammed into buses and then we drove all the way across the airport, for like 10-15 minutes in the bus, to our plane in a parking lot. We climbed on board, sat in our seats, and I promptly fell asleep and didn’t wake up until we landed in Aswan.
A representative greeted us upon arrival and helped us find our driver and guide, Hani and Ahmed. For today, we drove to the high dam and lotus monument, and took a boat to our first temple, the Temple of Philae. Philae is dedicated to the goddess, Isis, and honors another goddess, Heather, who is like a mother goddess and depicted as a cow or a human with cowlike ears. It was a really fascinating experience seeing an ancient Egyptian site in person. I could spend a full day looking at just the hieroglyphics. One reason I recommend going with a local guide is many of them can read some hieroglyphics and it’s interesting to know what is written on the walls.
We took the boat back and returned to our car. The Egyptian Government recognizes tourists don’t enjoy being harassed at the markets, so they’ve funded a better, private market experience for various goods. Today we went to a spice shop where we were able to smell and taste many different spices without the pressure to buy them. We sipped on hibiscus juice and Nubian coffee and snacked on roasted peanuts. The Nubian coffee was delicious. It’s coffee with a slew of spices mixed in. We bought some of the coffee and saffron.
Our last stop was at a large rock quarry with a massive unfinished, ancient obelisk.
Ahmed said we had the option to go to Abu Simbel the following morning if we wanted to, but we’d have to leave around 4:30 am and pay a little extra. G really enjoys history and Abu Simbel is an impressive temple, so we decided to say yes. Now it was time to check into our boat, The Princess Sarah, for our Nile Cruise. We checked in, ate dinner, and went to bed around 8:00 PM because we were so exhausted and had another early morning.
October 29th, 2022 (G) - Abu Simbel, Nile Cruisin, and The Kom Ombo Crocodile Pit
The vastness of the Egyptian desert revealed itself to us as the sun rose slowly over the empty sands. Hani had been driving for a few hours already and we were still at least an hour away. T, Ahmed, and I slept off and on as Hani soldiered on. The initial departure from Aswan had taken a little while. There had been a military checkpoint to leave the city which took an hour or perhaps a little more to clear. The road was well-built, and the traffic was light once we had passed it. Now as we headed to the southernmost of the Egyptian temples situated near the Sudan border I couldn’t help but ponder what a strange and magnificent world we live in.
Abu Simbel was built by and for Ramses II. He seemed to think quite highly of himself as his image can be found throughout most of Egypt. The original temples were found half buried in the sand, like most of the ancient Egyptian temples or tombs had been looted and then forgotten. Ahmed explained that the workers who built the temples knew of their locations and after a generation or two, an Egyptian down on their luck would return and loot them. The later discovery of these locations by Europeans and to a lesser extent Americans can therefore be looked at as both negative and positive.
On the negative side, demand for ill-gotten artifacts certainly increased, which certainly exacerbated the looting of ancient places for black market products. On the positive side, many of the artifacts that would have otherwise been melted down or the temples which would have been left to eventual destruction over time have been instead safely preserved and are available for humanity to study, learn from, and enjoy both within Egypt and around the world.
An example of the global involvement required to preserve this history is Abu Simbel itself. The building of the High Dam significantly raised the water level of the Nile. Therefore, any temples (like Abu Simbel) that were built to the south of the dam’s location would have been lost to the waters if not for the colossal effort of the global community. UNESCO worked in conjunction with the Egyptian people to literally move the mountains that Abu Simbel was originally carved into. The temples and the mountain face around them were strategically cut, moved, and reassembled in a higher location to prevent the loss of these magnificent structures. Ahmed explained that this was done with several temples to preserve them as the historic treasures they are.
Arriving at Abu Simbel the Temples were every bit as massive as I had anticipated, but what I found most striking was the original colors that had been preserved on the interior of the temples. When most people think of Egypt, we think in terms of khaki hues. The reality of these ancient places couldn’t be further from that line of thinking. We spent time enjoying the temples before eventually returning to the car. Ahmed’s insight and information regarding the temples and their history were invaluable to the experience. When we eventually made it back to the boat in Aswan, it was nearly time to set sail.
We spent the afternoon napping and then strolling around the top deck of the ship which functioned as a bar, pool, and lounging area. As we passed smaller towns or villages, I was again struck by just how much trash lay strewn about. All along the banks where civilization met the river, piles could be seen. The narrow alleys that ended facing the river seemed to vomit out garbage in the general direction of the Nile. It was both tragic and confusing to witness such disregard for the environment. We also learned that being on a boat did not spare us from the vendors.
Every hour or so, a small wooden boat usually bearing three people would row toward the ship. They would throw a rope across the bow or lasso the anchor of our ship. The other end of the rope was fixed to the bow of their boat so they would be pulled along next to us. They would then proceed to shout greetings and attempt to sell shirts or other small items which they could throw up to the passengers. It was certainly a unique way to conduct business.
After watching the sunset from the top deck, our ship pulled into port. We once again found Ahmed and headed off to visit Kom Ombo. Kom Ombo was a temple dedicated to Sobek the Egyptian god characterized by the head of a crocodile. Given the dangerous nature of crocodiles, it initially seemed odd that anyone would care to worship one, but Ahmed explained part of the reason.
In ancient times, the people would depend on the Nile’s annual flooding to plant their crops. The floods brought nutrient-rich soils and water for the plants to grow. The tricky part it seems was knowing exactly how much the Nile would flood every year to know where they would need to plant their crops or move their homes. That is where the crocodiles come in. Somehow, every year the crocodiles would make their nests right where the water would stop, meaning they would know before the waters actually appeared how high they would reach. This still seems a bit baffling today, but certainly would have been both extremely helpful and awe-inspiring to our ancestors.
Kom Ombo did not disappoint us. Even in the dark, it appeared impressive. The temple held unique carvings that were raised relief, meaning instead of just carving the images into the stone, the image was carved and then the stone around it was removed as well, which is much more difficult and time-consuming. Other carvings depicted the ancient surgical instruments used for mummification, as well as information regarding the pharaohs of the time and their victories over the Nubian people to the south. The temple also had a hidden trapdoor and (our personal favorite feature) an actual crocodile pit! Historians don’t fully agree on what the pit was used for, but they are confident that at least one crocodile called the pit home.
After enjoying the temple and viewing some of the mummified crocodiles, we returned to the ship for dinner and rest.
October 30th, 2022 (T) - Edfu, Avenue of the Sphinxes, and The Temple of Luxor
I was worried I would struggle this morning. Ahmed told us we would take a horse and carriage to The Temple of Edfu. I had read other travelers’ stories about how the horses are not treated well and G and I both care deeply for animals and will not support the mistreatment of them. I asked Ahmed if the horses were treated well, and, he replied honestly, it depends on the owner. So I asked if he could ensure we would only go with an owner who treated his horse well otherwise we would find a different way to go. He said yes and that we would need to be one of the first ones out of the boat for that to happen. We made sure we were out of the door right at 6:30, which at this point, felt like sleeping in.
We hesitantly got in the small carriage and were on our way to the temple along with dozens of other horses and carriages. I do actually think our horse was well taken care of, but not all of them are, which is very disheartening to see. We saw one horse that clearly had an injured leg but was still put to work. This made our horse owner and Ahmed sad as well. Our horse was able to leisurely take us to Edfu. He wasn’t whipped harshly to go as fast as he could. He didn’t have any scars. His owner waited with him when we were picked up from our boat and again from the temple and gave him pats. He didn’t seem stressed to me, but I’m not entirely sure how to tell if a horse is stressed. G, who has spent more time with horses, is confident he wasn’t stressed.
The town Edfu is in is so dirty and smelly. Similar to Cairo, there is dirt and trash everywhere and the roads are even less maintained. I think we took horses and carriages because it’s more difficult for vehicles to drive on those roads. After about 10 minutes ,the dark, disheveled town led us to a magnificent beautiful temple. It felt so out of place.
The Temple of Edfu is dedicated to Horus, a god with a falcon head. He’s a provider and protector for the Egyptians. Edfu is a well-preserved temple. We arrived a few minutes before it opened, along with hundreds of other tourists. As G explained before, there are no lines in Egypt, so the entire room was crammed full of people and when we were finally able to enter, we felt a bit like sheep squeezing through a small entrance. Still, it was less crowded than some of the other temples we had visited, so we enjoyed the extra space and took our time walking around.
We met our horse and driver to return to the boat. We thanked them both and boarded Ms Princess Sarah. It was early enough for us to eat breakfast. Most of the day was spent cruising the Nile all the way to Luxor. We spent some time on the top deck watching the small towns as we passed them. The Nile would be so beautiful if there was just less trash. I don’t think we can effectively communicate how much trash is everywhere.
After dark, we arrived in Luxor, where we went to The Avenue of the Sphinxes, which was recently opened in 2021. It’s a 2.7 km long road, outlined with sphinxes, and connects The Temple of Karnak to Luxor Temple.
Luxor Temple was built by a few different pharaohs, including King Tut and Rameses II, as evident by many giant statues of him. There’s an active mosque in the temple as well. Historically, when Muslims conquer a place they built a mosque on top of it. After exploring the temple, we returned to the boat, ate dinner, and went to sleep.
October 31st, 2022 (G) - Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut’s Temple, Colossi of Memnon, and Karnak
What better way to spend Halloween than hanging out with mummies? Well, truthfully we did miss our friend's annual Halloween party some, but this day, in particular, was jam-packed.
We kicked the day off by visiting the Valley of the Kings. The valley houses at least 63 known tombs, including the tomb of the famous King Tutankhamon (King Tut) and of course Ramses II. We were able to pick 3 tombs to visit and could add King Tut’s tomb as a fourth for an extra fee. We opted for all 4 and took the advice of Ahmed regarding which tombs to visit. We visited the tombs of Ramses I, Ramses III, Amenmeses, and Tut.
Of these, I recall being most impressed by Ramses III due to the details, color preservation, and depth of the tomb which continued deeper than visitors were permitted. The tombs themselves were extremely hot and unnaturally humid due to the large number of people passing through them and the lights used in them. The experience also provided us with some additional vindication in our decision to travel while we were still relatively young. Many of the visitors were understandably retirees that had waited a lifetime for a trip like this one. The heat, humidity, and very steep steps were very difficult if not impossible for some. My heart truly went out to a few of them that had to make the decision to not enter the tomb of Amenmeses. Disappointment and discomfort were written on their faces. To have come so far and gotten so close is heartwrenching for those with a desire to see these things in person.
Still, I couldn’t also help thinking perhaps it would be best for the preservation of these tombs in particular if we all stuck to viewing the extremely detailed documentaries that exist for them. Pictures will perhaps never do them justice, but they may help keep these treasures intact a little longer. King Tut’s tomb was a fine example of this. There is a type of mold or mildew that has started growing within the tomb and is negatively impacting the colors and walls of the tomb. Had we been aware of this issue, we likely would have reconsidered our visit into the tomb itself.
Exiting the valley, our next stop was very nearby. The reconstructed Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut. Rebuilt by a team of Polish archeologists and engineers (much to T’s joy who is proudly a quarter Polish) the Temple was built as the resting place of Queen Hatshepsut. She deserves more than just her own temple, let me explain.
Hatshepsut ruled Egypt for around 22 years around 1500 BC. As the second female ruler on record, she certainly faced several challenges from the male-dominated Egyptian priests as well as male rivals. She was positioned as ruling on behalf of her stepson who was only 2 when she began her rule. She overcame them all. She remained in power until she chose to peacefully transfer the throne to her stepson. The period of her rule is characterized by expeditions that successfully established key trading routes with neighboring nations that in turn provided the wealth necessary to fund an enormous number of building projects in both lower and upper Egypt and all of this was done without any known war or major conflict. Hatshepsut gifted all of Egypt with a time of prosperity and peace before gracefully bowing out… what a badass.
It is therefore a mystery as to why her name and visage were later removed from nearly every monument she commissioned. Initially, historians speculated this was the work of her stepson, but new insights seem to point more blame toward the disgruntled temple priests that likely lost a great deal of power and influence in the shadow of her rule. Personally, T and I think it was probably the latter.
The reconstructed Mortuary Temple was certainly a site to behold. We spent a little while wandering the temple and reading, with the help of Ahmed, the hieroglyphs that told of the Queen’s exploits. After this, we were growing hungry, so on our way to the Colossi of Memnon, we stopped at a government-regulated alabaster carving factory for some refreshments and a demonstration of how the stone is cut and worked into beautiful vases. Some hibiscus juice and falafel sandwiches later, T and I were ready to roll. There were a few items for sale which, had we been on a normal vacation would have been well worth the purchase, but given our different circumstances we had to pass on.
Thankfully, due to the regulated nature of the establishment, there was no pressure from the seller who we thanked for his time and the refreshments with a small tip that we were genuinely glad to give for the service and experience. A quick note on tipping in Egypt before we continue to the Colossi of Memnon. The tipping culture in Egypt is excessive, so if you are planning a visit, or choose to in the future, be prepared to tip constantly, often for things you didn’t even ask for. Frankly, it’s annoying but has been culturally perpetuated for generations and is unlikely to change anytime soon.
Reinvigorated by our lunch, we pressed on to the Colossi of Memnon. Oddly enough these statues are not of Memnon, short for the Spartan King Agamemnon (don’t worry we’ll get to how that ties in). They are actually statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. The massive statues, stand awkwardly in a field. They seem out of place and given that no temple or structure appears nearby. It seems there had once been a Mortuary temple behind them for Amenhotep III, but it is no more. The Colossi themselves had been used for ages as landmarks by Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. They towered out of the mud and water of the Nile during its floods, which buried them a little more every year. The name, at least according to legend, was given to them by the greeks, due to their large size being a match for the size of the ancient Spartan King Agamemnon. The truth behind this legend is subject to debate as the word Memnon, is found repeatedly on the statues from the Roman period. We enjoyed the brief history mystery provided to us by Ahmed. After snapping a few photos, we hopped back into the car and headed to our final stop of the day, the Temples of Karnak.
Karnak is not so much a singular temple as a series of temples all linked together. We wandered through the complex for hours, just taking in the structures. The entrance to Karnak is flanked by ram-headed sphinxes, followed by several courtyards which have the rows of these sphinxes pushed out. Beyond the courtyard are massive towering columns that form an impressive structure. Beyond the structure was one of the few remaining original obelisks in Egypt. The hours were filled with every sort of image one might think of in relation to Egypt and well worth the time. Karnak is definitely a must for anyone visiting Luxor and is probably my favorite of the temples we visited. It’s T’s favorite as well.
As the sun began to dip, we returned to our ship. After such a big day, you’d think we’d be done, but we actually had a flight to catch that night around midnight. So, we packed our bags, checked out, and waited in the boat’s bar until it was time to go to the airport.
November 1st, 2022 (T) - The Great Pyramids, Sphinx, and The Shatner Seat
Our flight was supposed to take off at 10:00 PM the night before but we ended up leaving around midnight, which put us in Cairo around 1:30 AM. On this Halloween night, right as we took our seats, G excitedly exclaimed “You’re in the Shatner Seat!” Of the literally hundreds of flights I have taken, I have never noticed this “Shatner Seat” before, so I asked, “What’s the Shatner Seat?” I can tell you now! Have you ever noticed a small triangle by one of the windows in a plane? That’s a marker for the seat with the best view of the wing, made famous by an episode of The Twilight Zone with William Shatner where he witnessed a frightening creature attempting to crash the plane during the whole flight that no one else could see. I was delighted to have my seat on Halloween. As far as I could tell, all the scary creatures stayed grounded.
We arrived back at the same hotel in Cairo around 3:00 AM. We decided to wait til 10:00 AM to start the festivities so G and I and our driver and guide could get a little shut-eye. It seemed like we blinked and were finishing our breakfast on the rooftop overlooking the pyramids we were about to go to. After finishing breakfast we went downstairs, met Abdul, and drove off.
To me, the pyramids are bigger and smaller than I imagined. When I first saw them in Cairo they looked like mountains but up close they were actually smaller than I thought they would be. The most widely accepted explanation for the pyramids is they were just tombs and nothing else. There are some other interesting theories though, like they were actually used for electricity. And no one can agree on how all the materials were transported from Aswan (remember, close to Sudan) all the way up to northern Egypt back then. Aliens? Maybe ;)
If you decide to go in the pyramid, you should know, there’s nothing in it and you have to pay extra. We were thankful Abdul informed us about this before we made the decision to not go inside. You can go right up to the entrance and step inside which was still cool. We walked near (and on) the base of the pyramid for a bit and then drove to the best viewpoint.
We could’ve ridden a camel or could’ve taken a picture with one but we decided not to because we weren’t sure how they were treated. Some of the camels were adored by their owners, being fed grass and patted while they weren’t working and they could stand or sit as they wanted. Others were forced to lie down. We had a few more desert destinations coming up and thought if a better opportunity presented itself, maybe we’d meet a camel then (spoiler: we did). The viewpoint was impressive. G and I hiked up a little hill nearby and took it in.
After we left the viewpoint, we drove down to The Great Sphinx, walked around, and wondered again how the materials for building it made their way to Giza.
The public markets can be quite overwhelming for tourists. Ahmed had taught us early on to just completely ignore sellers if we don’t want to buy anything, and that worked 100% of the time for us. We really enjoyed the private shops we went to, including a fragrance store we stopped at after The Great Sphinx. We munched on some roasted nuts and drank coffee while smelling all the different perfumes that weren’t diluted with alcohol. There were a few we really liked and could buy travel-sized ones at a good price, so we bought some mint oil, sandalwood, cologne, and perfume.
Now it was time to go to The Egyptian Museum. We had really hoped The Great Egyptian Museum (Gem!) would have opened by the time we were there, but I think it’s going to be a while longer even now. Though not as great, The Egyptian Museum was still interesting to visit. We saw more statues, mummies, coffins, jewelry, and my favorite, King Tut’s famous mask (no photos allowed).
Our Egypt Adventure was coming to a close. We picked up a late lunch/early dinner on the way to the hotel, ate it on the rooftop, took a much-needed nap, woke up and watched the sunset, packed our bags, and went to sleep early. We had a few more destinations before we were off to the airport the following day.
November 2nd, 2022 (G) - Saqqara Necropolis, Ramses II Colossus, and So Long Egypt.
The day of our departure from Egypt had arrived, but we had a final few stops before heading to the airport. Saqqara Necropolis is the oldest known complete stone building complex in the world. The step pyramid here can be seen as the rough draft of the great pyramids. The buildings here display stark differences in their architecture from what is commonly thought of as Egyptian. Some themes remain, such as the incorporation of cobras as well as the characteristic squared short tunnel shafts which lead into the tombs.
The tombs themselves were very well preserved. We received unrequested guide assistance from a local Egyptian man, of course, a tip was expected. He did point out a few interesting features of the tomb, such as incredibly subtle relief carvings of the pharaoh in the alabaster stone which was inlaid next to the tomb wall. This detail was obscured by the hieroglyphs which had been carved over the alabaster surface.
One thing about this experience that disturbed me personally was the man’s use of an aluminum flashlight to visually prove the difference between alabaster and limestone. He would press the flashlight into the stone surface and then with the tip pressed against the stone scrape it from the alabaster to the limestone and back. Alabaster allows some of the light to pass through it, limestone does not, but I don’t really care about either of those things when the tip of your flashlight is scraping across and damaging the fragile five thousand-year-old paint and hieroglyphs! We asked the man to stop, but there was a very clear language barrier and he proceeded to repeat the actions.
After leaving the tomb we told Abdul, though I sincerely doubt our words had much effect upon him to prevent future damage to what should be considered a sacred place to all humanity. We visited another tomb on the site and were accompanied by another unwanted “guide”. This time we refused to provide any sort of tip as the same behavior with a different person and a different flashlight was repeated.
After this tomb, we were given around a half hour of free time to wander the ruins. T and I at this point were pretty saturated and spent only half of the given time before returning to the car. We were asked if we wanted to stop at a carpet factory, but we declined and instead continued to our next stop, the Colossus of Ramses II.
Along the drive to the Colossus, there ran a canal that has been used since ancient times to irrigate the fields and orchards of date palm trees. During our visit, the canal was dredged and dug out. We could see what had been dug out by the backhoes as they deposited it in piles on the edge of the canal. Trash. Piles, up to or exceeding two meters (6ft) in height of trash mixed with dirt. It seemed the entire base of the canal was little more than this mixed deposit of refuse. T and I had started to grow numb to the pure amount of trash that could be found everywhere, but this bog monster reawakened our senses to this ongoing modern self-imposed tragedy of humanity. There has to be a better way, but people and their governments have to hold themselves and each other accountable.
As we watched another backhoe bucket full of plastic, mud, and styrofoam be dumped on top of the piles of litter that already lay in the grass next to the canal we felt a sense of situational irony due to the fact that the Climate Change Conference (COP 27) involving 93 heads of state was being hosted this year in Egypt. One of our anxieties regarding visiting Egypt was rooted in the political unrest which was and still seems to be slowly simmering in Egypt. Rumors of protests by Egyptians of their government had been overheard by both of us and could be found online. Given the state of things in Cairo, we could understand where some of their grievances might lie, but there were far too many cultural and situational complexities at play for either T or I to even pretend that we held a firm opinion on what party was more or less correct. All we wanted was for things to remain calm enough for us to take our leave of Egypt in the next few hours.
After these contemplations, we arrived at the location of the Colossus of Ramses II. Abdul kindly told us about a few of the other interesting statues at the location before guiding us to the Colossus itself. The megalithic image of Ramses II had been carved in red granite from Aswan far to the south. It lay on its back with the face looking upward. It was admittedly impressive, but we had seen so many images of Ramses II at this point in our visit, it no longer struck us the way it probably should have. T was excited to see another statue of Hatshepsut though and snapped a picture with her. We had enjoyed our time in Egypt, but it was time for us to go.
So, after a few photos, we hopped back into the car and headed to the airport. We admittedly both breathed a sigh of relief as the plane left the ground and an even larger one when it touched down in Istanbul.
A final word: For those who wish to visit Egypt, if you must go, make absolutely certain you take the time to find a good tour company. We really did enjoy our time in Egypt, but I firmly believe that we owe that almost entirely to our guides with Jakada Tours. We debated between going on a larger tour or a private tour and decided to do a private tour and are glad we did because we were able to explore at our own pace and got less attention than the large tourist groups did. Do your homework, stay safe.