Egypt has been on my list of places to visit for a long time. Unrest in the past 7 years since their Spring revolution has made many unwilling to go there as a tourist. However I decided I needed to go…….. before the mass of tourists returned!
Flying in over Cairo seemed on the low side…....
......perhaps because of the excessive pollution/sand in the air. .....
However going through the entry visa and customs was a breeze. I was booked into the Mena House hotel for the evening because I was also booked to see the Son et Lumiere show at the Pyramids at Giza. Even though my flight from Frankfurt had been held up by 3 hours I still had reasonable expectations of arriving at the hotel in time…… a mere 20 kms away. That was before I saw the reality of traffic in Cairo!
2 hours later I staggered into the hotel…..and by then the show had almost finished!
However going through the entry visa and customs was a breeze. I was booked into the Mena House hotel for the evening because I was also booked to see the Son et Lumiere show at the Pyramids at Giza. Even though my flight from Frankfurt had been held up by 3 hours I still had reasonable expectations of arriving at the hotel in time…… a mere 20 kms away. That was before I saw the reality of traffic in Cairo!
2 hours later I staggered into the hotel…..and by then the show had almost finished!
Shown to my room I was a little surprised not to be able to see the pyramids...as promised..... but it was by then on the dark side!
However next morning they were very evident!
The Mena House hotel was indeed the place to stay...... it had a nice breakfast area....
and they even provided acceptable morning reading material....
Later that morning we set off for Saqqara to see a newly opened, at least to the public, tomb…the Tomb of Mehu…..
traffic was still a little busy going south but at least we were definitely moving……even if a one way system was being ignored!
Arriving at the tomb we found it locked!
This was my only reason for being there as I would be going again later in the trip to see the pyramids there. I had read about its opening the prior month and arranged a viewing.
However the egyptologist I was with was great… he found someone to open the tomb and it was superb to be able to be the only visitor there!
At first the person who unlocked the tomb for us warned me ‘No Photos’ … however later relented as long as I didn’t use flash!
At first the person who unlocked the tomb for us warned me ‘No Photos’ … however later relented as long as I didn’t use flash!
After this I had arranged to visit a museum which apparently had fantastic Impressionist paintings, the Mohamed Khalil Museum…..fortunately the driver didn’t just drop me off in front of the gates as he had originally proposed……we found that it had not been opened since their Arab Spring revolution!!!
Then went on to check into the Fairmont Nile City hotel…….
Luxurious and comfortable but not as historic as the Mena House!
But my room did have a great sunset view!
But my room did have a great sunset view!
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