I read once that travel is not just about seeing someplace new, but rather it’s about experiencing somewhere with all of the senses. This must be true because I am often reminded of places I’ve been by the way something smells, feels or sounds. To that end, we often associate those experiences with something that is pleasing or comforting, but not always. The truth is, Egypt was overwhelming to the senses. The sights, sounds, feel and taste of the country bordered on the extreme, both positively and negatively.
Of all the blog posts I’ve written, this post is the one I am most conflicted by. I always make a concerted effort to highlight the beauty of the places I’ve visited, but I find myself needing to deviate from that approach in order to provide an accurate account of what we experienced. I hope I can adequately do justice in my writing to a country that was both awe inspiring, and infinitely depressing.
When we arrived in Cairo, our clearance process into the country was one of the easiest I think we’ve ever experienced. We breezed through Immigration, grabbed our bags, and was met by our driver. We left the airport and headed onto Ring Road, which takes you along the outer edges of Cario heading towards Giza. The first thing you notice is the traffic. Not only is it busy, but the highways are marked as four lanes deep, but no one stays in their lane. In fact, traffic at times can be five or six cars wide, and everyone is honking. It’s not like it is North America where honking is followed by an angry fist or flipping the bird, but rather short toots on the horn to let other drivers know you’re there, switching lanes or letting someone in. The whole spectacle is what I would describe as functional chaos. To complicate matters, the roads are also lined with people waiting for their mini-bus to arrive. These aren’t sanctioned buses, but private vans that operate almost like scheduled transit, and they are everywhere. This is further compounded by the fact the road is also being shared with donkey carts, motorbikes, and the odd camel. The fact that any traffic is moving at all is truly remarkable, but it seems to work.
When we arrived in Giza, our driver pulled up to our small, local hotel and I did a double take. I don’t even recall there being a hotel sign, but we were ushered into a door way, down a narrow hallway where there was dirt piled up on the floor; we ascended the staircase to arrive at a small desk at the top flight where a man smoking a cigarette greeted us. As I looked off to the left, there were several young men sitting on couches watching T.V. and as we started our check-in they quickly scattered. To say I was concerned was an understatement. After a short wait we made it into our room, that was surprising large, clean and had a view of the street below. We went upstairs to see the roof top terrace, and we were reminded why we chose this place. The views of the pyramids were stunning, and we were so close it almost felt like you could reach out and touch them.
I should note that our original plans had included a much longer stay in Egypt, but we decided to change our plans after some terror attacks prior to our visit. There has been a number of tour buses being attacked with roadside IED’s (Improvised Explosive Devices). We decided we could still make this trip work, but needed to tighten up our timelines, and focus on key sights around Cairo and Giza. We decided to book ourselves a driver to and from the airport, and a driver to get us to and from the sites we wanted to visit. This was a cost effective way of getting safely around Cario as inconspicuously as possible. We did cross paths with many tour groups, who all had armed guards on board, but I don’t recommend taking group tours in Egypt right now. All of the attacks have been with road side bombs aimed at tour buses; those heavily armed guards are only giving you a false sense of security. As proof, I offer the fact that since our return, there has been at least two additional attacks. I’m not saying don’t go, in fact, I think there are lots of compelling reasons to travel to Egypt in spite of the unrest, and I encourage you to visit. My only caution is that you look at the actual risk points and plan accordingly. There is not always safety in numbers.
Once we were checked in, we decided to head out and explore. We were located near the main gates to the Sphinx, and in what I would call a densely populated sub-division of Giza. The owner insisted he send someone with us, no charge, to help acquaint us with the neighbourhood and avoid any unwanted encounters. We eventually accepted and went out for a long walk with our new friend and explored the surrounding alleyways while enjoying a sugarcane juice. Over the coming days the hotel owner offered to send someone with us every time we went out, but after the first time we graciously declined and struck out on our own. In truth we never had any issues while out, and we met some nice locals, but it wasn’t lost on us that the hotel owner had concerns for our safety and we kept a keen eye on our surroundings.
The first full day in Giza we had booked our driver and headed out to visit Memphis and Saqqara. Memphis was once the capital of Egypt and was founded sometime around the 31st century BCE. As often is the case a farmer rediscovered this site while plowing his fields and finding large stone monuments. Archeological excavations are still on going, and many of the antiquities are on display. The largest of which is at the entrance to the site where there is an open air museum that houses the “Colossus of Rameses II”. The size of this statue is impressive, and the level of detail in the sculpture is incredible.
We then headed to Saqqara, which is home to many of the older pyramids on the Giza Plateau. The three most notable are the Djoser Step Pyramid, the Bent Pyramid and the Red Pyramid. When you enter the site you walk through the funerary complex which is a maze of large granite columns leading down a narrow corridor which opens up into a large square at the base of the Step Pyramid. Although much smaller than the three most common pyramids, it still rises up out of the desert in an imposing manner, dwarfing everything else around. There is also a smaller pyramid at this site that you can go into and explore. As you descend down the ramp and crouch low to get through the opening you shimmy along a corridor that opens up into three adjoining rooms which are ornately chiseled with hieroglyphs. When the lights are turned off and a flashlight is shined against the wall, the inscribed alabaster panels shine in the darkness. It’s a beautifully curious detail to have been added to a sarcophagus room that was never again meant to see light.
What struck me with both Memphis and Saqqara was how few visitors were actually there, but this wasn’t the case when we went to visit the Grand Pyramids. The main site is unbelievably crowded, so patience is critical. We decided to purchase tickets to go inside the Grand Pyramid, which if you do nothing else, you must do this. Although a popular attraction, we declined to buy tickets to ride the camels on the plateau, for reasons I’ll share later.
When you are standing at the base of the Grand Pyramid, I don’t think you can feel anything but wonderment. The size and scale of the structures are mind boggling. Whatever the ultimate purpose of the pyramids were, they were clearly designed with the intent to command attention. After some exploring around the exterior we climbed the stone blocks to access the entrance inside. When you go inside you walk down a narrow corridor that leads you to a ramp which extends upward at a steep angle several hundred feet. It is wide enough for one person to walk comfortably, but you are often squeezing bum to bum with people going up and coming back in this narrow passageway. You will also quickly realize that it is hot, so much so, that you will find yourself struggling for breath trying to climb the ramp as you make your way to the sarcophagus room. I’ve done a lot of cave exploring and confined spaces have never bothered me, but the heat and humidity is almost suffocating. In all seriousness, if you are claustrophobic this is not for you. However, once you reach the top of the ramp and shimmy along a corridor with a low ceiling, you will access the sarcophagus room. It’s a large empty space, with a tomb at one end, and the walls are lined with black granite that are adorned with etched hieroglyphics. My first impression was amazement, followed by a feeling of isolation and confinement. It’s a truly remarkable place to visit.
I’m not sure I made many friends coming down the ramp, but the fact is the heat was getting to me. Once back in the open air we made our way to a beautiful lookout to get an unobstructed view of the plateau and all three pyramids, and then made our way to the Sphinx. The fact is you can’t come to Egypt and not see the Sphinx, but this was by far the busiest site we had been too. It is an impressive statue that has stood guard over the pyramids for millennia, and you can’t help but contemplate the importance ancient Egyptians placed on these monuments; although, based on my experience to that point, it made me wonder if they still placed the same level of importance on them today?
The following day we were fortunate to make a stop at the Cairo Citadel which was first constructed in the 12th century. It is a walled fortress that rests on top of a hill providing an unobstructed view of the surrounding area. Located in the centre of the fortress is the Mohammed Ali Mosque (Alabaster Mosque), build in the early 19th century. What is most interesting about this mosque is the fact that it was modelled after the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. As I mentioned in my last post I had a hard time appreciating my visit there because of how restrictive it was, but here in Egypt, guests are free to explore the inside auditorium and get a true sense of how impressive and inspiring these places are.
During our stay we spent the better part of a day visiting the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. This is by far one of the best know museums in the world, and is home to some of the most priceless artifacts on the planet. The mummy exhibits and the Tutankhamun exhibit are amazing and exactly what I was expecting, but I was taken aback at the museum as a whole. The exhibits seemed haphazard, display cases weren’t labelled properly, or were falling into disrepair. I likened the whole experience to exploring a flea market. I acknowledge that a new museum is currently under construction, but given the grandeur of the antiquities I expected to have seen more care and attention to detail, but then again, I think there are explanations for this that have been bothering me since our visit.
Egypt is historically a very important country and gave rise to one of the most influential civilizations in the world. Their history and antiquity spans such a long period of time that I cannot do it any justice in a simple blog post, but being able to visit Egypt, and share the experience with my family was a once in a lifetime accomplishment. I was in awe of the sites we were able to visit, it is truly a spectacular country. However, I was conflicted by daily life in a way that I have not experienced in any of my other travels. As I mentioned earlier we declined to take any camel rides, this was largely due to how we saw many of the animals being treated in our neighbourhood, neglected, beaten and left to eat garbage in the streets. We witnessed garbage and dead animals lining the banks of aqueducts like landfills, plastic garbage littering the streets and animal feces everywhere. When the winds stopped smog hung in the air like a morning fog, blocking the sun and obscuring the views. Corruption is rampant, as is poverty and neglect. I have to remind myself that Egypt had a revolution in 2011, and came close again in 2016. They are working to stabilize their government while at the same time fighting a significant war on terror within their own borders. In short, the country is in turmoil, and the lack of effective governance is everywhere. For this reason, I question whether these monuments and antiquities possess the same importance to locals as they once did. Aside from being a revenue source, they pale in comparison to the social issues that are evident everywhere you look, and I worry that mass tourism masks the issues plaguing most Egyptians.
I found the dichotomy between the great antiquities and daily life disheartening. In a county with such a rich culture, it is painful to see such struggles. For this reason, I will end this post as it began. I found Egypt both awe inspiring and infinitely depressing. It is hard to support tourism in a location that is failing socially, ethically and environmentally, yet to not support tourism is to further weaken the economy which is reliant on tourism. As I said, no other trip has left me feeling so conflicted, but I am that much more grateful to have been able to make the trip to see these ancient wonders while also bearing witness to the challenges of daily life. Perhaps the secret to great travel is being open to the extremes of it all.