Egypt: Crowded, Chaotic & Charming

The busy streets of Cairo, the temples, pyramids and burial sites of the old Pharaohs and the quiet of the world’s longest river, the Nile. Egypt was the last stop on our tour of the Middle East and we had a great time exploring this country of many faces, impressions and a unique history.

Cairo: Behind the Scenes in a Buzzing Metropole

We started our Egypt visit in Cairo. Home to somewhere between 20-30 million people, Cairo is a crowded metropole, and the streets are full of cars, buses, easel carriages, goats, dogs, cats, street vendors and garbage. There are people everywhere you look – workers crossing busy motorways on foot, families riding five people on a motorbike (with no helmet), young people sitting at the back of cars and all age groups crowded together in a small minibus. There is noise everywhere, be it from honking cars, trucks unloading, construction work and all the noise simply coming from having so many people in limited space.

The buildings of Cairo also speak of a city with a huge population. Half-finished building blocks are cramped closely together, the lower parts already populated while the higher floors are still being built. Narrow and dark alleys separate the housing blocks and laundry and satellite dishes hang from all outer walls. Many Egyptians also live in small sheds and barracks with no water and electricity, also making out part of the city picture which is very different from the reality we know from Europe.

We stayed with friends while in Cairo and they gave us a different insight into Cairo than we would have had if travelling as normal tourists. Some of the key impressions we took with us where: it is chaotic but somehow things still work. Also, never be in a rush when in Egypt – everything takes time and does not work in the structured and practical way we know from Europe.

Giza & Luxor: Pyramids, Temples & Burial Sites

In addition to taking in the buzz and atmosphere of today’s Cairo, we also took a step back in time and visited the world-famous Giza Pyramids. Built about 4000 years ago as burial sites for the Pharaohs, the pyramids were very impressive and testament to the wealth, planning and skills of the ancient pharaohs.

After our visit to the pyramids, we continued our exploration of ancient Egypt in Luxor. The city, which was known as Thebes in ancient Egypt, was the capital during the reign of the Pharaos and today the city it is home to some of the greatest ancient monuments which have been carefully restored over the last centuries. We explored the temples of Karnak and Luxor and were very impressed by the elaborate buildings, statues, obelisks and wall paintings which the ancient Egyptians were able to build and create so many years ago.

To us, the most impressive of the sights in Luxor was Valley of the Kings, where more than 60 tombs of Pharaohs and high-ranking noblemen have been found to date – and the archaeological exploration is still ongoing. The tombs are all underground and long corridors decorated with lavish wall paintings lead to the burial chambers. We visited three tombs and were truly taken back by the beautiful wall paintings and the elaborate burial chambers.

To awaken the kids’ interest in visiting the old sights, we had watched documentaries about ancient Egypt and the Pharaohs in advance and that helped catch their attention and bring the ancient monuments to life from them. Moreover, we opted to conduct the visits in Luxor as two half-day trips with a German-speaking guide. That way the kids could understand the stories behind what we saw and stayed focused. And they could then enjoy the afternoons at the pool!