1. Their Soft Drinks Are Delicious!

My tour guide kept asking if I needed anything and I kept asking for water, but he was determined to have me try “Egyptian” things. Thus, every time he got me a water, he came back with another beverage treat. The first one was Schweppes Pomegranite juice, which was sweet but super refreshing! Then later I ended up with a “beer”- a non-alcoholic peach beer that is, which was essentially a peach soda that reminded me of Jamonitas, the Mexican sodas I always get at home! <3 Over

all, do recommend trying the local soft drinks – and I’m not a soda drinker!

2. You DON’T Need to Get Your Visa in Advance!

If you’ve been following along… you’ll know this one drove me BATTY when I found it out! However, for those of you who are thinking of going to Egypt for a transit day or for a more extended trip… you CAN just simply get your $15 USD Egyptian Visa stamp right at the entry airport. It’s not the cool printed sticker one with your photo like I got… but it will definitely save you heartache, stress, and the cost of all those prepaid envelopes.

3. Yep. I Still Hate Riding Camels.

This isn’t really helpful for anyone else, but I’ve officially ridden a camel THREE TIMES now (Israel, Australia, Egypt) and I still really, really don’t like it. The way they stand and sit is terrifying to me when I’m on top of them and their bodies are too large for me to feel like my legs are holding on securely. That’s not to say that I wouldn’t ride one again if another awesome opportunity like seeing the Pyramids of Giza came up… but I thought, “Hey maybe I won’t hate it this time…” Nope. Wrong.

4. The Revolution in Egypt DESTROYED Their Tourism Industry

HOWEVER!

Upon arrival to Cairo I was so pleasantly surprised by the incredibly welcoming demeanor of the people. Additionally, my tour guide gave me some of the statistics on how drastically tourism has decreased in the country since the revolution in 2013…. It’s such a severe change that the museums and even the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx used to be open until 9pm, and they now close at 4pm. Why? Because there aren’t enough tourists visiting to support the longer hours. I definitely believed him, because I waited on line…zero times in Cairo. Even for both the mummy room in the Egyptian Museum and THE PYRAMIDS!

The majority of the people that I mentioned traveling to Cairo/Egypt to were terrified for my safety. My mom (sorry mom!) even went so far as to be concerned that I was flying EgyptAir from JFK-CAI, worrying that there could be some kind of unforeseen mechanical or personnel issues. I’ll admit, I was a bit concerned for personal safety as well based on what’s been in the media since the revolution, but once I got there I fell in love with the people and I had NO issues with safety. In fact, apparently these days seeing a tourist is akin to seeing a celebrity, and everyone wants to take photos with you. WHOOPS.

5. Egypt was Originally Divided

Egypt was originally two countries, upper and lower Egypt. Upper Egypt was geographically southern, and Lower Egypt was geographically north. Why? Well because the Nile runs South to North and the ancient Egyptians based the majority of things in their life on the life-giving body of water.

6. The Sphinx was Created On a Whim

One of the most interesting stories that my tour guide related to me (and he told me a LOT of Egyptian History!) was about the Sphinx. First of all, “The Sphinx” as we know it is only “The” Sphinx because it is the largest… and it wasn’t even intended to be created! The Egyptian ruler who ordered the building of the Pyramids of Giza also ordered a large limestone rock that was situated near the building site to be removed so as not to block the view. However, as the builders were removing this obstruction, one of them mentioned to the King that the rock was of very good quality… and the King decided that instead of ripping it out and removing it, he would transform it into a monument to himself. You see, the Sphinx is the only Egyptian statue where the animal body is topped with a human head, all of the others are reverse (animal head on a human body). This is because the Egyptians believed that while lions were strong, they were lazy animals, so it was best to simply utilize their physical strength and not their mental attributes. As such, Kings had Sphinxes created in the image of their own faces, with the bodies of lions, which is exactly what “The Sphinx” is! It just happens to be famous because it’s the largest one!

7. King Tut is Actually Really Boring

King Tut, as we Americans know him, is actually known as King Tutankhamun by the Egyptian people. That’s not why he’s boring, of course, but worth mentioning, I’d say. What bothers me most is that King Tut’s fame is so typically American. I can’t say that I know the names of ANY other Kings of Egypt other than Tut… and before I visited Cairo I couldn’t even tell you what he was famous for. King Tut ascended to the throne at the age of 9 and reigned for another 9 years, until his 18^th birthday. Obviously as a child-ruler, he didn’t make very many sweeping changes to his kingdom, and because of this, when he died, no one really thought much of his burial grounds. Although the tombs and pyramids of EVERY OTHER Egyptian King ever recovered had been ransacked and their treasures destroyed or pillaged…King Tutankhamun’s remained intact. THAT is why he is famous. Because he was such an insignificant King in Egypt’s history that no one even bothered to break into his tomb.