After ALL of the crazy hassle getting my Egyptian visa, you can BET that I was anxious as all heck about the legitimacy of the tour company that I had booked. Not only that, but I was worried overall if the entire series of shenanigans would be worth it at all.

Well, you’re about to find out if it was…or if it wasn’t!

After debarking from my JFK-CAI flight, I bounced around the airport a bit, which is only relevant because I didn’t get through customs/etc until almost forty minutes after my flight landed. I was a bit nervous that my tour guide would have left… but I walked through the sliding doors and he was right there, holding a sign with my name and the tour company’s information(Ramasside Tours) as well. He greeted me with a huge smile and a big, “Welcome to Egypt!!”

I had a feeling the day was going to go well.

As we were waking to the car, my guide, who introduced himself as Mina, happily updated me on his planned itinerary for the day — I knew since my flight landed at 11 that I wouldn’t be able to do *everything* included on the layover tour, but Mina actually had worked out a way for me to fit it all in… even though we weren’t in the car until almost noon! He also took my preferences into account — was I more of a museum goer, or did I want to spend more time at the pyramids? Was I starving or could I wait to eat? What else was I interested in?

Based on my responses to his inquiries, he decided that the first order of business was to get me some water at a corner shop, and then we would head to the Egyptian Museum for a speed-tour.

Oh, also, yes. In case you’re wondering… I’m a complete badass and had a tourguide, driver, and an entire air conditioned van all to myself.

How did I swing that?

Well first of all, I paid a premium, but also, as Mina and I drive to the Egyptian Museum, he explained to me that since the revolution in 2013, the Egyptian tourism industry has not only declined – it has completely collapsed. So much so that many attractions, like the museum and THE PYRAMIDS OF GIZA have reduced their hours by an entire shift. These historic sights now close at 4pm every day of the year. I frankly can’t even begin to wrap my head around that so I’m just going to leave it alone for now.

Anyhow, once Mina spotted a corner store, he had Mohammad pull over and hopped out to get everyone something to drink. He came back with water for me, and also an “Egyptian Special” — aka Schweppes Pomegranate. We all know how much I enjoy carbonated beverages, but he was so excited so I figured… what the hell? When in Cairo…! I popped the Schweppes and it was delicious! The flavor really did remind me of the fresh pom juice we had in Bangkok. Go figure.

As we pulled up to the museum, I polished off the last of the Schweppes, and we headed in! Mina and I had agreed that my speed tour would include “ancient history,” the mummy room, and the King Tut exhibit. The ancient exhibit was strangely breathtaking… We went though a lot of history in a short time, but what really captivated me was the longevity of all of the papyrus scrolls. One of the most formative stories for the ancient Egyptians was the Final Judgment story, in which the God Anubis brings down the heart of the deceased person to be judged. The heart is placed on the scale of Anubis, and judged against the weight of the feather of Ma’at. If the heart is lighter than the feather, the person had lived a good life and their name would be written down for all eternity in the book of rebirth. If it was heavier than Ma’at’s feather, the beast Omom would devour the heart, causing the already deceased to suffer a second death and never be reborn. I’m not even 100% sure right now why this story jived so much with me, but it was one of the first things Mina reiterated and for some reason I just knew it was going to stick… and now you have it too.

Next we went to the mummy room, which there isn’t *too* much to really explain about… The mummies of (if I recall correctly) 13 pharaohs have been relocated there, and you’re actually able to see some of the preserved bodies peeking through the wrappings. Most of what you can see are heads and hands, but it’s incredible to see how well-preserved these bodies are, seeing as they’ve been deceased for hundreds of years.

After the mummy room, we moved on to King Tut (or King Tutanhkamun)’s treasury. As I mentioned in this blog, King Tut’s claim to fame is SOLELY that he was so insignificant that no one thought there would be anything good in his tomb. So…. no one robbed it. Which left it intact and able to be discovered later in all of its original glory — the ONLY tomb that has been discovered as such. Even though King Tut was a pretty boring guy, his possessions and burial artifacts were exceptional — which only leads one to wonder what treasures more significant Kings had before their tombs were ransacked.

After the run through King Tut’s treasury, we scooted out of the museum and back into the van, heading towards the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx. This is the point where I was so exhausted that I think Mina was worried that I’d pass out in the van. I decided that it was time for my emergency rations — the 5 hour energy that I had packed in my carry-on for just such a situation. I downed the bottle and within 15 minutes I was zapped back to full strength. There has GOT to be something illegal in those.

As we got closer and closer to the pyramids, I was glued to the window of the van, and when we finally arrived, I just stared at everything. The sand, the people, the huge stones… everything felt like it had popped out of a dream or a movie and somehow was right in front of me. We grabbed a ticket for me to go inside one of the “big 3” pyramids and then we were off to explore!

We walked through and around the front of the “big 3” while Mina explained to me that there are actually nine pyramids of Giza. NINE! Who knew? The other six are for the women who are associated with the men buried in the main pyramids. Anyone surprised? Yeah, I didn’t think so.

Anyhow, Mina let me climb around like a true tourist, while he snapped some photos of me. Then we went over to the “viewing point” alongside the third pyramid and REALLY got down to the photos. My favorite line of the experience was, “Ok… I think that’s all the fun photos… WAIT. DO YOU WANT TO EAT THE PYRAMID!?” Um… duh. Doesn’t everyone!? So I did. Here’s that glorious photo, for everyone’s viewing pleasure.

Then… I managed to get talked into/talk myself into riding a camel. I have ridden a camel in Israel AND in Australia. I didn’t like it either of those times and I didn’t like it this time either. The way they stand and sit is SO disconcerting and their gait is so unpredictable… and their bodies are too large for me to securely wrap my little legs around. HOWEVER. Riding a camel alongside the pyramids in Egypt? Yeah. I had to do that.

After the camel ride, Mina took me over to Pyramid #3, Menkaure’s Pyramid, so I could head inside. These three pyramids, like all the others (even King Tut’s at this point, albeit his by researchers and not thieves), has been emptied, so there’s nothing inside except for a security guard. Still, the experience was rather eerie… We weren’t there long but the air is just… heavy. I don’t know how else to explain it.

Post camel ride, we rushed over to the Sphinx, where I was accosted several times for photographs… because remember, there aren’t many tourists in Egypt these days, so as Mina explained it to me, “seeing a tourist is like seeing a celebrity!” I made the mistake of agreeing to take a photo with a cute little girl, which was TOTALLY BAIT for this group of teenage boys to also run in for more photos. I took one and then had Mina explain that I had to go. Smh. We finally got to the Sphinx after walking through the Valley Temple, and Mina told me a bunch about the construction and how it was built completely by accident. The stone it’s made from was in the way of the Pyramids, so the King who had them built ordered the stone cleared away. Once he realized how great a piece of stone it was, he had it molded into a Sphinx in his own image. Go figure, right?

Next up was my feluccia ride on the Nile, during which I again had rockstar treatment and my very own gigantic riverboat. This was a perfect way to end my day since we caught the boat right at sunset. I think Mina intrinsically understood that I needed just a little chatter but mostly peace and quiet for the boat ride, and he provided just the right amount of both as we cruised along for about an hour just enjoying the scenery and the experience of being in one of the most historic ancient cities.

After we got back from the boat ride, we walked back to the van and the guys drove me to my dropoff point (a hotel provided by Egypt Air for extended layovers, and where I was getting a free dinner also from Egypt Air).

What’s the verdict on the whole thing?

I had an AMAZING time in Cairo. I had an EPIC tour with Ramasside tours (and with Mina especially!). It was 100% worth my $135 USD and 12 hour layover and complete exhaustion upon arrival to Cape Town to conduct the entire adventure.

If you have an opportunity to visit Cairo, whether it be for a layover or for a more extended time, I definitely think it’s worth a visit. I didn’t find the city any more dangerous than any other city I’ve been to, the sights were breathtaking, and, well, the prices were right!