I was four months pregnant when I went to Egypt. We have a friend who was living there at the time and offered us a place to stay. There is so much to see across the country. One of the first places we passed as we drove from the airport into the city is the Cairo Citadel, also known as Saladin Citadel, a medieval fortress from the 12th Century. It sits high on a hill and overlooks much of Cairo. Inside the Citadel is the Mohammed Ali Mosque, Gawhara Palace, the military museum, Al-Nasir Muhammad Mosque, and Dervish Theater.

Downtown Cairo houses the Egyptian Museum and includes history that goes back to the beginning of the archaeological excoriation of Europe, around 4000BC. It is here you can see many of King Tut’s treasures.

The oldest part of the city is Coptic (meaning not Muslim) Cairo. There is a heavy police presence here. Mostly enclosed, Coptic Cairo lies within the walls of the 3rd Century AD Roman fortress of Babylon. It is the stronghold of Christianity and home to places of worship that date back to post pharaonic religion but before Islam had arrived. St. George’s is one of the few still active churches in the area and is considered the main Greek Orthodox Church in Egypt. It is believed that Joseph, Mary and Jesus lived in (what is now) the crypt of the Abu Serga Church for about three months during the time they escaped Herod.

Khan el-Khaili is a major souk in Cairo. There are two medieval carved stone gates here. Unfortunately, the Khan has been a target of terrorism on a few occasions.

The Great Pyramids of Giza are arguably the number one sight in all of Egypt, and perhaps the world. It is the oldest of the 7 Ancient Wonders of the World and the only one left. It is known as the Giza Necropolis, just outside of Cairo, and is home to multiple pyramids and the Great Sphinx.

The Great Pyramid of Khufu is the only one that can be entered. It is a long and uncomfortable squat and climb to the Great Gallery. The passages are narrow, the spaces are tight and there is nothing to see other than the extraordinary stone masonry and how the enormous blocks fit together.

The picture below is of the medium sized pyramid of Khafre. The top of this pyramid is smooth with a white limestone casing. All of the pyramids had this smooth casing when they were built.

There are smaller pyramids that were built for the Khufu wives.

While super touristy, it is quite fun to ride camels around the pyramids.

The Great Sphinx is the guardian of the royal tombs, likely built at the same time as the pyramids. The nose was not blown off by Napoleon as the rumor says, but seems to have chipped off at last 500 years before he was born.

Also located outside of Cairo is Memphis, legendary city of Menes, and now a farming village. It is an open air museum and is filled with statues of Ramases II, Pharaoh during Egypt’s golden age. The 43′ long statue below was found laying on its side. As you can see, one side is well preserved, while the other was exposed to the elements.

Near Memphis is the Acropolis of Saqqara, which is older than the Giza Necropolis. The massive step pyramid represents developments in engineering that helped to ultimately build the Great Pyramid.

It is an easy flight from Cairo to Luxor, although the train is another great option. Luxor was hot even though it was winter. The city is like a big open air museum and you will be spending a lot of time outside.

My first stop was Karnak Temple, the largest complex of temples in Egypt. It is more like a city of temples built over the course of 2000 years and was a place to worship, which now provides clues about the ancient Egyptian religion. It is a massive complex and takes a few hours to explore. You enter after walking the Avenue of the Sphinxes, aka The Sacred Way. They are actually not sphinxes, but are criosphinx which has the body of a lion and the head of a ram.

Hypostyle hall is a massive pylon composed of 134 columns. It is still the largest room of any religious building in the world. 

A huge statue of Ramses II with his daughter Benta-anta at his feet is in the Great Forecourt of Karnak Temple.

 

There is also the scarab statue, located in the middle of Karnak Temple, which was worshipped by ancient Egyptians. They believed that encircling it three times brought good luck, seven times brings marriage and nine times causes pregnancy for an infertile wife.

 

Luxor Temple is fairly well preserved. The Temple’s purpose was not for worshipping a god like other Egyptian temples, but for celebrating kingship. Many kings likely had their crowning at Luxor Temple. You enter at the Avenue of Sphinxes, which used to extend to Karnak Temple. The main temple entrance originally had six statues of Ramasses II but only two seated statues have survived.

The Valley of the Kings is essentially burial grounds for pharaohs and a few other nobles. It is still an active archaeological site with discoveries being continuously made. It is home to 62 tombs, with the most famous being the tomb of King Tutankhamun, aka King Tut, the boy king. Each tomb depicts scenes of the journey to the afterlife and has things that will help the person get there. You are allowed to enter a few of the tombs, including that of King Tut. His mummy is on display, although no pictures are allowed.

Howard Carter led the team that discovered King Tut’s tomb. They all died mysteriously shortly after the discovery. Locals believe that anyone who gets too close or touches the King Tut’s tomb will be cursed. However, it is only King Tuts grave that apparently has the spell.

The Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut is a beautiful temple but into a hillside across the Nile from Luxor. Queen Hatshepsut was the longest reigning female pharaoh in ancient Egypt’s history. When her husband (and half-brother) Thutmose II died, her infant step-son succeeded as Pharaoh. Hatshepsut took over active rule as his regent and ousted him a few years later, taking over as official Pharaoh of Egypt. Although she was a successful ruler, subsequent Pharaohs effaced her name wherever they could.

The Colossi of Memnon are two seated statues of Amenophotep III and all that remain of his temple. It was likely bigger than Karnak, but was built on a flood plain of the Nile and was washed away.

Sharm el Sheik is another popular Egyptian destination. It is a resort area on the Red Sea. We did attempt a snorkeling trip in the Red Sea, but the weather didn’t cooperate. I’ve heard it is better in the Spring. A night out in Naama Bay had us walking past multiple hookah bars.

We also included a weekend trip to Bahrain, an easy flight from Cairo.