Eternal Egypt ~ Strolling through the sands of time.

If you ever desire to travel to Egypt, I have 2 solid pieces of advice for you:

1.) please allow a minimum of 7- 14 days, and

2.) unless you love temperatures above 110 degrees Fahrenheit, June, July or August are probably not the best times to go.

All of that being said, we traveled to Egypt during the middle of June 2022. Even though we only had 4 nights there, we had an incredible time, and were able to cover many of the big sites and things to do. Please note that as with any of the other locations that we have traveled to, we are always happy to share our best travel ideas with you. If you are considering visiting Eternal Egypt, please feel free to reach out, via this website or email: sorellasnaps@gmail.com

The Nile River as viewed from our balcony at the Hilton Cairo Zamalek Residences.

Itinerary *

1. 2 nights at the Hilton Cairo Zamalek Residences.

   https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/caizrhi-hilton-cairo-zamalek-residences

   We truly enjoyed this 4 star hotel on the man-made island of Zamalek. Upon arrival we were upgraded to an enormous suite, that had a wrap around balcony. Our bird's-eye-views of Cairo and the Nile River were breathtaking. This hotel and location were a wonderful base for all of our Cairo adventures.

   
   

2. 2 nights booked at the Life Pyramids Inn in Giza.

   https://www.booking.com/Share-NRA7MiX

   This small, family operated hotel was the polar opposite of our Hilton experience in the most positive way. It felt more like a bed and breakfast, replete with stunning views of the Pyramids from the rooftop. The family was incredibly hospitable, and helpful in terms of helping us book taxis and other attractions in Giza.

   
   

3. 1 night was exchanged at Life Pyramids Inn for an overnight train from Luxor back to Giza. Typically, a complete day trip via flight is available to Luxor, but on this particular day, a return flight was not available, hence the train. Oh, what an adventure!

*Compensation not received for any of the mentioned and/or linked properties. As with any type of lodging, please make sure that you read the reviews to determine if a place is right for your travel needs/style.

Taking an overnight train from Luxor

to Giza was quite the experience!

Our touring plan:

1. Day 1 - arrived Monday morning from Chicago with a connection in Germany. Our taxi driver had gotten into a small fender bender and subsequent argument in Cairo International Airport's parking lot, so that added some excitement to our morning. For the evening, we had booked a 2 hour Felucca boat dinner cruise down the Nile. We had the entire boat to ourselves, so that was yet another unforgettable way to start our time off in Egypt!

2. Day 2 - We started our day off at the oldest archaeological museum in the Middle East, The Egyptian Museum. With the world's largest collection of Pharaonic artifacts, it truly is a must-see attraction. (As of publish date, Egypt's newest museum, the Grand Egyptian Museum, has not fully opened. They are anticipating being fully opened by the end of 2024.) After the museum, we learned how to cross the crazy traffic, visited the storied Cafe Riche, a mosque (small one within the market area), and the famous Khan El-Khalili market, where we also admired viewing the beautiful Al-Azhar Mosque, before calling it a night.

The people of Cairo were so friendly!

3. Day 3 - Yet another jam packed day! We started our morning by visiting several of the Coptic Orthodox Christian sites. Places such as the Hanging Church, the church of St. George, and the Saint Sergius and Bacchus Church(Abu Serga) to name a few. The crypt below Abu Serga is where the Holy Family, Joseph, Mary and Jesus stayed towards the end of their journey to Egypt. A truly spiritual and humbling experience! Following our tour of Coptic Cairo, we finished our explorations in Cairo by visiting the magnificent Mosque of Muhammad Ali, which is located inside the Citadel of Salah al-Din.

After we wrapped up our time in Cairo, we traveled via taxi to our hotel in Giza. The cities are relatively close, so the entire trip was under 30 minutes. Our evening concluded with dinner on the hotel's rooftop whilst watching the evening Pyramids Sound and Light Show. What a day!

4. Day 4 - Started quite early in order to accommodate our morning flight to Luxor. When initially planning, we failed to do our homework, and missed allowing adequate time for places like Luxor. Also, there are many more that we would have loved to visit ie. Sharm El-Sheikh, Aswan, Alexandria, etc, and heartily recommend them to you for your trip! Thankfully, we were able to add Luxor to our itinerary. We took an early flight from Cairo (1.25 hours), and then returned via overnight train (9-10 hours). On most days there is an evening return flight from Luxor, but not on our travel day. Once we arrived in Luxor, we were greeted by our tour guide which we had booked through Viator.

We started at the Valley of the Kings, which contains the tomb of one of Egypt's most famous pharaohs, King Tutankhamun. At least 63 pharaohs are buried there, so it is quite the treasure trove of ancient history and architecture. After the Valley of the Kings we stopped at an alabaster store (always lots of these stops on tours), the Temple of Hatshepsut, and concluded mid-afternoon with a delectable meal at the Baris Cafe in Luxor.

Please click on the link to see the lip-smacking lunchtime offerings, and don't forget to "like" and "subscribe" to our YouTube channel.

https://youtube.com/shorts/sut9ZPvQNtw?si=3NZxT8hdimo-yjkK

After our wonderful meal at the Baris Cafe, we visited the Temple of Karnak, the Luxor Temple and stopped at an "official" papyrus store before boarding our train back to Giza.

(Yes, we did the "touristy thing" and bought papyrus scrolls with our

names inscribed in hieroglyphics.)

5. Day 5 - We arrived back in Giza around 9:00 a.m., and returned to our hotel. Since we had booked our hotel for 2 nights, we left most of our luggage in our room. Before taking our next flight to Dubai, we prepared for our last jaunt which was a trip to see the Pyramids of Giza. We had decided to see the Pyramids via horse cart, and that turned out to be a bad idea. Unfortunately, our cart driver was very cruel to the horse, and we almost took a tumble out of the cart because the horse was very frail and on the verge of a total collapse as it struggled up the hill. We exchanged many words with our driver, and it erupted into a full-blown argument after he complained about a more-than-generous tip. To be perfectly frank, after his behavior, both towards us and the horse, he did not deserve anything, but we still wanted to be fair and support him and his family. It made for a very unpleasant experience, but highlights an important thing to be aware of when visiting other places. Please know that animals are not always treated kindly, and for most that will be very upsetting to witness. If you are sensitive to those scenarios, then be sure to do your research before your trip. After the ordeal, our hotel operator treated us so kindly, and even offered to refund our money for that excursion. We graciously refused, and only asked that they never recommend that particular driver again. Despite this situation, we had a phenomenal trip to Egypt, and wish to emphasize that the overwhelming majority of people that we encountered were absolutely delightful.

Thank you for Strolling through the Sands of Time with Sorella Snaps.

Keep Adventuring On,

Julie & Patricia