Cairo, Egypt. The Pyramids of Giza, the Sphinx and a hidden GEM
Ahlan from Cairo,
Well, well, well. We’ve seen some stuff in the last few days. Let me begin in Italy.
We drove to Genoa in Delph, parked up in a secure parking lot, and the owner, Alex, drove us to the CBD, where we stayed in a cool rock n’ roll-themed hotel called Red and Blues Music Hotel.
A walk around Genoa was half sketchy, half cool, and very grungy. It’s a real melting pot of cultures, and each street and alley had a different feel. We had a nice pasta and a glass of wine before we crashed early, as we had to be up at Sparrow’s to get the Flix Bus to Bergamo Airport Milan, to fly to Cairo.
Which is what we did.
12 hours later, we got to passport control and spent an hour getting through. Not the best start to Egypt.
Anyway, our driver picked us up, and the thing we noticed about the area around Cairo airport was how clean and organised it all was. The traffic was insane, but it was ordered chaos and reminded us a little bit of India. It took another hour to drive across town to Giza, where we were staying. It was dark by the time we arrived, but we caught a glimpse of a pyramid lit up.
Goosebumps.
We checked into the digs - very friendly, welcoming staff- before we checked into the A/c room and made it to the roof restaurant for dinner.
This was the view that greeted us.
Wow, just wow!
Old mate from reception sat down with us and told us about all of the amazing tours that we could book through the hotel. Unfortunately, we’d already booked most things, but Jen did book in for a massage the next day.
I tried the local beer Stela - not to be confused with the Belgian swill of a similar name - and we ordered a tasting plate of kofta, shish kebab, tahini, baba ghanoush and the best fries ever.
Man, what a first meal, what a day. What a great sleep we had that night.
Nek morning up for 7am breaky. More fries (for breaky?) omelet, flat bread, yoghurt, pickles, before we walked the 10 minutes to meet our guide for the pyramid tour.
In the cold light of day, the area that we were staying in could only be described as a shithole.
Literally.
Horse and camel shit covered most of the road and the rubbish everywhere was pretty confronting.
30 or so touts confronted us on the way, trying to sell everything from rides - camel, horse, taxi - to clothes, food, drinks, tickets, etc..
Did I say it reminded us of India?
It felt exactly like India now.
After a stuff up with directions, we got our tickets, met Sharif the guide in the cowboy hat, and entered the Pyramids of Giza complex.
The next three hours, 8 a.m.- 11 am, were hot but awe-inspiring as we saw the three greatest pyramids in the world and, of course, the Sphinx. Sharif told us all about how they were made, how the stone was quarried and split on site and how many people worked on the project. It only took 20 years for the Great Pyramid to be made!! Check the gallery:
We hit the hotel - after telling the touts again NO THANK YOU, and Jen had her massage, while I chilled in the room. I jumped in the hotel pool, but I couldn't smell any chlorine, so I didn’t put my head under to chance my healing ears.
We had another epic dinner in the rooftop restaurant, and we took in the amazing views again. I could have sat there all day watching how the light changed the look of it all throughout the day.
So cool.
The next morning we grabbed an Uber to check out the newly completed (November 2025) GEM. (Grand Egyptian Museum) Over the next few hours, we walked around this incredible building, and the audio guide explained Egyptian history to us as we checked out priceless statues, tools, art and relics. The piece de’ resistance was the Tutankhamen exhibit, where we learnt all about the boy king. He was only 19 when he died, and was a sickly boy with many inherited and acquired physical problems. Check out Jen-Jen’s vid of the GEM. I can’t state how fantastic this place was, and the audio guide was a must.
That just about sums up the first two days of the journey.
What about the night I hear you ask?
I feel that the second night of our stay - the organised tour - deserves its own post.
Stay tuned.
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