Entry #1: Egypt

Egypt is a bucket list destination for us, with rich history, from the Ancient Civilization to the present day. There are so many historical sites, museums, temples, etc that we spent time exploring, and ended our time here with a relaxing 8 days on a beach or in the water. Each location we visited has a rich history, and we found it astounding how many artifacts have been so well preserved since the times of the Ancient Egyptian civilization. 

Cairo

We spent 5 days in this beautiful, and bustling city. When we arrived in Cairo, we immediately experienced the driving culture of Egypt, which is much different than anything we’ve experienced! We spent our time exploring the iconic pyramids, including Saqqara, which is noted as the oldest pyramid in history, the iconic Pyramids of Giza (which we could see from our hotel), and the Great Sphinx of Giza. We also spent time at museums in Cairo, seeing the amazing collection of artifacts dating back thousands of years, from statues of pharaohs to intricately designed jewelry, and seeing mummies, preserved in a way that allowed us to witness the ancient rituals of life and death.

We also visited the city of Alexandria, exploring the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa, it is amazing to think of how many historical monuments have been found and how many are left uncovered under the sand to this day!

Luxor

After our time in Cairo, we took a 10 hour bus ride to Luxor, which took us from the hustle and bustle of a busy Cairo, through desert landscapes, and to Luxor, which is nestled in the banks of the Nile River. Luxor was once the capital of the Egyptian empire, and we visited a collection of tombs, monuments and temples. We also did a sunrise hot air balloon ride over Luxor, where we seen the Valley of Kings and Queens and, the Nile River, and the city of Luxor from above.

Aswan

We took a car from Luxor to Aswan, and were dropped off at a ferry port as our hotel was on Elephantine Island. We ferried to the island and found our hotel, nestled quaintly in a welcoming and inviting Nubian village. Across from our hotel was the Aswan Botanical Garden (we love a Botanical garden), we found a local who was willing to boat us across & pick us up, and spent much of our time exploring the island (after peak sun, because the weather was +40 degrees every day). We ate delicious beef & vegetable tajen, and enjoyed the views of the Nile. For one day, we also took a 3 hour bus ride to Abu Simbel Temples, near the border of Sudan. The temples were moved to avoid rising water levels caused by the construction of the Aswan High Dam, and the reconstruction is quite amazing to see in person. Overall, Aswan was a quieter and slower paced portion of our trip.

Sharm El Sheikh

We finally reached the beach & diving portion of our Egypt experience! We arrived at our hotel, and were pleasantly surprised there are cats everywhere who live here, are well fed & are friendly! We spent 5 days diving with Circle Divers in Sharm El Sheikh. If you are looking to dive the Red Sea, we highly recommend them. We completed some courses & got in 13 dives, each day was sunny skies & 33+ degrees. We seen lots of amazing sea life, including corals, sea turtles, rays, parrot fish etc etc. This portion of our trip was definitely a highlight of our Egypt adventure!

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Next up, we head to Tanzania!