Egypt -- A Surprising Bucket-List Trip

In early 2011, we visited our older daughter Cindy in Washington D.C. I remember being at the now-defunct Newseum and watching the breaking news of the Arab Spring erupting in Cairo. What better way to see history in the making than on a massive video screen at a museum celebrating news? At the time, we felt hopeful that this represented an important turning point in Northern Africa and the Middle East. But the level of unrest was also evident. And I remember secretly thinking "Rats! Now I might never get to see the pyramids."

Fast forward to late 2014. We were enjoying dinner and travel-reminiscing with our adventuresome friends Valerie and David. The conversation turned to bucket-list trips, which lead us to "I wonder if Viking has resumed doing river cruises in Egypt yet?" A quick visit to their web site confirmed they were, and the four of us booked a trip to Egypt and Jordan for the fall of 2015.

We can count on Valerie and David to have friends wherever we go, and Cairo was no exception. We arrived a few days early and saw quite a bit of the city with our local guides. We explored fascinating mosques and markets. Ironically, I really fell in love with a bronze and iron sculpture featured at our hotel gift shop. It was a pretty heavy piece to acquire so early in the trip -- especially since we wanted to do carry-on only -- but we made it work.



We joined our tour group and headed to the "suburb" of Giza to see the sphinx and the pyramids. They were indeed awe-inspiring but also a bit disappointing. I have no idea how photographers get the amazing pictures of the sphinx and the pyramids atop shining sand with blue sky in the background. They make it appear that these wonders of the world are in the middle of the desert instead of right at the edge of Giza, shrouded in a smoggy haze, and surrounded by evidence of tourism -- barricades and vendors hawking souvenirs. Our visit and photo opportunities were cut short when our guard got spooked by a group of young men hanging about. (Did I mention we had a lot of security on this trip?) So we checked off this item on our bucket-list and headed for Luxor (a.k.a. Thebes) and our boat.

To our delighted surprise, our trip was an uphill journey (metaphorically) from the pyramids, starting with a stunning bird's eye view of the Valley of the Kings and a glorious sunrise from a hot air balloon. During the next few days, we toured amazing temples and learned that they had been relocated by a team of engineers from around the world before the building of the Azwan Dam and the creation of Lake Nasser. The international community rallied with funding and expertise to ensure the survival of these priceless artifacts from ancient times.

For me, the highlight of the trip -- the icing on the cake that really made this a bucket-list trip -- was the temple at Abu Simbel with the colossal statues of Ramses and his queen. The temple featured amazingly well-preserved carvings and hieroglyphics. We had ample time to explore, and we were able to attend a marvelous sound and light show after dark. This was definitely saving the best for last, and I can't imagine visiting Egypt without seeing it.

Because of the still tenuous security situation in Egypt, this trip tipped the balance toward "tourism" (scenery and monuments) rather than "travel" (exploring on our own and experiencing the local culture). We learned a lot about ancient Egypt, but gained minimal insight into the present day. We were able to snag a few souvenirs from vendors who greeted us whenever we disembarked from our boat or a bus. I acquired a lovely necklace and a clay figure.

And we did have opportunity to visit with the staff on the boat. They were so appreciative of our "courage" in coming to their country and helping them overcome their three-year tourism drought.  A wonderful lady on the boat embroidered shirts with hieroglyphics. Shame on me that I don't remember the meaning of all the symbols on the front (something like "peace" and "light") but I know that the back is a representation of the letters in my name.  

Our final purchase -- from the gift shop on the boat -- was a colorful, glittery picture of an ancient Egyptian couple. The colors blend beautifully with other treasures that adorn our living room.

Our trip concluded on a somber note highlighting the legitimacy of the tight security. On October 31, a terrorist bomb took down a charter plane full of Russian tourists shortly after it took off from Sharm El Sheikh. The cause wasn't known immediately, but fears of terrorism significantly disrupted travel. Fortunately, we were already in Jordan and didn't have any noticeable impact on our trip. A couple we met on the boat had flown to Sharm El Sheikh to scuba dive. They eventually made it home to Boston with their luggage, but it wasn't easy. This event marked the beginning of another tourism hiatus for Egypt. We were very lucky to visit these incredible bucket-list sites during a brief window of opportunity.