Down South to Aswan and Luxor

I arrived back in Cairo from Bahariya Oasis and barely had any down time at Wake Up Cairo before heading out on another adventure.  The last tour that I booked was a five day excursion to Aswan and Luxor.  There were two other girls from the hostel on the tour, coincidentally from the U.S, and I was happy to hear that I would have some familiar faces on the tour!    We all went to the train station to catch an overnight first class train from Cairo all the way down south to Aswan.  I have been on many "first class" trains that were rough but this was actually a very nice, comfortable train ride.

Our guide was waiting for us at the train station where we quickly dropped our stuff off at the hotel before beginning our tour.  From the hotel we went to the Aswan Dam and then continued onward on a mellow boat ride to Philae Temple.

Aswan Dam

Philae Temple had a great location with the Nile River as the backdrop to this ancient temple.  One main benefit to the tour was that we had a historical guide for each site which is very necessary for Egyptian tours.  Most of the time I enjoy exploring on my own but it is extremely valuable to have an expert explaining the significance of the sites in such a historical place.

 One thing that I learned quickly in Southern Egypt is that you will get exhausted and dehydrated extremely fast.  After eating dinner and showering I passed out so quickly! We had to wake up bright and early the next morning at 4am to drive to one of the most southern cities in Egypt, Abu Simbel, to see the Abu Simbel temples.  There is high security there so each tour bus had to wait for a police escort vehicle to take them to the sight.  The temples were very interesting as it is two twin temples carved out of the mountainside right next to each other.

From the Abu Simbel temples we took a quick drive to meet our felucca crew for an overnight felucca ride  Once we entered our home for the next day we had a fully prepared lunch already set up.  It was so nice to chill out with the slight breeze and enjoy lunch while cruising down the Nile River.  Within about 10 minutes of finishing lunch we all passed out on the boat.  It was a much needed nap and the mellow boat ride helped to keep me asleep!

Felucca naptime

A feast

After a glorious nap I found myself sitting on the edge of the felucca, taking it all in.  It is so peaceful out there and is certainly a nice change of pace from the very touristy temple sites.  We had yet another wonderful meal from our guide as we parked the boat on the shore for the night.

Felucca Chef Master

The group

With a recharged battery I was ready to keep moving through the Egypt temple route.  The felucca went a bit north towards Luxor where we were picked up to continue on our way.

Next up is a report on the famous temples in Luxor as well as my beach bummin' adventures in Dahab!

The Wild West- Bahariya Oasis

The first tour that I did through Wake Up Cairo was a 3 day/ 2 night excursion into Bahariya Oasis.  I figured that it would be nice to get out into nature before doing more historical sightseeing in Southern Egypt.

I took a 4.5 hour bus ride from Cairo's main bus station to Bahariya Oasis, which is about 200 kilometers east of the Libyan border.  When I arrived in the early afternoon I was met by the rest of my group.  There were only four of us in this small group tour.  We dropped our stuff off at Sahara Camp, which had great accommodation and fresh meals for their guests.

My cozy desert bungalow

After lunch our tour guide loaded us in the jeep for an internal 4x4 tour of Bahariya Oasis.  The drive was a lot of fun and the scenery was unlike anything I have seen before.  We ended the day by watching the sunset over Jebel Ingleezi (English Mountain) before going back to Sahara Camp for the night.  

Salt Lake, Bahariyya

English Mountain

We arrived back at the camp to another wonderful meal.  On these tours it is such a treat to come back from a long day out and have fresh food waiting for you! After dinner one of the workers prepared a traditional Egyptian tea for us.  It is essentially a very concentrated mint tea with a ton of sugar in it.  Although the tea is very strong it makes for a great dessert!

The next morning I joined on with another two guys to go into White Desert.  Along with the two other tourists in the group we had our tour guide and a security guard.  When I asked the tour guide if it was standard to bring a security guard into the desert he said that the only reason he was there was because of me! Apparently the Egyptian government pays for security guards to escort single (especially American) women into the desert.  I didn't know whether to be excited or nervous but I had my own personal bodyguard! 

Hanging out with my bodyguard

On our way to the White Desert we drove through the black desert and hiked up to the top for a view of the landscape.  From the black desert we did one more hike at Crystal Mountain.  At the top of this mountain there is a small cave with crystals inside, hence the name

Black Desert

Before going to the White Desert for the remainder of the day and night we went to a local village with a refreshing cold spring to eat lunch.  It was so refreshing to dip our feet in to cool down from the dry heat of the desert.

While I enjoyed Bahariya Oasis nothing compared to the white desert.  The White Desert is one of the most visually stunning places that I have ever been to.  The desert got its name from the shining white limestone that covers the ground, creating incredible rock formations in the sand.  Every turn we made led us to another amazing formation in this vast landscape.

My awesome tour group

Driving through the White Desert at sunset was magical! I truly felt like I was in some alternate universe...it felt very powerful.  Definitely one of the best experiences I have ever had.  It felt like we have thousands of miles of desert to ourselves.  We pulled over and set up a sleeping area before the sun went down completely.  With no lights in the distance we were able to see the entire skyline and all of the stars.  The desert is definitely the perfect place to sleep under the stars

I woke up the next morning at sunrise to an already prepared breakfast with hot tea.  We enjoyed a nice breakfast before having to pack up and leave the magical White Desert.  I could have easily hung out in the desert for another couple days but I had to continue on my journey to go down south!

Cairo and the Pyramids

Cairo is one of those cities that you can instantly tell is pure chaos, but in a good way!  The city always feels alive with people hanging around outside their shops at all hours.   The toughest part about Cairo is that it is very difficult to blend in with the locals which of course attracts unwanted attention, especially as a solo female traveler.  This definitely motivated me to find some other backpackers to wander around the city and pyramids with!

The first hostel I stayed at was very nice, and in a perfect location, but I was slightly disappointed that there weren’t many backpackers staying there.  As I walked around the overwhelming area near Tahir Square I decided to switch hostels so I could hopefully meet a better crowd.   On my second day I moved to a hostel called “Wake Up Cairo” which was in close proximity to Tahir Square and the National Museum.  Upon arrival at the hostel I met a lot of great people who I ended up traveling with later during my stay.  Wake Up Cairo had an amazing view of the city and a great vibe.  They also offered a lot of cheap tours throughout the country that I ended up booking.

The next day I went to the Egyptian Museum which was basically across the street from the hostel.  I had heard that you need at least a half day, if not a full day, to cover the entire museum so I figured that I would get an early start.   The museum has 120,000 ancient artifacts, containing the remains of many famous tombs including King Tutankhamun.  There is a separate mummy exhibit that displays mummified bodies of ancient royalty that was an extra cost to the entrance fee.  In my opinion, it was definitely worth it to pay a little extra to see real mummies.  I mean, when else are you going to see that!? 
















During the evening I was talking with a few other backpackers about their obsession with "Egyptian Pizza".  A small group of us ventured out to see if this pizza lived up to the hype.  The guys at the restaurant used filo dough as the base before adding the fresh toppings.  This pizza was AMAZING and pretty cheap (about $3).  I ate it nearly every night I was in Cairo from that point on!

One of the girls, Therese, and I decided to book a private driver for the following day to visit all of the pyramids near Cairo.  On the way to the pyramids we stopped at a viewpoint to see the early morning light.  I love waking up for sunrise in the city because it is the only opportunity to see a calm city!

We arrived bright and early at the Giza Pyramids before all of the tour buses rolled in.  Although I have seen pictures of the pyramids so many times there is nothing like actually being there! With barely any tourists out early it felt like we had the site to ourselves for the first hour which allowed us to take some uninterrupted photos!  

We continued on our pyramid adventure and went to the lesser known Step, Red, and Bent pyramids nearby.  The Step Pyramid in Saqqara is the oldest pyramid in Egypt.  You enter into the complex through a series of pillars which ultimately leads to the pyramid.

After grabbing some lunch we went to the Red Pyramid, located in Dashur.  This was definitely my favorite pyramid because not only could you walk up the steps to get to nearly the top of the pyramid, but you can go inside of the pyramid to explore.  Although the thought of being in such an old structure was a little frightening, it was incredible to experience the inside of a pyramid.

We ended our day by driving past the Bent Pyramid but since we were both so exhausted, we just hopped out of the car for a minute to take a picture before heading back to Cairo.

 During one of my final days in Cairo Therese and I decided to further explore the city, especially the old city area.  We took a 30 minute walk down one of the main streets to arrive in Coptic Cairo, which is a collection of churches, synagogues, and monasteries.  This area felt so different from the rest of Cairo but was certainly worth seeing.

St. George Greek Orthodox Church, Coptic Cairo

Cemetery in Coptic Cairo

From Coptic Cairo we walked to Islamic Cairo to see some of the most famous mosques in the city.  As you approach the area you can see the dramatic high walls of the Mosque of Ibn Tulun.  It is a stunning mosque that has an amazing view of the city.

Front of Mosque of Ibn Tulun

View of Old Cairo

Before walking back we went to the Mosque of Mohammed Aly.  It had a fortress- like feel to it with an open courtyard outside of the mosque.  The inside was absolutely beautiful.  

On the way back to our hostel we ventured into a popular tourist area called Khan El Khalili market.  I was told that you could buy all souvenirs imaginable here.  To be honest, I hated the market and found it way too crowded, touristy, and overpriced!  From the market we attempted to find our way back but were lured into a restaurant by delicious aromas.  The falafels in Cairo were so good! After fueling up we continued walking back when we heard noises coming from an alley.  We peaked in and saw a bar packed with Egyptian men watching the World Cup.  They signaled an "Okay" for us to come in and we had a great time smoking hookah and having a soda with our new friends! It was the perfect ending to an amazing day in Cairo.