Egypt

Cairo

Giza- Going inside the Pyramid

The Pyramids of Giza in Cairo are extraordinary. I have wanted to visit the pyramids in Egypt since I was little and they did not disappoint.

Once you buy tickets at the visitor center you walk right up to the closest of the 3 large pyramids. This pyramid is the oldest and biggest called the Pyramid of Khufu built for the 4th dynasty Pharaoh Khufu. It is the oldest of the 7 wonders of the ancient world and amazingly has stayed intact. It was built around 2580-2560 B.C.

On a camel in front of the Pyramid of Khufu

Even though there are signs saying “do not climb on the pyramid” everyone was standing on and climbing up the pyramid. We couldn’t resist and did a little climbing of our own. Also, if you want to go inside the Pyramid of Khufu you have to climb up the pyramid to get to the entrance a little ways up anyway.

Then, we exited again through the square hole to descend the steps. This is when things got really crazy… The power went out! Pitch black. Thankfully we had our iPhones with the flashlight feature to help guide us out. I was completely terrified. I started picturing the Mummy movie and tried to climb down as fast as I could with one hand.

Pyramids from a distance

Going inside the Pyramids

I was shocked when the guard in Khufu’s chamber asked if I wanted to climb inside the sarcophagus. Once again I couldn’t pass it up… Even though I was definitely a bit scared.

Sitting on the Pyramid

If you get claustrophobic at all, do not go inside. I don’t normally get claustrophobic, but this was really scary. We walked up to the opening and paid the fee to go inside. They won’t let you take large cameras inside. Thankfully a few people in our group did not want to go, so they kept our large camera. You can still have camera phones though (as of August 2014).

As I started climbing up the wooden bar stairs, I was immediately struck with the thought that I was in a structure built thousands of years ago and I am in a narrow tunnel carved inside the structure that could collapse at any moment. Ridiculous, I know, but I had to really breathe deep and definitely had to keep convincing myself not to turn around. I mean what if I never get the chance again right!?

It was quite an experience. Definitely one we will never forget. It was incredible to climb inside a structure built so long ago and it was also quite an adventure to climb out in darkness. We like to think it made it a more authentic experience

Sharm El Sheik

When we visited: August 2014

Egypt has so many beautiful things to offer. On our first trip to Egypt we were fortunate enough to get to visit Cairo as well as the beautiful beach city of Sharm El Sheik. Sharm is located on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula and is about a 7 hour drive from Cairo. You can catch some pretty great flight deals flying from Cairo to Sharm and its only an hour flight, so thats a great option as well. Since we were traveling to Egypt to visit Mo’s family, we decided to do a big, family 7 hour road trip and we loved it.

It was pretty amazing seeing the Sinai Peninsula and getting a feel for Egypt along the way. **Warning-the bathrooms along the drive are not in the best conditions. I learned that the hard way. I had noticed Mo’s family wasn’t drinking hardly any water… which is tough to do in the middle of summer when its very very hot. Then I discovered why! (drink less water=less trips to the bathroom). Besides the bathroom situation the drive is beautiful. We went in August and Sharm is very hot, but its a beach town, so there’s no shortage of fun beach activities.

When to go

Where to stay

What to do

We personally think that Sharm can be visited at any time of the year, but summer is definitely hot. For people who aren’t going to be swimming or doing beach activities winter months of November-March would probably be best. June-September are the hottest months and we can confirm that it is HOT! We swam a lot, though so whenever it got too hot, we just jumped in the water!

There are a lot of beautiful hotels in Sharm. We stayed at Hotel Noria http://www.noriaresort.com

It was very nice with clean rooms, a beautiful pool, and breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffets which are included in the stay. And most importantly… very good air conditioning!

Swim, swim, and swim… The water in the Red Sea is just perfect for swimming.