Days 1 & 2
We arrived in Cairo on Saturday, Sept. 24th. After collecting those of our group arriving from the States, we were transported to a nearby hotel.
After checking in, we had a little meet, greet and eat while we waited for the rest of our tour group to join us from their 4-day pre-trip excursion to Jordan. Rob’s parents were traveling with this other group.
The next morning, the assembled were split into two more manageably-sized groups–actually, just Rob and I got moved from the newly-arrived travelers to the already-bonded pre-trippers–before departing for central Cairo by bus. These became our core travel mates for the rest of the trip. And we met our program director, Hani, who was to be our guide and source of all things Egyptian for the next two weeks.
We were driven to Tahir Square, the location of the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities and ground zero for the Arab Spring demonstrations that rocked the Egypt’s political status quo. As we rode through the square, Hani related his first hand experience as an active participant in the social media-driven demonstrations that brought down the corrupt Mubarak regime. Fortunately for us and the world, the demonstrators targeted the problem, the government, and did not harm the museum or its priceless contents.
Since photography was not permitted inside, my “souvenirs” are my entry tickets (below) and my memories.
After touring the museum, which including the treasures of Tutenkhamun’s tomb (seeing the mask in person is just breathtaking) and so, so many mummies in the Royal Hall, we were whisked back to the airport for our flight to Luxor where our tour would begin in earnest. There, we will meet up with and board our riverboat, the M/S River Hathor, for a cruise on the Nile south to Aswan.
The flight to Luxor was short. After a hotel check-in and dinner, we called it a night, hoping for sleep while our heads were reeled with anticipation of the ancient wonders to be seen tomorrow.
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Egypt 