egypt safety

2 Fast Days In Cairo, Egypt: Mosques, Souks, and Pyramids.

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IMG_2844.jpegAfter Dan and my Nile River cruise last April ended in Aswan, Egypt, we flew from Aswan to Cairo to end our trip sightseeing around Cairo and of course, visiting the Great Egyptian Pyramids! Arriving in Cairo after spending a week in small towns was a bit of a wake-up and an interesting way to end our trip. Many people we spoke with on our trip, both tourists and Egyptians, advised that Cairo would be our least favorite place in Egypt, and categorized it as a dirty, dangerous, sprawling city. We didn’t find this to be the case AT ALL and actually had a ton of fun in Cairo! That being said, it is a CRAZY HUGE city with a million things happening at once. This post talks about what we did in Cairo and our experience in the city in 2019 (pre-COVID)!

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From the Carlton Hotel’s rooftop bar, The Roof Garden, overlooking the Egyptian Supreme Court in Downtown Cairo on a Saturday afternoon.

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Highlights of Aswan: A Pleasant Surprise In Southern Egypt

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Aswan, Egypt. Its a small city in Southern Egypt, home to the High Aswan Dam, an unfinished obelisk, the Philae Temple, and the Old Cataract Hotel (of Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile fame). Its also a really gorgeous city set along the Nile River and the gateway to Abu Simbel. The locals were friendly and, notably (and somewhat surprisingly), it felt more progressive than the other cities that we visited in Egypt. For all of these reasons, I loved Aswan, and I would love to go back and spend more time.

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Pretty flowers everywhere in Aswan.

We visited Aswan at the end of a 5-night Nile River cruise earlier this year. I knew nothing – at all – about Aswan prior to visiting and would have certainly skipped Aswan absent our cruise itinerary. However, I am so glad we stopped, as it was the prettiest city that we visited in Egypt! I kept saying that it reminded me of a Greek island. And it really did!

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A Day Trip To The Abu Simbel Temples – Worth The Time And Effort.

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Prior to planning our trip to Egypt, I hardly knew anything about Abu Simbel. Yes, I had heard of it and I *kind of* knew what it looked like, but nothing more. At all. But, as soon as I dug into Abu Simbel, a visit was absolutely non-negotiable. Planning this “must do” activity turned out to be more work than anticipated, as its a flight from Cairo or Luxor or 6-hour round trip drive from Aswan! In any case, we worked it out and it was one of both Dan and my favorite activities in Egypt, rivaling even the pyramids!

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Shara sunrise en route to Abu Simbel.

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Wareontheglobe’s 2019 Guide To Visiting The Great Pyramids In Egypt.

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If you’ve been following this blog, you know that Dan and I checked off a big bucket list item earlier this year – visiting the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt!! It was truly a 10-year in the making trip (due to safety concerns), and we loved every minute of our holiday! So much, in fact, that we are planning to go back in a couple years when the Great Egyptian Museum finally opens! While everything was fantastic, I was shocked at how difficult it is to find information about visiting the Pyramids, and Egypt generally, online; it was really tough! I put together this guide to help future travelers cut down on the planning stress! Note, this information is as of 2019. Definitely check for updates and more recent information in the future, as Egypt’s tourism industry is only moving forward!

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The pyramids!!

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My Review Of Our Nile River Cruise On The M/S Nile Dolphin With Emo Tours Egypt.

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As part of our Egypt itinerary in April 2019, Dan and I took a Nile River cruise with Emo Tours Egypt. While we are not cruisers at all (having only cruised once previously), we choose a Nile River cruise because it seemed like the easiest and quickest way to get between Luxor and Aswan, while seeing the sites in between. We very, very much enjoyed our cruise and cruising the Nile is SO GORGEOUS. But, there were certainly some things that surprised us about the cruise, probably because there is not a lot of information online about these cruises except “rah rah, you have to do it!” So, here is my complete review and guide of our cruise down the Nile River!

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View from the ship – the Nile Dolphin.

PROS: Easy way to get from Luxor to Aswan while seeing some sites in between, cruising down the Nile is amazing, generally safe and comfortable, Emo Tours Egypt tour guide was fantastic!

CONS: The food, limited activities on the ship, limited interaction with Egyptian culture.

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