With standing structures dating back four thousand years (give or take a millennium) – Egypt clearly has a rich and glorious past. On GET’s “Egypt & the Nile” you explore these structures and come to understand them. Not just the pyramids in Giza, but other forms like the massive temples and colossal monuments along the Nile. These were built by the pharaohs for their influence and power. As you come to understand the culture that produced them, you can’t help being awestruck. You also reflect on present day life, traditions, and beliefs. We feel we’ve come back to the US with “new eyes” – understanding better how our society got to be where it is today. Westerners owe a lot to Greek and Roman civilizations. But now after touring Egypt we see many Egyptian influences as well.

When we arrived in Cairo we were taken to our hotel over-looking the Nile River in the heart of the city. It was our first night and having free time we chose to visit a modern Egyptian attraction – Cairo Tower. It offers panoramic views of the city which are magical in the evening. Crossing Cairo’s busy streets was an adventure in itself – there are few stop lights, no pedestrian crossings, and crowded streets and bridges full of noisy cars, motorbikes, and horse carriages. We found that closely following the local pedestrians got us across.

The next morning we kicked off the official tour by visiting the world famous Egyptian Museum. Our Tour Director was a trained archaeologist and gave us an overview of ancient Egypt, sharpening our eyes to the themes and motifs we would encounter over the next 10 days. Highlights for us were the King Tut exhibit and the Royal Mummies room. Here you actually come face to face with some of Egypt’s pharaohs.

The next day we headed south to Luxor by plane and joined our ship. Luxor is the modern name for ancient Thebes – the capitol of Egypt’s New Kingdom – and is rich with historical sites. One was the Valley of the Kings where Howard Carter discovered King Tut’s tomb. After seeing the exhibit in the Egyptian Museum, we could now visualize just how Carter found it. We descended into the tomb and saw Tut himself!

There would be no Egypt if it weren’t for the Nile. The Greek historian, Herodotus, called Egypt “the gift of the Nile.” Since ancient times this fertile strip of green through the desert has been heavily cultivated between the sites where pharaohs were worshiped and buried. When our boat left Luxor to go “upriver” (south) to Aswan, we enjoyed this time to read, to relax, and to view water buffalo, donkeys, camels, farmers, mosques and the fascinating desert backdrop to the river. We wished we had brought along our binoculars to zoom in even closer.

In Aswan we visited the bazaar, or souk, and learned how to handle enterprising salesmen. A guide book recommended that if you’re not interested in buying, then “good-natured refusals” are best. We found that true. And if bargaining for a taxi, carriage, or kaftan, then do so with a good spirit until you reach a price that feels right. When we practiced that, the seller would often stick out his hand with a big smile and say, “Are you happy my friend?” We felt it was more a strategy or game of tact than of buying or selling goods.

You should not miss the optional tour to Abu Simbel. It is a 45-minute flight from Aswan to the southern region near the border of Egypt and Sudan. This immense and well preserved temple is remarkable for its past (3200 years old) and for its recent (1964) engineering feats, as it was saved from the flooding of Lake Nasser when the dam was built. The temples and statues were cut into 30-ton blocks and reassembled on a man-made hill 200 feet higher by UNESCO. This is one of Egypt’s most famous sites.

Since tourism has long been an important part of Egypt’s economy, we found the locals ready to help us in any way. The response to our requests was often, “As you wish.” We loved and experienced real Egyptian hospitality in hotels, restaurants, and on board the ship. When visiting historical sites special favors and services are often proffered with the expectation of tipping. It’s good to be aware of that. But in fairness, we had some rich discoveries this way — such as a personal 45 minute tour of the Al-Ghouri mausoleum and madrassa complex, including climbing to the top of the minaret for roof-top views of the city.

We recommend adding an extra day or two to your tour. For us, after the 7-day Nile Cruise, exploring Cairo on our own was a great way to end our trip. Our Guide had given us a few suggestions, like mint tea at Fishawi’s or dinner and coffee at Naguib Mahfouz (named for Egypt’s Nobel prize winner for literature) at Khan el-Khalili. We toured Coptic Cairo, and re-visited the Egyptian museum with even more appreciation for the thousands of objects housed there.

We’ve been home for almost 2 months now and continue to revel in all we experienced and learned on our Egypt & the Nile tour. Friends ask if we recommend it and my wife answers “in a heart beat.” Just the other day I was scanning news headlines on the internet and one popped-out above the others: “Egypt unveils discoveries of 4,300-year-old tombs.” Egypt continues to fascinate us.

Click here to view pictures from our tour.

At GET we strive to provide our clients with accurate and current information about our tours. In order to do this we invest significantly in our staff, sending them out on tours so that they can share their stories and experiences with you, our clients, upon their return.

Recently our Vice President of Marketing, John Miller and his wife, Anne, journeyed on our “Egypt & the Nile” tour. We hope you enjoyed his report.