A FULL DAY IN THE LAND OF THE ‘GIFT OF THE NILE’ – 2 NOVEMBER 2025

The Cairo Crown Hotel, where I was staying in the downtown area, provided breakfast as part of the tariff. A sunny side up egg, with three bread rolls, slices of cucumber and tomato, honey and one piece of cheese. May sound meagre, but I found it adequate to set me on the way for the day's tough program. I booked an Uber car ride to Giza. The weekend in Egypt is on Friday and Saturday. (Many businesses follow the European weekend schedule to be in sync with the rest of the world.) Thus, today was the start of the week for government offices, banks and educational institutions.

The road was busy, but traffic moved fast. The road infrastructure within the city is awesome, mostly four laned, and on a stretch to Giza I was amazed to find eight lane each way. The surfacing is also good. Of course, people drive so fast that I sometimes wondered how they were still in contact with the road! Giza is more than 25 km from downtown Cairo.

The Giza attraction opens at 8 am. The ticket counters were already busy by three quarters past the hour, when I reached there. Entrance fee to the Pyramid complex is 700 EGP, as usual to be paid with either debit or credit card. I did not take any entrance tickets for entry inside the pyramids. I had heard and read about how hot and claustrophobic one can feel in there. Moreover, there is nothing to see there as all have removed and displayed in various museums, or what was left after various thefts and plunders. However, I was sad to be told that entrance to the Grand Egyptian Museum was closed till 4 November due to some high profile government visits.

Immediately after I crossed the entrance I was accosted by Mohammed, who said that he would give me a horse cart tour of the complex at half the official price of 1000 EGP for one hour. Else, he said, he could give me a two hour, more in-depth, tour for two hours at 1000 EGP. I chose the latter. He took me to the place where the horse carts were stationed. There was another enclosure for camels. It seemed that camel rides are more popular with tourists. Mohammed pointed out his cart with a grey horse from a distance and proclaimed that that's his Lamborghini. I paid for the ride and started the interesting tour, with Mohammed talking me through the history of the sights in flawless English.

The pyramids are absolute magic. The size and scale amazed me. The Giza Plateau is home to pyramids of 3 Pharaohs and six queens. The pyramid of Khufu, aka Cheops, is the biggest and the tallest at 147 meters and was originally covered in basalt. The  pyramid of Kafre, son of Khufu, 136 meters tall, was covered with alabaster. This pyramid looks bigger than the Great Pyramid of Khufu because it is built on higher ground. The pyramid of Menkaure is the smallest at 65 meters and was covered in granite. From the panoramic viewpoint one can get excellent views of the three big pyramids and three smaller ones near that of Menkaure.

My horse cart expedition, termed by Mohammed my guide and driver, as the Great Egyptian Massage concluded near the Great Sphinx of Giza. The place was jam packed with visitors. The Sphinx is a massive limestone statue with a human head and a lion's body, believed to have been built around 2500 BC. It is thought to represent the pharaoh Khafre, whose face is thought to be depicted on the statue. The Great Sphinx serves as a guardian of the pyramids, and the monument is approximately 73 meters long and 20 meters high facing the rising sun. 

After spending some time jostling with visitors, I left the site squeezing my way through a sea of humanity. When I was 'with' the Great Sphinx I remembered my father who used to refer to one of his unflappable, inscrutable, immovable police colleagues as the Sphinx. This day I understood the meaning of that usage and it's nuances. There are a large number of shops on the route that leads to the exit from the Great Sphinx. I picked up a few fridge magnets, which is my only shopping on these tours.

I booked an Uber cab from Giza to Coptic Cairo. Many drivers turned down the Uber rate and asked me for more. When I declined the atrocious demands, they cancelled the ride. As I went on patiently waiting for the Uber car, an old man approached me and said that he would take me to Old Cairo for 600 EGP.

When he finally agreed for 400 EGP I got into his taxi. He told me that Cairo is incredibly crowded because of the 40 million residents and most of the visitors staying there. As compared to that, Giza has only 20 million and Alexandria 10 million residents. He said that Alexandria is a most beautiful city. I am looking forward to my visit there soon. I got dropped off in Old Cairo and I was not sure where to buy ticket for entrance to Coptic area of Cairo. I discover soon that only the Coptic Museum has an entrance fee and all the other attractions are free to enter.

Coptic Cairo is the historic heart of Egypt's indigenous Christian community. It is centered around the ancient Roman fortress of Babylon. It features numerous Coptic churches (predominantly dedicated to Virgin Mary and St. George), monasteries, and the Coptic Museum. Some sites date back to the 4th century, making it a significant historical and religious destination. It's also known for being the site of the first church, mosque, and synagogue in Africa, highlighting Egypt's history of religious co-existence.

Once the final visit in Coptic Cairo was over of the Coptic Museum, I hailed an Uber scooter ride to Tahrir Square. The day ended with a walk on the Qasr el Nile Bridge to experience the historic river at daytime. When I was near the Tahrir Square a gentlemen who was crossing the road accosted me with a handshake and a warm smile. He pointed to a shop nearby and requested me to go with him so that he could give me his visiting card. Even though my legs were unwilling I didn't have the heart to refuse the gentleman. He led me to a shop that sold souvenirs and papyrus paintings.

The shop was manned by a lady who was introduced to me as his sister. He left the shop saying that he will fetch me a cup of tea and the lady started talking to me about her papyrus art. She selected a small piece and said that she was giving that free to me with my name written in hieroglyphics at the bottom. She picked out another for my wife and wrote her name on that too.

I knew that something was not quite right, when she told me that I could have mine for free, but would have to pay 200 EGP for my wife's 'gift'. I managed to wriggle out of the embarrassing situation by telling her that I did not have money and that I would get back to her the next day for the pieces.
What a scam that would have
turned out to be!

While walking past the central monument, an obelisk, in Tahrir Square I was told by a volunteer that no one is permitted into the inner circle of the monument. On the way back to the hotel I picked up a couple of cans of Stella beer, which is brewed in Egypt and is the most popular beer in the country. The cans of beer and a dinner of chicken rice and pita bread with hummus was the perfect close of a magical day.