Egypt
 

Travel to Egypt was just opening up before the pandemic shut it down again. Traditional tours include the pyramids, Cairo and the Egyptian Museum, Memphis, a cruise down the Nile with stops along the way to Abu Sembel the Luxor Temple and visits to the Valley of the Kings and Queens to see the tombs. IOW, the standard tour of Egypt. We were lucky to have traveled with Archeological Paths, because their tour based on itineraries we see, blows alway all other tours. First, the tour consisted of lectures by Dr. Zacki Hawass, former Director of Egyptian Antiquities at various sites. Dr. Hawass used his influence to obtain PRIVATE entries to the pyramids and the Luxor Temple, arranged for us to visit sites of current digs and the non-public sites of the Karnak Temple, plus a "surprise" visit and lecture by his protege, the current Director of Egyptian Antiquities. We were also treated to private entries of tombs that are not open to the public or other tourists. Our tour also included tea at the Presidential palace with Madame Sadat ( Anwar's widow ) and a frank lecture of current Egyptian politics. Dr. Hawass also arranged for us to actually go down and stand between the legs of the Sphinx. Everyone else has to stand on a boardwalk overlooking the Sphinx, as no one is allowed nest to the Sphinx. We were amazed at the other tour groups looking at us from the boardwalk and wondering how we were able to get up and personal with the Sphinx. I'm not an employee or travel agent representing Archeological paths. I'm just an ordinary traveler who stumbled on this tour of Egypt which, compared to the competition is far above it, and well worth its price.

yikes! $10,000 a head for groups of 30. Zahi Hawass is doing well monetising his reputation - there was earlier embarrassing involvement with Indiana Jones style clothing lines, including the trademark Hawass stetson. Though to be honest he also did excellent work promoting Egypt and commercialising the country's heritage while he was in offce as head of antiquities.

A bit sad that he's roped in Jehan Sadat: she must getting on for 90 - and though her house (Giza) may be impressive, it isn't the presidential palace (Heliopolis).

It sounds wonderful, though a bit outside my price range.

When I go to the pyramids, I sneak away to a spot to the west of Khufu.

There is never anyone there, and the berms allow you to pretend that you are alone with the only remaining Wonder of the World.

Magic.

All I can say is that you get what you pay for. You pay cheap, you get cheap. This trip is not inexpensive; it's only a whole lot better, IMV. After all, how many times are you going to go to Egypt? And why would you not want the best experience you can get? We have a company in the US, Tauk; they offer premium trips at premium prices But when you compare their itineraries for their land trips to other companies, you see you're essentially getting the same thing but paying more. What you pay for is first-class service and first-class hotels and restaurants. Here, you do stay at the former Mena House ( now the Marriott ), but other tour groups stay there as well. What you get that you DON'T get from other tour groups is first and foremost, the expertise of Dr. Hawass ,the private entries to major sites, thus avoiding all the others who booked their tours for less money, and of course, the visit with Madame Sadat. Why do you object to Dr. Hawass monetizing his reputation? What difference does it make as long as he gives the traveler the experience for the money he/she pays?

You can ALWAYS do a trip cheaper. We took the Trans-Siberian RR across Russia on the Golden Eagle and wrote an article that appeared in ITN ( International Travel News ). Someone wrote a reply that they did the trip in the Russian trains for 1/3 the price, eating Raimon noodles and rushing at each station to the kiosks to purchase a few bars of chocolate before the train pulled out. If that's your thing, great. But this trip is well worth the money you pay.

There's a wide continuum of options between "cheap" and a $20,000 tour.

Most FT'ers are somewhere in the middle. People spending that kind of coin on an Egypt tour don't really need the points/miles game, and we aren't really a backpacker site. We have ultra-luxury and budget forums here but they're somewhat on our fringe...there are other, better sites out there for those topics.

When we went to Egypt (about 10 years ago), we used points and miles to handle the flights and hotels and hired private drivers and guides based on some personal recommendations, including a couple from other FTers. It was a great trip...two weeks for two people for maybe $4k-5k total cash out of pocket. Abu Sembel, Aswan, Luxor (stayed 5 nights there), Cairo + nearby pyramid sites, and Alexandria. We didn't bother with a cruise - we wanted to maximize time spent visiting different sites. Plus the drivers got us to some off-the-beaten path sites between the major destinations.

Would it have been cool to have Dr. Hawass and a bunch of private access? Sure....but wouldn't have been worth an extra $15k to us. That's 3 more entire international trips for two (augmented by points/miles, of course).

A Parade of the Pharaohs from the old to new museums today.

Apparently they're live-streaming it here, though I can't find the time scheduled.

No idea of what it will entail, but if it presages the full opening of the new museum that will be good enough for me.

They're not headed to the main museum, but to a secondary museum in the south of the city.

Hmmm.

Is the secondary museum also a new one?

What are they planning to do with the old museum? It's such a beautiful building...and they certainly have enough artifacts to fill a dozen museums. Is it remaining in some capacity?

Yes it is a new museum, in the south of Cairo east of the Nile.

I don't know what they're planning to do with the old museum. As you say, it's a beautiful building; it's also historically important, if only for the role it's performed in housing those amazing artifacts. So hopefully they do keep it in use.

I know I'll be going back by even if it's not, just to remind myself of the morning I spent there.

Sure with the price you paid the tour must be fantastic, but still almost 5 times more expensive than stander tours.

Have not yet made it to Egypt (tried a couple of times in vain) yet. When I do, it will be a DIY for sure. Not that tours are not good. I like to do trips on my time table.