Cairo day 1
The alarm goes off early, and at 07:00 we are having breakfast. With this heat you really have to divide the day (especially with children). On the road in the morning, rest in the afternoon and out again in the afternoon.
We sleep in the Hilton, on the bank of the Nile and behind the Egyptian museum. There is some contradiction in backpacking and the Hilton, we are well aware of that. But there is a logic behind it. With all due respect, Egypt is not at the top of the list of the most hygienic countries. In addition, although we travel, covid-19 is still present. Choosing a good, clean, hotel is the least you can do to protect yourself, the children and ultimately others. Better safe than sorry!
We arrived the night before, and the first thing we showed the girls was the 'pink palace' where we were going the next day. Normally we would settle for less, but for now this is the right hotel. And to get you out of the dream, it's 5 Egyptian stars. It's fine but it's an old run down hotel with fantastic staff! At 07:00 breakfast is rush hour here, but nevertheless a good breakfast.
Our first goal is to visit Taghier square, near the museum. This is the famous square that was central during the revolution. The revolution has done a lot in Egypt, tourism collapsed and the moment it came back (winter 2018) corona hit it back again. You notice it a lot. At the moment you hardly see any tourists. For example, the hotel was full of Arab (Saudi) tourists, few to no Europeans. What there is to Europeans are many Italians.
The kids think it's all great and beautiful so far, but that changed quickly 😂.
There is a road between the hotel and the museum, and not just any one. A large traffic circle with entrances and exits, bus station and taxi places. There are no traffic lights. Add to that the fact that there are on average 1.8 cars per lane and it is more the rule here that you first go to the rightmost lane and then want to go left, then you understand that this is a special experience.
I'm not going to lie, take the kids by the hand and assimilate. In other words, do as the Egyptians do. Jaira finds it scary, and to be honest, after crossing the road 3 times, she had to cry. The heat, the continuous honking and crossing the road became too much for her. We adjust the route and walk through a (quiet) Cairo. I can't keep up with the many looks the girls get, just like the comment that I have to be a 'lucky men'. We walk a bit and decide to have a drink somewhere, look for air conditioning. It is still before 8:00 am and the temperature is already above 30 degrees.
The first real stop for us is the Egyptian Museum. A large pink building with an indescribably valuable collection. Dating back to 1980, this is Cairo's premier museum. At the moment we are working hard on the opening of an immense new museum 'Grant Egyptian Museum' or simply the GEM. That museum will become one of the world's largest museums, but the opening (COVID is the excuse) has already been postponed by 1.5. We can find something, but deadlines in combination with our own government, is not something you can characterize as a good marriage.
In the meantime, some of the items have already been removed from the museum, making the dilapidated museum even more dilapidated. Surreal we walk in an empty museum. Although items are missing, the museum is still packed. But hardly any tourists.
The children are amazed! Recognition of the museum of antiquities in Leiden and everything they have learned in recent weeks. We are looking for the treasure: the mask of Tutankhamun. Normally it is so busy in this museum that you have to pay extra for this part of the museum, but now we can walk there quietly.
The children come face to face with the ridiculously beautiful, valuable, mask. The gold, the details, the grandeur.. Just wow!
The nice thing about this museum is that they can relate items to current utensils. Have fun through this museum!
For us this museum was a real 'must see'. If you have the opportunity, this is a must-see museum. But if you can wait for the GEM, wait for it. Otherwise you just MUST go back!
After this visit, we promised the children to take a dip in the pool, so that we can hit the road again in the afternoon. Because that's what traveling with children is like, making compromises.
Just before lunch, the girls jump into the pool again. Only 4 and 5 years old, but already real water rats. We also take a dip, because 40 degrees in the city is also a challenge for us! And finally, during your trip a little vacation isn't wrong, is it?
In the next blog we will take you through old Islamic Cairo!