After Luxor, we flew to Cairo where we had two full days to explore the Prymaids and Museums. Unfortunately we did experience a bit of bad luck in the form of a cancelled flights, which saw us arriving at the Luxor airport at 6am only to discover we had been rescheduled onto a flight at 12pm. Sitting in the airport for 6 hours was less than ideal but in hindsight it was only a minor inconvienence. We all handled it well, a bit of ipad time for the kids and a few card games and quizzes saw the hours creep by without much discomfort. And thankfully we had nothing else planned for that day. We later found out that the flight was probably cancelled because of the thick fog that Cairo experiences in the winter months.

All transport to and from the airport and to the sights was arranged by Memphis Tours, which was so incredibly convenient. Driving through the streets and freeways of Cairo is unlike anything else in the world… except for, I assume maybe, in India. To the uninitated, the traffic of Cairo looks like pure chaos, but it seems to work for the Egyptians. Braino, who has been an absolute pro when it comes to driving all our hire cars, was glad to be a passenger for this leg of the journey.

We stayed at the Steigenberger Pyramids Cairo Hotel which is located in Giza, right near the Pyramids and the new Grand Egyptian Museum. We had a fantastic view of the Pyramids of Giza from our two ajoining rooms, which was a total bucket list thing for me - a room with a view of the Pryamids. Overall, we loved the hotel; the breakfast buffet was great and the pools were lovely too. The location was well and truly worth it.

The view from our room at the Steigenberger Pyramid Cairo Hotel

Our guide in Cairo was Tarek, who was also an Archeologist and Egyptologist, he had worked on an excavation in Saqqara were they unearthed numerous mumified cats. Fasinating stuff, I loved hearing about it. While the Step Pyramid of Saqqara was on our itinerary for later in the day, our first stop was an early visit to the mighty Pyramids of Giza, only a short drive from our hotel.

Our guide, Tarek, Archeologist, Egyptologist and enthusiastic photographer.

We entered the Giza Plateau at the northern end, at the base of the Great Pyramid of Giza, tomb of the Pharaoh Khufu, who ruled during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom. Built c. 2600 BC, over a period of about 26 years, the pyramid is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only wonder that has remained largely intact.

Visitors are a allowed to climb up the lower blocks of this pyramid and are able to venture inside, down into the burial chambers. On my first visit to Egypt in 2007, I went inside the Great Pyramid. I remember it being a little claustrophic walking down and back up the narrow shaft with a very low ceiling. It’s an additional cost so we opted not to do it with the kids but I kind of regret not doing it. It would have been a very cool experiene for them.

Next, we drove in our mini van past the Pyramid of Khafre, the middle pyramid with the stone - cladding top to it, around to the panaromic view point. While it appears bigger than the Great Pyramid, the Pyramid of Khafre is slightly smaller in dimensions and only appears larger because it sits higher on the plateau than the Great Pyramid of Khufu. From the panoramic viewpoint we could also see the smallest of the three Pyramids, the Pyramid of Menkaure.

If you would like to capture the iconic view of all 9 pyramids, which includes the smaller step like pyramids that sit in front of the Pyramid of Menkaure, you have to travel south via camel across the desert, at an additional cost. This viewpoint isn’t accessable via car or by foot. As much as I wanted to get that classic postcard view of pyramids, I knew I wouldn’t be able to convience anyone else in the family to ride a camel with me. I’ll even admit that it’s a little scary when a camel goes from sitting to standing with you on it’s back.

The Panoramic Viewpoint of the Giza Plateau

Our next stop on the Giza Plateau was the famious Great Sphinx of Giza. It was still early in the morning, around 9am by ths stage, so we were able to beat the crowds and get some wonderful photos of the Sphinx. Before we reached the viewing platform on the right hand side of the Sphinx, we walked through the impressive Valley Temple of Khafre, which had a really mystical feel to it. The girls were probably most excited about seeing the Sphinx. while it does feel smaller than expected in person, its still a breathtaking sight to behold. A lot of mystery surrounds The Sphinx, my favourite theory being a Hall of Records is buried deep inside the Sphinx that contains lost knowlegde of Atlantis.

The Pyramid of Khafre with the Great Sphinx in front.

Our next stop of the day was the Step Pyramid of Saqqara which was a 30 minute drive south along the Nile - I’ll share photos in the next post. Looking back on these photos, its absolutely incredible that we were able to show the girls this wonder of the ancient world. It’s a priceless memory that will last forever and I’m blessed to have visited the pyramids for a second time with my husband and daughters.