Mummies, mosques and military museums

Hello and welcome to my Egypt travel diary. This is day 3.

DAY 1 | DAY 2 | DAY 4 | DAY 5 | DAY 6 | DAY 7

I took one week of annual leave to explore one of the most ancient civilisations, and it was incredible. I hope you enjoy peeking into my travel journal.

Today started as early as yesterday, except today I was able to fall back asleep after the call to prayer finished. That’s good for me, as it’s going to be another longish day.

First up, we have breakfast with a view. I could never tire of looking at the pyramids all day. Breakfast was the same fare as the day before, a yummy bean dish, a potato dish, salad, falafels, and Arabic bread and jams. We were given extra bread today, so our tummies are very full once we’ve finished eating.

We pack up our things and check out. The exchange rate has moved very favourably in our direction. On Saturday, it was around 50 AUD to buy 1000 EGP. Today, it’s about 32 AUD for 1000 EGP.

I ordered an Uber to take us to the baggage storage facility in the city. Google Maps has the wrong information, but the kindest stranger on the internet has reviewed the facility and put the right address in their review. I appreciate that person’s effort.

The hotel is on the sixth floor, and we get into the elevator. I wish I’d taken a photo, because the elevator had no internal door. So we watched as each floor’s door went by. We got to level six and hopped out of that death contraption. However, we would still need to ride this same elevator three more times.

After dropping our luggage, I ordered another Uber to take us to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation.

On a side note, Uber is so cheap here, like, embarrassingly cheap. A 30-minute ride costs around $7.50 AUD (with the worst rate).

So, we’re now at the museum, which looks rather impressive from the outside. Inside is even better. We head to the Mummy gallery first, after all, this is the drawcard. There’s no photography allowed in the gallery, so I have no photos to share. But trust me when I say how amazing it was. I should say it was equal parts morbid and amazing.

The gallery is laid out to make an easy transition from one person to the next. The information provided is very clear, and it is in order of the time period of the reign of the Pharaohs.

The mummies themselves are incredible to see. I wonder about the preserving methods and if they’ve changed over time given some bodies appear more well preserved than others. The skin on some of the bodies looks like leather. Some still have a beautiful set of teeth. All are wrapped in shrouds with their heads visible. Sometimes the hands, arms and feet are also visible. Some bodies are painfully thin, like the actual bones they probably now only consist of, whereas others have a bit more bulk. Hair and nails are still preserved. There is evidence of cracked skulls on two of the bodies. I was enthralled and I read every single plaque on display.

After the Mummy gallery we went to the main level of the museum and continued looking at the artefacts. The museum here is just one large room with everything in it. However, it’s quiet and hushed. The descriptions of the display pieces is detailed, which enables us to better understand and contextualise what we are looking at. The glass protecting the artefacts is non-reflective so it’s great for photos.

After we finished looking through the museum, we headed to the gift shop where Amy bought a papyrus notebook. We then grabbed a quick bite to eat and a drink.

Outside, I order another Uber to go to the Muhammad Ali Mosque and the Military Museum. The mosque is beautiful from the outside. It sits high and proud on a fortified area. We go inside the walls of the mosque complex and I’m amazed by the intricate styling of the building. It’s very ornate. But that’s nothing compared to inside.

We walk inside and I’m immediately taken back by the beauty of the mosque. I feel as though I’m in a fairytale. The lighting in the room is stunning. Beyond the lights, the ceilings are beautifully decorated. Muhammad Ali is buried in a tomb within the prayer hall. I could stay here all day looking at the light and enjoying the peacefulness of the place.

But we have one last attraction to visit in Cairo and that is the military museum. I always like to rely on confirmation bias when selecting my activities by reading reviews before deciding on a place. I must say, the reviews for the museum were not entirely accurate in my estimation.

I really enjoyed seeing the bit about the ancient Egyptian wars, because it was something I’d never really considered. I kind of always assumed that Egypt was a peaceful place, but if the world history podcasts have taught me anything, it’s that war will war on regardless of location and time. The rest of the exhibits were merely ok. Not enough details or context for my liking.

After finishing here, I call yet another Uber to take me back to collect my luggage. The traffic is absolutely horrendous, and what should have been a 20 minute trip took around 45 minutes. I ended up just telling the driver to stop, and we got out and walked because it was quicker.

Once our bags were retrieved by, once again, going in the death contraption elevator, it was time to head to the airport to commence the second part of this incredible adventure.

We arrive at the airport, and I give the Uber driver 250 EGP because the trip was worth about 5 times as much, even though the fare was only meant to be 170 EGP. We were almost in the terminal when he came running after us to try to give me the extra back. No way, he deserved that and some!

We enter the terminal, and it’s chaos. People everywhere. But we are directed to the domestic part of the terminal, and it is much less hectic. We grab a sandwich and a drink, and wait for our flight to Luxor to open for check in.

And here I am sitting on the plane, tapping away at my phone, writing this post in my notes, when I see either the pilot or copilot exit the flight deck and start rummaging around in the food and drinks. No, thank you, Mr Plane Driver. Go back and fly, please. You’re making me nervous.

We’ve now arrived in Luxor and have been whisked off to the hotel. It’s much quieter here than in Cairo. But it also doesn’t have the massive population either.

As we are getting up early tomorrow, that’s probably about it for today.