Our visit to Abu Simbel kicked off like this: staggering out of the van and staring at what appeared to be a giant pile of dirt. Maybe it was because of the harsh morning sun. Or the fact that we’d been traveling since 4am, coasting on 3 hours of sleep from the night before. It…
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Visiting the Great Pyramids of Giza is a must for any trip to Egypt. But when doing research for our trip, I was surprised to see how many travelers visit the pyramids as a stop-gap between their arrival in the country and their tours beginning—often jamming this ancient site into a two-hour slot. Considering how…
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Visiting the Great Pyramids of Giza is a must for any trip to Egypt. But when doing research for our trip, I was surprised to see how many travelers visit the pyramids as a stop-gap between their arrival in the country and their tours beginning—often jamming this ancient site into a two-hour slot. Considering how…
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This post is part of a series. You can read about the origins of our travel tradition here. You get sort of used to being disappointed by things in real life. The Mona Lisa? Much smaller than expected. Notré Dame, smaller. The Statue of Liberty, smaller. So when I read in advance of our Egypt…
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I learned the phrase, “an embarrassment of riches” in a college poetry class, but I never fully understood it until we walked into the Egyptian museum. Many museums around the world have Egyptian pieces or play host to Egyptian exhibits, whether temporary or permanent. To have one stone sarcophagus, one golden mummy mask, one ancient…
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I learned the phrase, “an embarrassment of riches” in a college poetry class, but I never fully understood it until we walked into the Egyptian museum. Many museums around the world have Egyptian pieces or play host to Egyptian exhibits, temporary or permanent. Having one stone sarcophagus, one golden mummy mask, one ancient chair can…
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Cairo is pretty well-known for tourist scams, and falling for one can ruin your day (or worse, your trip). So, how can you avoid scams in Cairo? Research and street smarts will definitely help, but at the end of the day, a confident, firm voice is going to be your strongest line of defense.
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Cairo is often in the American news for all the wrong reasons, but there’s more than a few reasons to dedicate a portion of your Egypt trip to Cairo. First of all, it’s huge—the largest city not just in the Middle East and Arab world, but on the continent of Africa. Nicknamed, “The City of…
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Cairo is often in the American news for all the wrong reasons, but there’s more than a few reasons to dedicate a portion of your Egypt trip to Cairo. First of all, it’s huge—the largest city not just in the Middle East and Arab world, but on the continent of Africa. Nicknamed, “The City of…
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I entered my thirties with one goal: to get out of my comfort zone more often. Our recent trip to Egypt flung the door to my comfort zone wide open, and with surprising gentleness, ushered me out of it. What exactly does that mean? Well, it was way easier to travel through Egypt than I…
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Up and Gone 