Travel: Egypt

We started the day gently—omelet, focaccia, strawberries, orange juice, and lattes—before taking an Uber to Tahrir Square. Somewhere between traffic lanes came one of the best explanations of the week: “They don’t need safety belts because they’re Egyptian—they drive with extra life in their pockets.”

We visited the Ben Ezra Synagogue, believed to be the place where Moses was found and notable as the only synagogue in Cairo open to visitors (with Alexandria housing the only active one). The Jewish star from the Fatimid era felt like a quiet thread woven into the city’s layers.

After another latte, we climbed up to the Citadel of Saladin and the Mosque of Muhammad Ali, where Cairo stretches endlessly in every direction. Lunch was chicken shawarma in Khan el-Khalili, followed by wandering the market, an afternoon nap, and a surprisingly helpful meeting about how to politely disengage from vendors.

Dinner back at the hotel ended with elegant desserts and the feeling that the trip had officially begun.

Breakfast leaned sweet—strawberries stacked on a strawberry waffle—before heading out to the Egyptian Museum. Seeing King Tut’s treasures and the royal mummies in person was grounding in a way photos never are.

We stopped for BBQ chicken along the Nile River, then made our way to the Pyramids of Giza—vast, familiar, and still somehow unbelievable. A visit to an Egyptian cotton store followed before dinner at the Longest Bar in Cairo: salad, spicy pizza, rose, and the satisfaction of a full day.

After omelets and lattes, we napped on the bus en route to a Coptic Monastery, adding another layer to Egypt’s religious history. A roadside pit stop produced a sandwich, a cone of something sweet, and a pistachio crunch cookie that felt wildly out of place and perfect.

The afternoon brought a bus ride to Alexandria, followed by a walk along the Mediterranean, happy hour beers, and the unexpected joy of watching camel racing on TV—a low-key night in a city that feels both ancient and coastal-casual.

We explored the lush grounds of Montaza Palace Gardens.

Then we descended into the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa, where Roman, Greek, and Egyptian worlds overlap underground.

From there, we visited Pompey’s Pillar, stood along the waterfront at the Citadel of Qaitbay.

We finished the day at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina—a modern echo of ancient scholarship, right on the sea. Dinner was back at the hotel.

The day began with ordering a Cartouche before boarding the bus back to Cairo. We stopped at an Essence Shop, then traveled further back in time to Memphis, home to colossal statues.

At Saqqara, we saw the Step Pyramid of Djoser—the oldest stone building in the world—and one of the most well-preserved pyramids in existence. We visited the tomb of a nobleman and got to go deep underground.

After we watched artisans at a Carpet School (and I left with a rug), and navigated one final stretch of Cairo traffic.

The trip ended with a farewell dinner and the presentation of my finished cartouche—a tangible symbol of a journey shaped by shared curiosity, stories, and time together.