On my way back west I decided to stop in Cairo, Egypt to break up the flight, visit friends and see the Pyramids of Giza. They're just as magnificent in person as the pictures you see online.
Tourism is really hurting there from the bombings (There was another attack while I was there). Russia was their primary tourism, but since the attacks, Russian cut most of its flights to Egypt. There were only a handful of people at the pyramids when I was there.
GIZA PYRAMIDS
My transportation around the pyramids was via horse and buggy, but they took me by camel and horseback ride in some of the areas inside. Because I was escorted by the pyramid staff (a special tour arranged by friends), I was allowed in areas, not authorized by the public. So amazing to see a piece of history up close.
CAIRO MUSEUM
In the same day, I went to the Cairo museum, which holds all the artifacts of the tombs. Three levels of hundreds of thousands of stuff! It was like walking into Indiana Jones! I spent 3 hours there and still didn’t see it all. I was so overwhelmed with all that history in front of me.
IS EGYPT SAFE?
People asked me if Egypt was safe. I never felt unsafe while I was there. It was nice to have the pyramids to myself, but sad to see the economy hurting due to the lack of tourists going to Egypt. My friends who are from there escorted me, but the city never felt unsafe. Hannah at Eat Sleep Breathe Travel wrote a great post on ‘The Most Dangerous Places for Female Travellers.' I think her post sums it up best. Every place can be dangerous, even in my home country the United States. Looking back, even if I didn’t have an escort, I would have done Egypt on my own.