Egypt! Its one of those places I’ve thought about only in dreams. Never did I think I would actually ever go there. When I was a little kid I was obsessed with hieroglyphs and Egyptian history. I loved movies like The Mummy, Indiana Jones, and Star Gate. I always sought out those books about Egypt and would even wear one of those turban things around when I was little kid. (Ok that was a lie, but I thought it was funny and I actually bought one while in Egypt. The guy who sold it to me told me I looked like a terrorist, that’s not funny.)
Turns out, Egypt is one of those most popular vacation destinations for Ukrainians. Shelby found a really good deal through a Ukrainian tourist agency. Round trip tickets from Kyiv to Hurgada (the resort we stayed at), 5 days in Egypt, and 2 meals a day was only $350. We paid a little extra when we got there for excursions to Cairo and Luxor but it was worth the price. We had to wait until the last day to get the tickets to get the best possibly price which was kind of stressful and we actually had a back up plan to go to Hungary if it didn’t work out. It all worked out though thanks to Shelby. Seriously, how much does it cost to go to Egypt from the U.S.? Erica, Cody, (two other PCV’s) Shelby & I were on it.
I’ll start by saying that Luxor was much more enjoyable than Cairo. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Cairo, but its really a giant tourist trap that’s loud, expensive, and really dirty. There are guard and police every few hundred feet to ensure security and on the way to Cairo we went through a security check point about every hour. But in the midst of being overwhelmed I could really see why it’s on the 7 wonders of the world. You see pictures and hear of how big and impressive the Pyramids of Giza are, but I can’t begin to explain their size. And to think people built them by hand thousands of years ago is awesome. Lots of people say that the sphinx is a lot smaller than you think it would be but it still is an impressive thing to see. We also went to the Cairo Museum (which was also severely overcrowded) that houses some of the most impressive Egyptian artifacts including the mask and outer sarcophagi of King Tutankhamen. It was really cool for me because it was a continuation of seeing the Egyptian artifacts in the British Museum last Thanksgiving. Egypt is still trying to get back a lot of those misplaced artifacts back.
In Luxor we went to the Temple of Karnak which is impossible to describe. ‘It is about 1.5km x 800m and is big enough to fit 10 cathedrals in.’ (from Lonely Planet) It’s really massive enough to get lost in and if we would’ve had more time I would have enjoyed getting lost there. You can still see color on the hieroglyphs and see where different stories through out Egyptian history are chiseled into every square inch of every piece of stone. After that we went to the Valley of the Kings where the Egyptians moved the mummies of their kings after they started having major problems with tomb raiders. (Thanks Laura Croft!) Here King Tutankhamen is buried along with many other kings. We only were able to go into the tombs of Ramsees I & IX. King Tut was expensive and since we saw his findings in the Cairo Museum we simply took a picture of the entrance. The Valley itself was scorched and there was literally nothing there. However, Luxor was actually a very green place and driving into it was a cool contrast to the dessert and mountains.
We also went to a lot of other places in between lazing around Hurgada on the beach like a papyrus paper museum, stone crafting work shop, and places in between that were all just as impressive. I also ate Hardees and Pizza Hut twice because they don’t have those in Ukraine. Yes, I also tried Egyptian cuisine. My mouth loved it but it didn’t agree entirely with my stomach. (Well worth the price) So, now were all back in Ukraine scheming for our next trip. Shelby is heading to Georgia in July and I am heading to Croatia sometime in the fall. First I have to get back to work and deal with the projects I neglected while I was gone. I love living abroad but it does come with its own set of head aches. Ill write more about that later.
Turns out, Egypt is one of those most popular vacation destinations for Ukrainians. Shelby found a really good deal through a Ukrainian tourist agency. Round trip tickets from Kyiv to Hurgada (the resort we stayed at), 5 days in Egypt, and 2 meals a day was only $350. We paid a little extra when we got there for excursions to Cairo and Luxor but it was worth the price. We had to wait until the last day to get the tickets to get the best possibly price which was kind of stressful and we actually had a back up plan to go to Hungary if it didn’t work out. It all worked out though thanks to Shelby. Seriously, how much does it cost to go to Egypt from the U.S.? Erica, Cody, (two other PCV’s) Shelby & I were on it.
I’ll start by saying that Luxor was much more enjoyable than Cairo. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Cairo, but its really a giant tourist trap that’s loud, expensive, and really dirty. There are guard and police every few hundred feet to ensure security and on the way to Cairo we went through a security check point about every hour. But in the midst of being overwhelmed I could really see why it’s on the 7 wonders of the world. You see pictures and hear of how big and impressive the Pyramids of Giza are, but I can’t begin to explain their size. And to think people built them by hand thousands of years ago is awesome. Lots of people say that the sphinx is a lot smaller than you think it would be but it still is an impressive thing to see. We also went to the Cairo Museum (which was also severely overcrowded) that houses some of the most impressive Egyptian artifacts including the mask and outer sarcophagi of King Tutankhamen. It was really cool for me because it was a continuation of seeing the Egyptian artifacts in the British Museum last Thanksgiving. Egypt is still trying to get back a lot of those misplaced artifacts back.
In Luxor we went to the Temple of Karnak which is impossible to describe. ‘It is about 1.5km x 800m and is big enough to fit 10 cathedrals in.’ (from Lonely Planet) It’s really massive enough to get lost in and if we would’ve had more time I would have enjoyed getting lost there. You can still see color on the hieroglyphs and see where different stories through out Egyptian history are chiseled into every square inch of every piece of stone. After that we went to the Valley of the Kings where the Egyptians moved the mummies of their kings after they started having major problems with tomb raiders. (Thanks Laura Croft!) Here King Tutankhamen is buried along with many other kings. We only were able to go into the tombs of Ramsees I & IX. King Tut was expensive and since we saw his findings in the Cairo Museum we simply took a picture of the entrance. The Valley itself was scorched and there was literally nothing there. However, Luxor was actually a very green place and driving into it was a cool contrast to the dessert and mountains.
We also went to a lot of other places in between lazing around Hurgada on the beach like a papyrus paper museum, stone crafting work shop, and places in between that were all just as impressive. I also ate Hardees and Pizza Hut twice because they don’t have those in Ukraine. Yes, I also tried Egyptian cuisine. My mouth loved it but it didn’t agree entirely with my stomach. (Well worth the price) So, now were all back in Ukraine scheming for our next trip. Shelby is heading to Georgia in July and I am heading to Croatia sometime in the fall. First I have to get back to work and deal with the projects I neglected while I was gone. I love living abroad but it does come with its own set of head aches. Ill write more about that later.
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