Travels to Egypt
22 June - 30 June 2016
My travels to Egypt began on a 21:35 flight (FlyDubai) to Alexandria (HBE) on 22 June 2016 accompanied by my boyfriend's brother. We landed in Alexandria at 23:40 (Egypt time). The queue for immigration was quite long! We waited for a good 45 minutes before we were able to pass. As we exited the airport I couldn't believe I had just reached a new continent I had not set foot in before...Africa! I was in the African continent in the country of Egypt! I was greeted by my friend who had already been there a week prior.
As we drove from the airport, I kept staring at the license plates of other vehicles. I had to pinch myself that I was actually in Egypt! After an hours drive, we had reached the downtown of Alexandria. Since we were in the last 2 weeks of Ramadan, we decided to have Iftar (breaking of the fast) at a seafood restaurant located right on the Mediterranean Sea. After a traditional Egyptian meal, we retreated back to the car and continued on to my friends family home.
We arrived around 4am in a town called Damanhour which is about 1 hour from the city of Alexandria....depending how fast you drive ;) We were greeted by his mother, sister, and his sister's 2 kids. I was thrilled to finally meet them! After a long day however, I was thankful to be going to sleep!
The next couple of days were spent sleeping during the day due to Ramadan, and waking up in time for Iftar which is around 19:05 (Egypt time). We scoured the city of Alexandria, visited the marketplace, had a couple more Iftar's right on the Mediterranean Sea enjoying the cool sea breeze, dinner with his family, and buying fresh and quite cheap fruits and vegetables from street vendors. There never was a shortage of food. Every where I turned, someone somewhere was offering me food. Pretty sure I gained more than a couple kilos! ;)
I was pleasantly surprised when I was taken to Al Montaza (Al Mandara Bahary) which is where one of King Farouk's palace is located. It's pretty neat to see and you can walk around the gardens all you want.
What continues to amaze me is the realization that despite the extraordinary population of Egypt, you will find the majority of people out eating for Iftar all at the EXACT same time.
Among sightseeing with Egyptians, I also discovered handmade pottery items such as jars, mugs, bowls, etc made by the locals. I couldn't pass up the chance to purchase some items!
The day had finally come when we had ventured out to Cairo to marvel at the pyramids. It's about a 2 hour drive from Alexandria to Cairo. We stopped at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo but unfortunately it was closed as we had arrived too late. Traffic was a nightmare and there are security checks everywhere you go for security reasons.
Luckily we were able to see the pyramids although from a distance. My reaction to seeing the pyramids was like seeing the statue of liberty for the first time. It was absolutely breathtaking and unbelievable! My immediate thoughts led back to the biblical days of Moses and the Hebrews. To think that I was actually standing there! The Egyptian pyramids are technically located on the outskirts of Cairo in Giza. Since the tourist route was closed for the day, my boyfriend and his brother convinced the grounds keeper to give us a 'back road' tour. So we continued our journey in a horse and buggy behind the pyramids.
After we saw witnessed one of the 7 wonders of the world, our journey continued to another Iftar to a restaurant called 'Cheers' in Al Maadi (Cairo) along with a coffeshop.
We left Cairo around 2am and made the long 2 hour drive back to Alexandria. It was a day I will never forget!
Before we made the flight back to Dubai, my boyfriend gifted me a painting of myself . He gave a picture of myself to an Egyptian artist friend of his and the result was amazing!
On 30 June we departed from Alexandria and headed back to Dubai. I'm already planning on going back soon! A wonderful holiday!
