I’m in Cairo, Egypt on a hotel balcony overlooking the Nile River, a fantasy land I’ve heard about my whole life – and I’m here. I needed to take a minute – and revel in that. And recognize that thanks to Overseas Adventure Travel’s (OAT) Ancient Egypt and the Nile River Tour, I was about to begin a magical journey through 6000 years of history. And then accept the hard truth. How do you recapture 6000 years of history in 1200 words, the social media-inspired limited attention span requirement that travel editors now impose on their writers? Usually my articles weave a story; this one’s not going to. I think all I can do is let you experience a little bit of Egypt the way I did.

The first introduction – the Egyptian Museum – to hint at the iconic sites yet to come with their incredible stories and fascinating history whose importance to the people who live in the country where they’re located as well as the world is astounding. Over 150,000 artifacts tell the entire 6000-year-old history of Egypt – so many stories, sculptures, statues. Ironically, the one I remember most is that of the Pharaoh Khufu who built the Great Pyramid, the largest stone structure in the world. His commemorative statue is only 3 inches high. I couldn’t help but feel he wouldn’t be very happy about that.

But ah, the piece de resistance – I don’t know how to say that in Egyptian – is all about King Tut – Tutankhamun, who ruled from the age of 9-19 from 1332-1323 B.C.E. and was its most famous ruler (apologies to Ramses II, but more on him later…), only because his tomb was the only one ever to be found intact when it was discovered in 1922. Because all the others had long been subjected to robbery and desecration (more on that later, too), King Tut’s tomb is considered the most spectacular discovery in the history of archaeology. His mummy lay in quiet repose – not really surprising for a mummy, many others of which we saw in the much newer Museum of Egyptian Civilization. Egyptians sought to preserve the bodies of the dead so that the soul could inhabit them for eternity. 6000 years seems close enough…

Among the artifacts of King Tut, numbering about 5000, are gold coffins, furnishings, gold jewelry of all sorts adorning fingers and toes, elaborate necklaces and headpieces – and I thought my 13-year-old grandson was spoiled.

Time to go beyond the academic remnants of ancient Egyptian society to the actual tombs, crypts, statues and pyramids that belie belief and challenge the imagination.

Amid miles of monochromatic monotony lies Sakkara, a sprawling complex of temples, pyramids and crypts. The largest of the many tombs is the Step Pyramid of King Djoser, the first pyramid to ever be built in 2650 B.C.E. and remains the oldest stone structure in the world. Although excavation of ancient sites began in the early 1800’s, they still continue to this day with new archaeological discoveries being made all over Egypt.

The statue of Ramses II in Memphis, dating back 3200 years, is also of an intimidating size – about 36 feet tall – and that’s without his legs. Egyptian antiquity is by definition big, overwhelming, powerful and very old. Ramses II, Egypt’s longest reigning pharaoh and its most prolific builders of temples, served for 67 years. More impressive though, I thought, were his 55 wives and 115 children.

The Valley of the Kings, located outside Luxor, literally takes you deeper into the tombs of the most famous of Egypt’s rulers. So, no surprise, eventually the original tombs were ransacked. Stressed-out pharaohs later decided to build their own tombs in this protected area where the new tombs were chiseled deep into the sides of desolate cliffs on the Nile’s west bank. Success followed and because they’ve been sealed for so long – Tutankhamun’s tomb was discovered here – the walls have retained colors so vibrant as to look freshly painted and deeply etched carvings depicted in hieroglyphic symbols describing the journey to the afterlife still visible as if recently crafted. Fortunately, our guide, Hussien, speaks fluent hieroglyphics and could read the walls like a storybook. Thus we learned of the royal lives of the kings and everyday lives of the villagers from 5000 years ago – and our country boasts of the historic lives of the colonists who lived 250 years ago in Williamsburg. Perspective, anyone?

Pyramid. An elusive image. Concept. Visual. Always a fanciful figment far away and so long ago – but nothing I could personally relate to. Until now, when I was actually standing on one of the huge boulders of which it was made. The fact that it was even made of huge boulders seemingly randomly thrown together was nothing I could have imagined before.

Mountains moved and reshaped to the ego of one person, depleting the physical and economic resources of the current city to ensure the pharaoh’s safe journey into his next along with all the accoutrements – jewelry, foodstuffs, furniture, chariots, weapons – he has acquired. The Pyramids of Giza pretty much define Egypt. No matter what else you see, all of which will be astounding, this probably will be where’s your mind’s eye returns whenever you look back on the trip. The Great Pyramid, at 480 feet tall and built more than 4500 years ago, is the last of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World to still stand. Again, the colors embedded in the greater than life-size paintings of male figures seemingly shine.

I could literally see each of the 2-3 million huge boulders placed round the clock over a 20-year span and could imagine the 10,000 workers sweating and panting from strain to create this monstrous edifice in honor of the pharaoh Khufu. Did I mention the stones were brought in from limestone quarries 20 miles away? From afar, the surface of the pyramid looks smooth. As you get closer, you can see the enormity of each stone, several feet in diameter, randomly placed beside and atop the other. As I climbed newly embedded stairs onto the pyramid itself, I wondered if Khufu would take offense. I might add that to look at the pyramids from atop a camel added a whole new level of authenticity not usually associated with standard sightseeing options

I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to be impressed by the size of anything else anytime soon. And then we came to the Sphinx – the inscrutable and mysterious Sphinx, equally as old, carved from almost one piece of limestone, seemingly part of the mountain itself. The head of a man and the body of a lion represent the combination of intelligence and strength attributed to the pharaohs. “Take some time to revel in the history embedded in every block of stone and the incomprehensible size of each structure standing tall in the desert sand,” admonished Hussien.

And there’s a Cliff Notes-edition of my Egyptian tour. Though indeed, the tour took a deeper dive into other famous temple complexes as well as a much-deserved emphasis on Egyptian lifestyle and culture. Still archaeologists in Egypt just announced mid-May that they had uncovered another trove of ancient artifacts at the necropolis of Sakkara, including mummies and bronze statues dating back 2,500 years. Didn’t I tell you they were still discovering stuff?

I suspect this itinerary is similar to that of other tour groups but that’s where the comparison ends. OAT is totally unlike other tour groups, which will be the subject of my next 1200-word article.

For more information, visit Ancient Egypt and Nile River.

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Traveling through Egypt on Overseas Adventure Travel’s (OAT) Ancient Egypt and the Nile River Tour took us to all the highlights: Egyptian Museum – check; Step Pyramid – check; King Tut’s mummy – check; Karnak Temple – check; Valley of the Kings – check; Abu Simbel – check; Giza Pyramids – check; the Sphinx – check. Those 6000 years of history alone would have made it an astounding trip, impossible to wrap one’s head around. And, I suspect, pretty much parallels the itinerary of most tours to Egypt.

But OAT, as always, does more – and deserves more than an afterthought in any travel article about one of its tours. First, OAT places great importance on the philosophy of Learning and Discovery which OAT takes very seriously – and our guide, Hussien, even more so – which elevated an already enticing itinerary to a far more immersive travel experience. Hussien, whose Ph. D. in Egyptology made him astoundingly knowledgeable and whose sense of humor, abundantly entertaining, and whose honesty left no controversial question unanswered and no subject off the table. The good, the bad and the ugly, was his mantra. This WAS Egypt, after all.

He also delighted in expanding the limits of our proscribed itinerary in several ways. First, OAT encourages exploration and the personalization of one’s own experience. There are always options of things to do during free time but if tour participants have sightseeing ideas of their own, Hussien would work to make it happen, either in addition to the itinerary – or even in place of it. Flexibility is paramount.
But where OAT shines are the encounters experienced outside the itinerary. While walking one of the streets of Cairo, Hussien randomly approached several young girls sitting on a bunch and asked if they would be willing to talk to us: two wore hijabs, one more western attire, and two were Coptic, Egypt’s Christian minority. That insight alone was meaningful to all of us.

A lively discussion ensued which dealt with their schooling, their free time, and the fact that they were not the least bit interested in marriage. A disappointment to Hussien who was looking for his second wife (Just kidding, Hussien…). Interestingly, they didn’t want their pictures taken despite the fact that every one of them had a cellphone in hand. Another day, we spoke to a young lad studying English literature whose English was probably better than mine as was his knowledge of John Dunne. You don’t learn these things just hanging out with your tour colleagues.

Another day in a Cairo market, no doubt a regular destination for most tours, but again, OAT adds another dimension. We spent considerable time with a spice merchant, who described the intimacies and intricacies of his many spices from the basic oreganos and cinnamons to the more exotic fenugreeks and corianders, both used individually or in combination with others. Many in the group left with their favorites and I had to deal with the unfortunate fact that obviously many more people actually cook meals than I wanted to personally acknowledge…

And in addition to an itinerary that covers all the must-see attractions that define a trip to Egypt, OAT also focuses on immersing its clients in the culture and life-style of a destination often over-looked by other tour companies. A Day in the Life of a Farm Family brought us in close contact with a village, its inhabitants, their way of life. We spent the day interacting, observing, participating – and helping in the creation of a meal using techniques practiced for 5000 years. Said our host: If you sit with us, eat with us, talk we us, you are part of our family. And indeed we felt that way.

Dinner with a Coptic (Christian) family provided further insights into a part of Egyptian society rarely included in a mainstream itinerary. We learned about their history in the country and the prejudice they suffered under the Muslim Brotherhood control of the government in 2012. The current government under Abdel el-Sisi has provided them new protections – and as controversial as el-Sisi is outside Egypt because of an abysmal human rights agenda and lethal treatment of his opposition, he is better regarded in much of the country because of some level of economic stability and numerous improvements in infrastructure. Again, the good, the bad and the ugly…

And finally to the boat and our trip down the Nile, which I’d been anticipating since I first viewed it from our Cairo hotel balcony. Blue waters, green fields, yellow mountains beyond – and history everywhere. Once again, OAT prevails as it owns the boat – one of the only ones with balconies – and is limited to the 75 passengers on the tour. Makes for a very homey journey. Towels on our bed shaped daily into various animals never failed to delight. Our daytime tours were divided into small groups, each with its own guide – and personal listening device.

Sailing down the river, where close to 95% of the population lives, you’d never know that Egypt is over 90% desert. The warm breeze negates the 105 degree temperature reading. The river controls the Egyptian lifestyle from fishing to agriculture to trade to family. The opening of the Aswan Dam in 1970 irrevocably changed Egyptian life by making electricity readily available – even to small villages – as well as curtailing the floods that used to destroy them.

Sitting on the sundeck, I thought back to just two weeks before when I was staring up at the movie screen, mouth agape, at impossibly huge carved stone structures encased in Egyptian pyramids and temples as part of Death in the Nile, the most recent film version of the Agatha Christie classic. The seemingly futuristic CGI creations are instead impossible-to-imagine historic wonders from 6000 years ago.

And now I was staring up, mouth still agape, at the very same wonders, only this time from the deck of my own Nile River boat.

Bus rides, an inevitable part of touring, are more than transport from one spot to another with OAT. Unlike other tours I’ve traveled with, in which the tour leader sat next to the driver and ignored the rest of us until we arrived at our destination, Hussien kept up a running commentary that enthralled us as we traveled. We learned so much about the Egyptian way of life, political, cultural, personal – as fascinating as the itinerary itself – and not the least bit sugar coated. We were encouraged to ask any question about Islam, the government, the culture – without concern that it might be offensive. He often gave several sides to controversial issues – which OAT not only does not shy away from but encourages the discussion of.

Controversial discussions are actually built into the itinerary. One evening’s Controversial Subject was about the role of women in Egypt – and how it is stymied as well as changing – conducted by Selma, a young single, working women with a BA in sociology who approached the topic from many angles: from the importance of modesty in dress from burkas to hijabs to modern clothes; workplace challenges; divorce, faith as a personal choice vs. imposition of men, and safety issues.

And everywhere we went, Hussien warned us off all the vendors – the Valley of the Vultures, so named: do not stop; do not make eye contact; do not look at anything they have no matter how low the price. It is useless junk and you will be taken! Nothing discourages them so just say no repeatedly and accept that this is part of the experience.

Needless to say, this will not be the part of the experience you remember. Six-thousand years of magical history and OAT’s unique presentation of it will remain with you long after the harassment.

For more information, visit OAT Travel Tours.

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