Alexandria & Cairo, Egypt Day One

We entered Egypt as part of our Passover celebration with a plan to visit the pyramids and “exodus” to the “promised land”. Fortunately, we are not slaves and Pharaoh is long gone.
Today we left the ship after docking at Alexandria for our two day guided tour ashore. One of the passengers had arranged an eleven passenger private tour that would bring us back to the ship tomorrow evening in Port Said. Our guide introduced the itinerary with a comment that we would need to rearrange our days “as there would likely be a revolution tomorrow”. What he really meant was that crowds may group in Cairo to protest some issues such as better healthcare, education etc. Relieved at his clarification, we settled in to enjoy the new democratic Egypt. Things were calmly normal, although we really had the country to ourselves as tourists are just beginning to arrive. Along with our driver and guide, we had a security guard travel with us, and at times during the two days, we were escorted by a car of tourist police.
After a quick stop in Alexandria to visit new Library and ancient Lighthouse, we proceeded on our 3 hour drive to Cairo down the Nile delta. On arrival, the Pyramids of Giza were before us. We could only pinch ourselves that we were there as we trekked around in the sand. The Sphinx was a bit of a surprise as it is smaller than we had thought. After lunch at a restaurant on the Nile, our afternoon was spent at the Egypt Museum of Antiquities. We were overwhelmed by the massive amount of relics. The highlight was the King Tut collection. We were astonished at how the items were too accessible; people leaning on them and touching everything. Fortunately, little looting occurred during the January overthrow of power. When we stepped outside the museum to board our bus again, before us was the burnt out government building totally damaged during the January uprising.
Our day ended with the amazing Pyramids/Sphinx sound and light show. Overnight was at the Mercure Hotel in view of the pyramids. Our bed seemed to roll as it does on the ship and we were exhausted!