A Few Days at the Pyramids

Many have been impressed by the dignity and restraint shown by the Egyptian people that brought about such dramatic change in the country’s politics and also in their civic pride in immediately cleaning up the city themselves. Following those events, they are now keen to see a return to normality and attract visitors to their capital. We have therefore been able to arrange a special tariff until September, before the tourist crowds return, and representing a significant saving of up to £200. Please note that, while winter is the normal preferred travel period to Egypt, Cairo in the north has lower temperatures and even some rainfall, so May and September are good months to visit – especially.

The Great Pyramids, the only surviving monument of the ‘Seven Wonders of the Ancient World’, never cease to amaze, displaying different aspects according to the time of day and line of vision. Whilst the Great Pyramids are the best preserved, the ancient sites of Memphis and Saqqara actually contain many more pyramids, all built as tombs for the pharaohs with mathematical precision thousands of years ago. On the banks of the Nile, the timeless dunes of the Sahara Desert and more than five thousand years of history make Cairo a unique and culturally rewarding place to visit.

Napoleon’s expedition to Egypt in 1798 allowed his ‘savants’ to start cataloguing the ancient sites leading to the deciphering of hieroglyphics by Champollion in 1821 and the subsequent interest evoked led to the extraction of many treasures to various European capitals. The changing political climate gradually slowed this process leading to the establishment of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo in 1902, thereby allowing the retention and preservation of many of the treasures from the tomb of Tutankhamun in Egypt. Just a few years later a Coptic Museum was established by Marcos Simaika Pasha to house Coptic Art and antiquities dating back to early Christian times. The Coptic quarter also reveals St. George’s Monastery, Ben Ezra synagogue and the ‘hanging’ Church of St. Mary. The 19th century Abdeen Palace of the kings now houses their treasures and the Gayer-Anderson museum is an Ottoman house with the collections of a British doctor.