"The thing about travelling as unaccompanied pre-teens is that you get all the importance. The good thing about travelling by Egypt Air is that between India and Nigeria, you have a two day halt in Cairo. I wasn't surprised to know, albeit much later, that a lot of people travelled that route only because you got 48 hours to soak in one of the oldest civilizations of mankind."
Marhaban to Cairo
When my brother and I were packed off on Egypt Air, we had no idea what was in store for us. Arriving at an unearthly hour in Cairo, the two of us were the last in the line of transit passengers waiting to get booked into the airport hotel. By the time the two of us got to the counter, the goddess of transit booking exclaimed that they were completely booked. Our eyes that were pretty much shut tight up until that moment snapped open! Well, now what do we do. One look at our tired but sweet faces must have done it. In the next minute,we were whisked away to the 7-star Movenpick hotel and tucked into heavenly white sheets. Marhaban to Cairo! At some point between the whisking and the tucking, the attendant must have mentioned that we needed to be ready at 7:00 a.m. to start the tour-de-Cairo but needless to say, that was conveniently forgotten. 7:00 a.m. came and blissfully went, only for us to wake up at 10:00 a.m. to find out that we had been blissfully forgotten! So much for heavenly white sheets, eh!
At 12:00 p.m., there is a knock on our door. All readied and fed by then, I jumped up to open. A hotel attendant asked us to get down to the lobby as there was someone waiting for us. Waiting in the lobby was an airline attendant and a tour guide. Pleasantly astounded, our feet gleefully moved towards a 35 seater bus waiting outside just for the two of us! And thus, began the grand tour-de-Cairo.
Pyramids of the Pharaohs
You study it in history class but seeing it is something else altogether. While arriving at the majestic pyramids with the sun right above your head may not be the best idea, these unbelievably grand structures are a sight to behold. The pyramids of Giza are built on a plateau. The Great Pyramid of Khufu is the largest pyramid ever built at 147 meters by Pharaoh Khufu, a ruler of the 4th dynasty. Next to that is Khufu’s son Pharaoh Khafre’s pyramid at 144 meters and the third is the Pyramid of Pharaoh Menkaure at 65 metres. At the entrance of the Great Pyramid of Khufu was a staircase made of wooden planks nailed together. There was two way traffic making its way either up or down. As we began to descend into the pyramid, we realised what a mystery it was inside. Burial chambers, narrow hallways, sealed air shafts, storage chambers; all created a maze of sorts. The Egyptians truly took death or rather life after death very seriously and these pyramids are testimony to that ideology. At the necropolis of Khafru’s pyramid is the Great Sphinx. Truly great, the Sphinx, as our guide told us, portrays the pharaoh as a human headed lion with the head dress of the pharaohs. The stories regarding the missing nose are rife. Some say that Napoleon’s troops blew off the nose in the 18th century while historians from the 15th century claim that it disappeared in their time.
From Papyrus to Paper
After the pyramids, education on how paper was first made awaited us at a papyrus store. We were taken through the entire process of how paper is made from the papyrus plant. The green skin on the stalk of the papyrus plant is removed, cut into long strips, pounded and soaked in water for three days until stretchy. These strips are then cut horizontally and vertically and laid on top of each other. This is what gives papyrus paper the criss-cross pattern. Covered by a cotton sheet, all strips are pressed together to form a single sheet of papyrus paper. We walked out armed with a bookmark each having our names written in hieroglyph. Next on our special agenda was one of the largest perfume galleries in Cairo where we were shown how perfumes or attar is made, bottled, named and sold. Of course, here too we walked out with a tester each of any scent we fancied!
Cruisin’ on the River Nile
Yet unable to believe how lucky we got, we thought this was it. But upon being dropped off at the hotel, we were told loud and clear that at 8:00 p.m., we will be picked up again. Showered and readied, we waited patiently wondering what was to come. I’ll tell you what was to come – an unbelievable once-in-a-lifetime(unless you fly this route often) cruise on river Nile. Dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, we entered only to realise that this was a tie and gown affair. More so, it was a sit down dinner with a seven course meal. But who cares when you have a belly dancer who takes away all the attention with moves to kill! And who cares when you have a man dressed as a horse galloping around. And who cares when you have seven different types of dessert on board. And who cares when you are cruising on the longest river in the world…
-Shruti Kothari, Director, Bespoken Words
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