My travels abroad (3) Trip to Africa (6)

May 18, 2023

My travels abroad (3) Trip to Africa (6)

Leaving Mauritius, we arrived in Cairo, capital of Egypt, and began a new journey.

Nestled at head of Nile Delta, across River Nile, Cairo is majestic and impressive. It is an important political, economic and commercial center throughout Middle East. In Cairo, we lived in house of a student couple who came from China. They have been living in Cairo for many years. The owner specializes in welcoming guests from home. Firstly, it is easy to communicate, secondly, it is safe, and thirdly, it is more profitable. This house is also very ordinary, it is just outside, after entering it is very large inside, and there are rooms around living room, so after we moved in, it did not affect life of owner in any way. but added excitement. For us it is still tantamount to a guide who can tell us many local customs and precautions.

Being in Egypt, pyramid is a must-see. The Pyramid Group, headed by Pyramid of Khufu, located in Giza Highlands in southwest Cairo, is an integration of architectural art of Egyptian pyramids. It is known as one of seven ancient wonders of world and a place to visit for a lifetime. If you have not been to pyramids, then you can not talk about Egypt. Pyramids are huge tombs built by ancient Egyptian pharaohs for themselves, and they are symbols of power. In front of pyramid of Khufu there is also a sphinx guarding tombs of pharaohs. In addition to being striking in its sheer size, pyramid is also named for its superb building skills. In lower reaches of Nile River there are about 80 relics of pyramids of various sizes. The most famous pyramid of Khufu is built from millions of huge stones. It is 146.5 meters high and 230 meters long at base. It is made of 52,000 square meters of stone blocks, and there is no tower between stone blocks no cement, no other adhesives, but one stone laid on top of another. It is impossible to imagine how it was built in antiquity. Yes, it's a miracle. Too bad we didn't go down to underground palace to have a look because we were relatively timid.

Egyptian pyramids

Khufu Pyramid and Sphinx

Admire Sphinx up close

From Pyramids we looked over famous Cairo Tower. As we drove by, we saw many mausoleums in a large urban area, interspersed with crumbling low-rise buildings. The locals said that there were many homeless people there. Repatriates live there. at night. I cannot imagine such a picture in city, I cannot imagine layout of city and local customs, I cannot imagine decay in bustle and bitterness behind it.

Cairo Tower

Corner of Cairo

In Cairo, we managed to visit local handicraft market. The market is a narrow street with shops on both sides, all made from local handicrafts. Most of them are gold-plated plates, all handmade and very exquisite. Most of patterns on them are characters from ancient Egyptian fairy tales. Each of us bought a few as souvenirs, which is a very rare opportunity.

Handmade Cairo plate

That night we had dinner on a boat on Nile River. On one hand, we could enjoy night view of Nile River, and at same time, we could watch famous Egyptian belly dance up close. A dancer and a singer performed for us. The singer played guitar with a slightly husky voice full of magnetism, several of English songs he sang were very good, and his deep voice sang unforgettable stories. The dancer is a bit tall and bulky, but very lithe. The belly dance she dances is whimsical and unrestrained, combined with exquisite costumes and graceful dance poses, and reflects well style of Alabo region. Floating down Nile, listening to pure English songs and watching graceful dances under glow of lights in distance, this poetic night made a deep impression on me, and I will never forget it after many years.

Modern version of pyramid - Monument to Egyptian President Sadat

During these few days in Cairo, Egypt, we traveled west to Sahara Desert and north to Alexandria, a port city on Mediterranean coast. The famous Sahara, we are just on edge, not far to enter, just to appreciate mystery and immensity of desert, and fully appreciate scene and feeling of "the desert is lonely, sun is setting long river".

Restaurant on edge of the Sahara

Sahara Edge Hotel Courtyard

The coastal city of Alexandria, where we went, is very beautiful. It was founded in 332 BC. and has a long history. It is an important port of Egypt on Mediterranean coast and a major city in Egypt, more than 200 kilometers away. from Cairo.

Corner of Alexandria

Alexandria Embankment

Roman theater ruins in Alexandria

Alexandria is known for Lighthouse of Alexandria, which is considered one of seven wonders of world. The lighthouse is located in eastern part of island of Pharos. The candlelight of lighthouse illuminates entire port of Alexandria at night. protection of ships at sea. It is reported that lighthouse, 122 meters high, took 12 years to build and is prototype of all lighthouses in the world.

Lighthouse of Alexandria

Ruins of ancient Lighthouse of Alexandria

Egypt, one of four ancient civilizations, has a glorious history, and we have honor and opportunity to go there, cross Nile at night, set foot in Sahara, visit pyramids and view ancient lighthouse. It is very important.