Egypt is famous for its Pyramids, ancient Egyptian history and the stunning Red Sea.

The Red Sea is one of the best places in the world to scuba dive. Three dives later and i was blown away. Seeing beautiful corals and hundreds of fish. I was lucky enough to see a 4 meter wide manta ray. Truely incredible to swim with such a magnificent creature.
If diving isn't for you, don't worry! Snorkelling is enough to see an ocean full of colourful fish and corals. Whilst snorkelling you will be surrounded by hundreds of friendly fish for you to be amazed by.

Cairo is a very busy city. With a population of 20 million, it is the busiest city in all of Africa and the Middle East. If you are going to visit Cairo it is best to travel with a tour company. Group tours are given a police escort, or what they like to call, the VIP police. The VIP police is just for tourists, and they help you get through the city quickly. Thanks to the VIP police it took me 40 minutes to get across the city instead of 2 hours. This means you can see more whilst you are there.

The Pyramids are arguably the main attraction in Cairo. The Pyramids were built 2600 years ago and are one of the oldest standing structures on the planet.
There are three pyramids in Cairo, with one open to explore inside. Entering this Pyramid is not ideal for the claustrophobic as you have to crawl on your hands and knees through a small passage. This is the same passage that was dug by the people who stole the contents of the pyramid and has not been altered.

The Sphinx isn't far from the Pyramids and so it is a must whilst you are in the area. You will notice the nose of the Sphinx is missing. The armed forces used the nose of the Sphinx as a target for shooting practice. This is such a shame as it is incredible to see such an ancient structure preserved so well.

During my stay in Cairo, I stopped off to have a meal on a beautiful boat on the Nile. With amazing views during my meal, this is a peaceful area to relax. Or if you are like me, you will be up on your feet capturing photos of everything and taking everything in! Either way, you won't be disappointed!

The Egyptian Museum is filled with over 1000 objects. You could spend all day here, learning about ancient Eygpt and marvelling over the ancient artefacts that are preserved so well. It is incredible to see the contents of the Egyptian tombs, the real mummy's and Tutankhamun's mask.
Visitors can no longer take images in the musuem. This is to help preserve the incredible colours of the ancient Egyptian artifacts inside. This may seem disappointing, but you won't be forgetting this museum.

Looking back at the ancient Egyptian history, i was so intrigued. Seeing the hieroglyphics so clearly visable and colourful on the ancient Egyptian paper.
The oldest Egyptian paper is woven from the Papyrus plant. The Papyrus plant is very important in Egypt and is their national plant. I was shown how they still make this paper. By stripping the stem of the plant you then slice the remainder into long pieces. Using a rolling pin, you then squash out the natural waters in the stem pieces to make it more flexable. These pieces are then left to soak in normal mineral water. The longer these are left the darker the paper will be. After soaking, these strips are laid out in a weave pattern before being clamped together. In ancient times they would use rocks to do this. One week later, the natural sugars of the plant form a glue that hold this weave together making a very strong and durable piece of paper. This paper was then used to draw hieroglyphics and other Egyptian scenes.

 

The Mosque of Muhammad Ali is the most visable mosque in all of Cairo. The mosque is made of alabaster which keeps the mosque cool inside. When entering the courtyard of the mosque you will notice the temperature drop, despite still being outside. It's like ancient air conditioning.
Just remember you must take off your shoes before entering the mosque and women must cover their shoulders and knees.

To top it off, it was my birthday during my time in Egypt and I was surprised with a birthday meal. The table was decorated with petals, flowers, candles and balloons. African style music was then played on bongo drums and I was invited to dance with everyone before blowing out my candles on a cake lit with sparklers. Amazing!

Useful Information

 

Capital: Cairo
Continent: Africa
Time Zone: GMT+1
Language: Arabic
Currency: Egyptian Pound
Voltage: 220-240v
Plug Type: Round Two Pin Type C