London, Cairo, and Alexandria

Nov 25, 2024 - Dec 06, 2024

Countries:

Egypt, United Kingdom, مصر

Cities:

Alexandria, Cairo, Covent Garden, Dahshur, Giza, London, Mayfair, Saqqara, Windsor, زمالك, قصر الدبر

Lodging:

Four Seasons Alexandria, Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at Nile Plaza, Great Northern Hotel

Transport:

London, Cairo, and Alexandria

By Matt

Jen was offered the opportunity to teach another class in Egypt, and I'm always keen to tag along somewhere really cool. We were unable to get the flights to align in a way where there wasn't a long layover in Heathrow, so we took the opportunity to plan some time in London.

The previous time we visited Egypt, we went all out. Of course there are so many things to see, but also we weren't sure that we would be back. Once again we reached out to Egitalloyd to plan everything out for us.

Mon, November 25

BOS → LHR

6 hours, 29 minutes
Boeing 787-10
3,254 mi

Tue, November 26

Great Northern Hotel

We booked the hotel for the night before so that we could roll in first thing in the morning and have a room ready and waiting. We checked in, went to the room...and promptly slept for too long. We should have gone right back down to breakfast, but we didn't. After our "nap", we grabbed a quick shower and a change of clothes. We stopped for a quick bite at the Prét downstairs outside King's Cross and visited the small Christmas Market that was right there.

We then walked down to Covent Garden for the second Christmas Market of the day.

We followed that up with a walk to Trafalgar Square for Christmas Market number three. Most of the vendors at the holiday markets were selling the same items, but we did find a good Royal Corgi ornament for a Christmas present.

Dishoom King's Cross

For dinner, we took an early walk to Dishoom King's Cross location which was reasonably near to the hotel.

We were trying to work out exactly when our first visit to Dishoom was, our London trip prior to that was back in 2006 which was well before Dishoom was established. We determined that it must have been our trip in 2018 when we visited the original Covent Garden location. What I remember most about that night was the crazy long line of folks waiting.

What's wild is that each of us managed to visit Dishoom three times between February 2018 and the world shutting down for COVID spring of 2019. I visited the Edinburgh and Manchester locations. Jen visited Covent Garden again, on her "European Death March" before meeting Meg and myself in Edinburgh.

Wed, November 27

After breakfast, we walked back to Trafalgar Square to visit the National Gallery.

National Gallery

The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current director of the National Gallery is Gabriele Finaldi. more

We enjoyed the collection. Spending our normal amount of time with the impressionists. As well as tracking down most of the Italian Ninja Turtles.

We stopped in at The Goat Tavern for a quick lunch. Then walked down to Taylor of Old Bond Street, which is confusingly located on Jermyn Street. The store is quite small, but I have wanted to visit it for a while. I miss the old Shaving Shop ("red") scent, but I found that I enjoyed the new Oud scent and purchased a deodorant stick.

Another classic brand Dr. Harris is located nearby on St. James Street, so I popped in there too. I've long been a fan of their Arlington fragrance. I picked up a travel shampoo bar and shaving bowl refill both in the Arlington scent.

OMA

Generally speaking, we can always eat Greek. It's one of our household sayings. OMA states the following on their site: "inspired by the serenity and simplicity of the greek isles, with the bold flavours of the levant and further afield."

Thu, November 28

After breakfast, we grabbed the tube to Green Park. Our plan was to walk to the Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, but as we walked into the park it was clear that it was a ticketed event and we weren't interested in waiting in a queue for £25 tickets.

As we are nerds, and can't get enough of history or museums, we continued our walk over to The British Museum.

British Museum

The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human culture from its beginnings to the present. Established in 1753, the British Museum was the first public national museum to cover all fields of knowledge. more

Even though we were about to head to Cairo, we took time to walk through the Egyptian collection. They really have quite a few nice pieces in their collection.

Since we had just been in Athens, we took some time to walk through the Elgin Marbles. I took the opportunity to make several salient points about the ongoing disagreement over the possession of the marbles. Mainly in the line of "neener, neener...we have them and you don't."

Back to the Future: The Musical

Stage craft was excellent. Music was fine.

Trullo

Fri, November 29

Great Northern Hotel

We left the hotel early to make our flight to Cairo. There was a bit of excitement when a gentleman of questionable intent attempted to pick the pocket of a cab driver who was talking to another driver. The attempt thief was pulled off his "Santander Cycle" and forced to return whatever he had grabbed. The entire time he was asserting his innocence, until his pockets were emptied out, and he limped away.

Car to LHR

LHR → CAI

: 4 hours, 48 minutes
: Airbus A321
: 2,194 mi

We were met by the escort sent by NCURA. He even had our visa stickers already, saving us the wait in that line. We cleared customs and were in our van in less than 30 minutes.

Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at Nile Plaza

Sat, November 30

Saqqara

We had visited Saqqara on our previous trip, however, since we had last visited: the burial chamber of Djoser had been re-opened to the public.

Pyramid of Djoser

The pyramid of Djoser, sometimes called the Step Pyramid of Djoser or Zoser, Step Pyramid of Horus Neterikhet is an archaeological site in the Saqqara necropolis, Egypt, northwest of the ruins of Memphis. It is the first pyramid to be built. The 6-tier, 4-sided structure is the earliest colossal stone building in Egypt. It was built in the 27th century BC during the Third Dynasty for the burial of Pharaoh Djoser. The pyramid is the central feature of a vast mortuary complex in an enormous courtyard surrounded by ceremonial structures and decoration. more

Pyramid of Unas

The pyramid of Unas (Egyptian: Nfr swt Wnjs "Beautiful are the places of Unas") is a smooth-sided pyramid built in the 24th century BC for the Egyptian pharaoh Unas, the ninth and final king of the Fifth Dynasty. It is the smallest Old Kingdom pyramid, but significant due to the discovery of Pyramid Texts, spells for the king's afterlife incised into the walls of its subterranean chambers. Inscribed for the first time in Unas's pyramid, the tradition of funerary texts carried on in the pyramids of subsequent rulers, through to the end of the Old Kingdom, and into the Middle Kingdom through the Coffin Texts that form the basis of the Book of the Dead. more

Grand Egyptian Museum

The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM; Arabic: المتحف المصرى الكبير al-Matḥaf al-Maṣriyy al-Kabīr), also known as the Giza Museum, is an archaeological museum under construction in Giza, Egypt, about 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) from the Giza pyramid complex. The Museum will host over 100,000 artifacts from ancient Egyptian civilization, including the complete Tutankhamun collection, and many pieces will be displayed for the first time. With 81,000 m2 (872,000 sq ft) of floor space, it will be the world's largest archeological museum. It is being built as part of a new master plan for the Giza Plateau, known as "Giza 2030". more

Sun, December 01

Museum of Egyptian Antiquities

The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, commonly known as the Egyptian Museum (Arabic: المتحف المصري, romanized: al-Matḥaf al-Miṣrī, Egyptian Arabic: el-Matḥaf el-Maṣri [elˈmætħæf elˈmɑsˤɾi]) (also called the Cairo Museum), located in Cairo, Egypt, houses the largest collection of Egyptian antiquities in the world. It houses over 120,000 items, with a representative amount on display. Located in Tahrir Square in a building built in 1901, it is the largest museum in Africa. Among its masterpieces are Pharaoh Tutankhamun's treasure, including its iconic gold burial mask, widely considered one of the best-known works of art in the world and a prominent symbol of ancient Egypt. more

Mon, December 02

Citadel of Saladin

The Citadel of Cairo or Citadel of Saladin (Arabic: قلعة صلاح الدين, romanized: Qalaʿat Salāḥ ad-Dīn) is a medieval Islamic-era fortification in Cairo, Egypt, built by Salah ad-Din (Saladin) and further developed by subsequent Egyptian rulers. It was the seat of government in Egypt and the residence of its rulers for nearly 700 years from the 13th century until the construction of Abdeen Palace in the 19th century. Its location on a promontory of the Mokattam hills near the center of Cairo commands a strategic position overlooking the city and dominating its skyline. When it was constructed it was among the most impressive and ambitious military fortification projects of its time. It is now a preserved historic site, including mosques and museums. more

Tue, December 03

Memphis

Dahshur

Red Pyramid

The Red Pyramid, also called the North Pyramid, is the largest of the pyramids located at the Dahshur necropolis in Cairo, Egypt. Named for the rusty reddish hue of its red limestone stones, it is also the third largest Egyptian pyramid, after those of Khufu and Khafre at Giza. It is also believed to be Egypt's first successful attempt at constructing a "true" smooth-sided pyramid. Local residents refer to the Red Pyramid as el-heram el-watwaat, meaning the Bat Pyramid. more

Bent Pyramid

The Bent Pyramid is an ancient Egyptian pyramid located at the royal necropolis of Dahshur, approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) south of Cairo, built under the Old Kingdom King Sneferu. A unique example of early pyramid development in Egypt, this was the second of four pyramids built by Sneferu. more

By Bent_Pyramid_substructure.png: derivative work: GDK (talk)Rhomboidale-plans.jpg: MONNIER Franck
derivative work: GDK (talk) - Bent_Pyramid_substructure.png, CC BY 2.5, Link

Satellite pyramid

A satellite pyramid, suggested by some Egyptologists to have been built to house the pharaoh's ka, is located 55 metres (180 ft) south of the Bent Pyramid. more

Black pyramid

The Black Pyramid (Egyptian Arabic: الهرم الأسود, romanized: al-Haram al-ʾAswad) was built by King Amenemhat III (r. c. 1860 BC-c. 1814 BC) during the late Middle Kingdom of Egypt (2055–1650 BC). more

Nile Dinner Boat

Wed, December 04

Car to Alexandria

Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa

The catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa (Arabic: مقابر كوم الشقافة, romanized: Maqābir Kūm al-Shuqāfah, lit. 'Mound of Shards') is a historical archaeological site located in Alexandria, Egypt, and is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages. more

Graeco-Roman Museum

The Graeco-Roman Museum is an archaeological museum located in Alexandria, Egypt. Its collection of over 40,000 objects includes sculptures, mosaics, woodwork, and coins. more

Citadel of Qaitbay

The Citadel of Qaitbay (or the Fort of Qaitbay; Arabic: قلعة قايتباي) is a 15th-century defensive fortress located on the Mediterranean sea coast, in Alexandria, Egypt. It was built from 1477 to 1479 AD (882–884 AH) by Sultan Al-Ashraf Sayf al-Din Qa'it Bay. The Citadel is situated on the eastern side of the northern tip of Pharos Island at the mouth of the Eastern Harbour. more

Bibliotheca Alexandrina

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Latin, 'Library of Alexandria'; Arabic: مكتبة الإسكندرية, romanized: Maktabat al-’Iskandariyya, Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [mækˈtæb(e)t eskendeˈɾejjæ]) (BA) is a major library and cultural center on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea in Alexandria, Egypt. It is a commemoration of the Library of Alexandria, once one of the largest libraries worldwide, which was lost in antiquity. The Bibliotheca Alexandrina contains books in classical Arabic, English, and French languages. more