Travel to Egypt: what to see in 7 days between Cairo and Sinai

A similar emotion can be experienced in front of the Nile, around which the Egyptian civilization developed, which flows placidly through the city, with its thousand-year history. Cairo is known as the city that never sleeps, a concentration of contradictions where they live around 22 million inhabitants. It is a metropolis where, despite the pedestrian crossings, there are hardly any pedestrians who manage to find the space in which to insert themselves as in a very rapid Tetris, where the horn is a sort of constantly intermittent musical accompaniment, where tumbledown houses coexist next to brand new houses and where the ancient cemetery hides living people among its niches.

The mummies and treasure of Tutankhamun

Among the treasures of Cairo is the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, opened in 2011, where the royal mummies, such as that of Pharaoh Ramses II or Tutankhamun’s grandmother, Queen Tiy, were transferred with great ceremony. In the Museum Egyptian instead you can admire the treasure of Tutankhamun, the most precious treasure of ancient Egypt, the only one found intact. It was discovered by the British Egyptologist Howard Carter in 1922 in the Valley of the Kings. Also on display is the alabaster chest that contains the pharaoh’s entrails.

An important part of the story of the find is sometimes forgotten. It is true that Carter was directing the search in the Valley of the Kings, but who knows how it would have gone if that day had not passed by Hussein Abdel Rassoul, a twelve-year-old Egyptian who had the task of carrying water to the workers with his donkey. It was that young man who discovered, by pure chance, a flat stone that seemed carved. That stone was the first of sixteen steps leading up to Tutankhamun’s tomb.

From the Khan el Khalil market to the Alabaster Mosque

Leaving aside the pharaohs and their treasures, the city of Cairo is full of city ​​marketswhere fabrics, spices and many other merchandise are sold. However, the only market recommended for tourists is that of Khan el Khalil, where dealing with Egyptian merchants can be a fun undertaking. In Cairo and Egypt the coexistence between the different ethnic groups and religions, between Coptic Christians, Muslims, Jews and Bedouins, is peaceful and there are many testimonies. As in Old Cairowhere is the Hanging Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus.

The Hanging Church is said to have been built on the site where the Holy Family, Joseph, Mary and the infant Jesus Christ rested at the end of their journey to Egypt. Among the mosques to visit in Cairo there is definitely the Muhammad Ali Mosquealso known as Alabaster mosque. It is located within the Citadel of Saladinwas built between 1824 and 1848 in the Turkish style of the mosques of Istanbul and is one of the most impressive and spectacular in Cairo.

Incoming news: from New Cairo to the Grand Egyptian Museum

In Cairo everything is in chaotic evolution: for example the fourth subway line and near the pyramids of Giza will soon inaugurate the GEM – Grand Egyptian Museum, poised to become the largest archaeological museum complex in the world. Even the city is almost ready New Cairo, the future administrative capital of Egypt, which is being built in a desert area between the Nile and the Red Sea, about forty kilometers east of Cairo. The city will be able to accommodate six and a half million people and is being created with the aim of relieving Cairo’s congestion.

Sharm el Sheikh and the wonders of Sinai

Sharm el-Sheikh it is well known to those who love tourism made up of beaches, relaxation, restaurants, shows and souvenir shops. However, it is important to consider that the seaside resort, located between the desert of the Sinai peninsula and the Red Seacan also be the basis for discovering the surrounding wonders.

Among these marvels is the Ras Muhammad National Park, a protected area where you can admire, for example, the mangrove channel, the suggestive fissure in the ground caused by the 1968 earthquake and the magical salt lake that changes color seven times a day. The reserve is a place that amazes and where one is enchanted by the landscape, as well as being a paradise for those who love snorkelling and coral reefs. The same goes for the quaint village of Dahaboverlooking the Red Sea, on the south-eastern coast of the Sinai peninsula, frequented by lovers of diving, tranquility and authentic places.

The Monastery of Santa Caterina, guardian of ancient manuscripts

Among the pearls of Sinai one cannot fail to mention the St Catherine’s Monasterybuilt by order of theEmperor Justinian between 527 and 565 AD in the place where the famous biblical narrative of the giving the commandments to Moses. In the monastery, where they live 25 Greek Orthodox monks who collaborate daily with the Bedouins, priceless works of art are preserved: Arab mosaics, Greek and Russian icons, oil paintings of the European school and many other religious relics.

Inside the monastery, built in the middle of the desert, it is kept one of the most important collections of illuminated manuscripts (second only to that of the Vatican), with nearly 5,000 volumes written in different languages. The library is not open to the public, but an important one is in place digitization of works which will allow people from all over the world to study and consult them. In the central apse of the church there is also the mosaic of the Transfiguration of Christ, dating back to the 6th century, which was restored to its original splendor between 2005 and 2010 by Italian restorers. The monastery is surrounded by aunique atmosphere and it is a place of great effect even for those who are not believers.

Egypt is so much more

This tour offers just a small taste of what you can experience in Egypt. The possibilities are really many: you go from Luxor at Nile cruisesgive her oasis in the desert to Alexandria. There are many excursions that can be made starting from Sharm el Sheikh: they go from Ras Abu Galum National Park to the Colored Canyonfrom the Fjord Bay in Taba al Bath of Moses in the city of El Tor, where a hot spring flows into a stone building.

Where to eat and stay

The options where to stay in Cairo are diverse. Among these, the Fairmont Nile City Hotel, with its huge rooms overlooking the Nile, several restaurants and a dream international breakfast. In Cairo you can also eat well at Khan El Khalili Restaurant & Naguib Mahfouz Caféwhich owes its name to the writer Naguib MahfouzNobel Prize for literature in 1988. Among the typical foods there is the exquisite Egyptian bread, falafel, hummus, tahina and many other delicious sauces and dishes.

To the 9 Pyramids Lounge Restaurant, overlooking the Pyramids of Giza, you eat divinely. The rice pudding with milk, coconut and raisins is exquisite. In Dahab worth a stop theAli Baba Restaurantwith a priceless view of the Red Sea, great food and cats that snuggle next to you.

In Sharm el Sheikh, a good starting point is the Royal Savoylocated in the center of Soho Square, with a private beach, three swimming pools and many typical bars and restaurants.

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