Last Day in Egypt and The Journey Home

Saturday, November 6th. My final day in Egypt. And quite possibly my least favorite day in Egypt. I was looking forward to a relaxing day in Alexandria but instead this became the most rushed day of the tour. We never even got free time at some of the sites. When planning my Egypt and the Nile tour, through the Contiki forums I met several tour mates that were staying an extra day so I too decided to stay an extra day since we all agreed that a trip to Alexandria will be a good idea. We had planned on going on our own after the tour; our idea was to grab a train early in the morning and spend the day wandering around the city. Then we found out Spring Tours, Contiki's parent company in Egypt, offered a day trip to Alexandria for $99 which included round trip transportation in one of their buses, an English speaking tour guide, and tickets to 5 sites. We all thought that was a pretty good deal and definitely a lot less hassle. There were 10 of us that booked the day trip. Unfortunately, quite a few tour mates would have liked to have gone to Alexandria but since they didn't know about the optional day tour or the fact that a few tour mates were staying the extra day, they booked their flights for Saturday morning/afternoon. I'm glad I did the Alexandria tour to say I visited the city but quite frankly, I prefer my "Old Egypt"; the rugged ruins, the pyramids, the temples, the statues, the rural villages. Alexandria is a very nice, clean, modern city and it has a European feel to it. When in Egypt, I prefer my Cairo and Luxor and Aswan. 

The morning started out like all other mornings, a 6am wake up call since we had to be ready and in the bus no later than 6:30am. Since the Egypt and the Nile tour officially ends Saturday morning with an included breakfast, we were given breakfast boxes to take on the bus. The boxes consisted of several types of breads,  a hard boiled egg, and some slices of cheese. I was expecting a small bus since it was only 10 of us plus Sherif but instead, we got a full size tour bus. Sherif rarely does the Alexandria day tours but since he had the following week off and he really enjoys the city, he joined us as our tour guide. I think that was great because he was very knowledgeable. Upon boarding the bus, I claimed two seats and passed out. I slept the whole way to Alexandria! I was feeling very run down from being sick for several days so those two hours of sleep really came in handy. 

We arrived in Alexandria at around 8:30am and were greeted with a beautiful, sunny, and clean city. Our first stop was the Kom el-Shouqafa, better known as the Roman Catacombs. These catacombs were mostly used as a private tomb at first and then later converted to a public cemetery. I was so glad we had a tour guide because those catacombs were a total underground maze and it seemed we were the only people there. Then again, it was pretty early but still, I didn't see large crowds of tourists in Alexandria. We spent about 20 minutes walking around the catacombs looking at the tombs, paintings, inscriptions, and a case that contained the bones of a horse. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures and a lot of what I saw was pretty interesting. The catacombs were one my favorite parts of Alexandria! Upon exiting the catacombs, we ran into a vendor selling different sets of postcards. I collect postcards and this was a wonderful opportunity for me to stock up. I enjoyed dealing with this vendor because there was no haggling, all three sets of post cards were sold at a fixed price of 5 LE each!!! After a week of dealing with pushy vendors trying to sell you cheap imitations of "Egyptian" items made in China, it was great to be able to buy something the normal way; fixed price, exchange product for money, everyone is happy. I of course purchased all three sets: postcards of Egypt, postcards of Alexandria, postcards of the catacombs. (Total was 15 LE which equals to $2.68) 

Next in our itinerary was a visit to Pompey's Pillar. There was not much to see except for the 82 ft (25m) granite column that was constructed in honor of the Emperor Diocletian in AD 297. The area around the pillar has other ruins and sculptures but there really wasn't much to see. We took several group pictures and were on our way to the next site. The next stop was the Citadel of Qaitbay, a beautiful fortress that overlooks the Mediterranean Sea. I could have actually spent a good hour walking around this site because not only was the fortress itself amazing but the views were breathtaking!!!! Unfortunately during our visit, there were several school groups on a field trip and the kids got quite annoying after a few minutes. They kept following us insisting we take their pictures and of course that we be in the pictures. Sometimes, when I was trying to take nice pictures of the Mediterranean from the fortress, they will jump into the picture hence my pictures are all a weird size because I had to crop the kids out. I love kids but not when they ruin nice pictures!! 

After the pillar and the fort, we visited the Alexandria National Museum which contains items from Prehistoric and Pharonic times, Graeco-Roman artifacts, and items from the Coptic and Islamic era. There were also several artifacts on display that had recently been raised from the depth of the Mediterranean. The museum was very, very interesting and it is a shame we got to spend only 20 minutes. I could have easily spent an hour or more since they did have some amazing items. One of my favorite items was the giant bust of Akhenaten, Ancient Egypt's heretic Pharaoh. Akhenaten was originally named Amenhotep IV but changed his name to reflect his believe in Aten and during his reign he changed Egypt into a monotheistic society. He is the father of Tutankhamun who was originally named Tutankhaten. 

Upon leaving the museum, we drove to the coast of Alexandria to visit the Bibliotheca Alexandria, the world's fifth largest library. We toured the outside taking pictures of the building and some statues. We did not go inside which again was a disappointment because it would have been interesting. Inside you find a world of exhibits and museums; a science center with a planetarium and science museum (the science nerd in me would have loved this!), three other museums (antiquities, manuscripts, and Sadat), and an art exhibit. Definitely seems you could spend a day in that library exploring the various museums and exhibits! 

Our final stop was the Roman Theatre which is an amphitheater with 13 semicircular tiers made of white and gray marble. Around the amphitheater there were a few artifacts such as a giant Roman marble bathtub and a mini statue of the Sphinx but there really wasn't much to see. By the time we wrapped up the site seeing it was about 2:40pm meaning we had spent about 6 hrs exploring Alexandria.

On the way to Cairo, we stopped at a roadside rest stop that had several eateries including McDonalds. One of our tour mates became famous during the trip for constantly mentioning she wanted McDonalds so she was quite happy that her wish had finally come true!! I decided not to eat anything since my stomach was still a tad upset. We boarded the bus and continued onwards to Cairo where we hit heavy traffic. It actually took us almost three hours to get to Cairo because of how bad traffic was. Once we got to the hotel, I went to my room to wrap up the packing since I was leaving Egypt that evening. I had originally purchased my ticket for Sunday night but switched it to Saturday for various reasons. At around 7pm, I dragged by luggage down the stairs and to the lobby since the airport transfer bus was waiting. I said my final goodbyes to a few tour mates and boarded the bus along with four other girls. Despite it being pitch black outside, I was wearing my sunglasses because I was a tad emotional. After a few minutes, I nodded off and was sound asleep until a huge bang woke me up!! Some crazy Egyptian driver had made a wrong turn and slammed into our bus. Luckily it wasn't no big deal but it was quite funny that one of my tour mates yelled "oh my God, that's somebody's luggage on the road". Fortunately, said item wasn't one of our luggages but a piece of the bumper of the car that crashed into us. 

The airport in Cairo is nothing short of a nightmare and for some reason it didn't look like the same airport I arrived into the previous Saturday. Once you enter the airport, you need to place your luggage and carry ons into a security scanner and show your boarding pass to the security officer. Since I had switched my flight that morning, I did not have a copy of my boarding pass but the guy let me go through since my airport transfer rep explained to him the situation. Thank God I had four other tour mates with me because this airport was a total mess! There were hardly any signs or airport staff to guide you to the correct place. After a few minutes, we found the check in area for Delta Airlines and that room in short can be described as total chaos; extremely cramped and crowded, no clear indication of where the lines started, people cutting in line, and Delta reps that apparently had no idea how to check in passengers. When you first enter the room, you are directed to these individuals that ask you 101 questions to determine if you are some sort of threat. The lady I had did not speak the best English so I had a difficult time understanding her therefore I had some trouble answering the questions. Luckily, I passed! Now, my tour mates and I were standing in this "line" that was not moving at all. This guy who works at the airport told us to follow him and we did. Basically, he took us to another line and bumped us to the front meaning the five of us cut in front of a bunch of angry folks that had been waiting for quite some time. We have no idea why it was taking so long to check in people when the five of us checked in in less than 10 minutes. After we checked in, the airport rep stopped us and demanded tip. Go figures; he provides the VIP treatment of cutting in line in exchange for money. I really didn't complain because I would have paid $100 just to get out of that room sooner than later!! When we exited the room, we walked to this passport verification station and then to some duty free shops. I didn't find anything worth buying but some of the girls did purchase a few items. We then walked around looking for a place to eat but after a few, we decided to make the line for security before boarding the plane. While in line, one of the Delta reps walked up to one of the girls saying she could not bring aboard a perfume she purchased in the duty free shops. Apparently, even though the perfume was purchased at the airport, it violated Delta's no more than 3oz policy. So she went to return the perfume and at the same time, went to purchase some fries from McDonalds for us to eat while waiting in line. (Thanks Stella!!!) After going through security, we realized there were not only no restaurants or bathrooms but there was another security station! It was getting quite annoying. Finally, we boarded the trams that took us to our plane.

Since I had switched flights early that morning, I didn't have the option of picking my seat so instead of my usual window seat, I got a seat in the middle of the plane. Luckily, I had no one sitting next to me so I had a bit more room. Upon take off, we were served dinner and this time around, Delta did not provide my requested vegetarian meal; instead I got the chicken meal. I obviously did not eat chicken nor did I touch the rest of the meal. The bread was harder than granite, the salad was bitter, the rice was crunchy, and the dessert was soggy. And don't get me started on how rude the flight attendants were on this flight!!! I asked the flight attendant for some water since I wasn't feeling well and in a really rude and condensing tone the woman goes "I am very busy right now so you are going to have to wait until later". Thirty minutes passed and no water so I rang the service bell and this other flight attendant came. I explained to her that I was feeling really, really sick and if possible I would like a bottle of water that I could drink throughout the flight. She said that was not a problem and that she will bring me the bottle ASAP. I waited for about 15 minutes and still no water. Stark contrast from the great flight attendants I had on my flight to Egypt. Since I figured I was not going to get water anytime soon, I tried to fall asleep at least for a few to get some rest. The whole was flight was uneventful with nothing exciting to write about except rude flight attendants and horrible food. 

We landed at JFK at around 5:15am and I couldn't be happier that I was finally exiting that plane!! I walk to customs and despite a rather long line, the wait was short. I was in line for less than 10 minutes before heading over to baggage claim. Unlike customs, I waited about 20 minutes for my bag and at some point I started worrying that my bag was still in Egypt. Alas, after much anticipation, my bag arrived!! At this point, I said farewell to my tour mates since they were from NYC and therefore they were home. 

I on the other hand, still had one flight to go before arriving home. I walked on over to the Delta check in counter and politely asked the lady if there was anyway I could switch to the 8am flight to MIA since I had the later 10:45am flight. I had booked the later connection in the event that if my flight out of Cairo was delayed that I did not miss my ride home. Unfortunately, the flight arrived a little earlier than expected it was now 6am! The Delta rep was very rude and said I should have switched the flight the day before and that now I just had to take the tram to Terminal 3 and wait for my 10:45am flight. She handed me the ticket and since I wasn't sure were the tram was, I asked her and this was her reply "follow the signs". Thanks for nothing lady!!! I followed the signs and finally found the tram but the next 30 minutes will be nothing but confusion. When I exit the tram at Terminal 3, I follow the signs and wind up outside in freezing weather. I had no idea where to go from here. I go back inside and take the elevator to the tram station to see if I can find an airport rep. Instead I find two guys that are equally lost. They said they took the tram from Terminal 4 as told but had no idea where to go next. So we joined forces and ventured outside to figure out where exactly we were suppose to go. After walking for about 5 minutes, we come across two security officers that help us find our way. After 5 more minutes of walking in freezing weather, we found Terminal 3 and the security check point. The guys and I go our separate way but I couldn't have been more fortunate than to run into them because that was a weird experience. By the time I pass through security and arrive at my gate, it was a little past 6:30am. I had four hrs before my flight! I read some of the books I purchased in Egypt and drank a bottle of cranberry juice to kill the time. When it was time to board my flight, I took my seat next to the window and fell asleep. I was gone the whole flight and the girl next to me kindly woke me up when we arrive at MIA. 

I was home safe and sound but missing Egypt very much. While waiting for my luggage, my brother approached me and gave me a big hug. Mom and dad were waiting in the car!!! On the ride home, I was talking a mile a minute sharing all of my adventures in Egypt. When we got home, I was greeted by three very happy dogs who could not stop sniffing my clothes or luggage. I guess they were attracted to the scent of camel. I opened up my luggage and gave my parents their presents!! =) Mom got her scarves, dad got his scarab beetle, and my brother got his ankh. It was now 3pm and I told my parents I was going to take a short nap before dinner when we can sit together and talk more about my trip. Instead, I woke up at around 12:30am; I took a quick shower and went straight to bed once again waking up at 2pm Monday. That first week home, all I can do is sleep and more sleep. I was tired but I was so ready to return to Egypt for more adventures!!! 

Pompey's Pillar

Excavations around the pillar

Fishing boats on the Mediterranean

Citadel of Qaitbay

View of the Mediterranean from the fort

Bibliotheca Alexandria

Statue of Ptolemy discovered underwater

Roman Amphitheater