Cairo Egypt - GEM and the Pyramids

This morning we had an early breakfast at the Petra Boutique Hotel and set off on the bus to the Amman airport.  There we boarded an Egypt Air one-hour flight to Cairo. After clearing immigration we were met by an OAT representative who helped us retrieve our luggage and board the bus to the Cairo Marriott hotel.  The beauty of traveling with OAT is they have local representatives who are always there to meet and help us through the airport.  Everything was orderly and we were at the hotel in about 30 minutes.

The Cairo Marriott Hotel is a massive hotel complex with over 1,000 rooms near downtown Cairo.  It was originally built as the Gezirah Palace to welcome Napoleon III and his wife for the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869.  It has played many roles in the history of Egypt and finally, in 1982, was dedicated as the Cairo Marriott Hotel.  It is one hotel that I stayed a total of 5 nights over 3 stays.

We were on our own for dinner that night.  Four of us walked to a nearby local restaurant and had an excellent Egyptian meal for about $15 per person.

Cairo Marriott Hotel

In the morning after breakfast at the hotel, we had a formal gathering to introduce ourselves and for the Trip Leader to tell us more about the trip.  Our first trip in Egypt is to the newly-opened Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM).  It is the largest museum in the world for a single civilization.  It was first announced in 1992.  After many problems (financial, political, etc), it was finally completed in 2023 at a cost of $1.2billion.  It had several software openings and when we visited in September 2025, it was not officially opened.  Not all the exhibits were in the museum, notably treasures from King Tutankhamun's tomb.

In an article on the Grand Egyptian Museum on November 6, 2025, the New York Times went on to extol the grandeur of GEM and why some of the artifacts taken from Egypt in the past should be returned and housed in GEM.  

We were first given a tour of GEM by our tour leader Gladys.  She showed and explained the different sections of the museum.  It contains more than 100,000 artifacts.  It would be impossible to see them all.  After our tour we had time on our own to pick the exhibits that interests us.  What was missing when we visited on September 20, 2025, was the treasures from King Tutankhamun's tomb.  They were still in the old Egyptian Museum in downtown Cairo.  Nevertheless, the building and the exhibits were very impressive.

Entrance to the museum

King Ramses II in the lobby

A View of the Pyramids from one of the windows

Artifacts on display

A Group Photo in the lobby

Explanation of the symbols by Gladys

Following lunch at the museum we were taken on a tour of the area around the hotel.  As part of the security agreement between the US and Egyptian governments, a security officer is assigned to accompany whenever we go on a tour.  This was very helpful as it keeps local vendors away from us and also helped us in crossing busy streets.

Streets of Cairo

Our security officer for that evening

Dinner at this restaurant

The next morning we drove about 45 minutes from Cairo to visit the Pyramids of Giza.  First, we were given a briefing by an expert on the pyramids at the visitors center.  There are 3 pyramids in this complex:  The Great Pyramid, the pyramid of Khafre, and the pyramid of Menkaure.  They were built during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, between 2,600 to 2,500 BC.  The complex also contains temples, cemeteries, workers' village, and the Sphinx.

The Pyramid Complex in Giza

The Sphinx with the Great Pyramid behind it

We were asked if anyone wanted to climb inside the Great Pyramid.  Our guide told us that there is not much to see inside and it was very narrow and hot.  However, having come this far, I did not want to miss the opportunity to do something that I will regret not doing.  So I climbed up to the entrance to the Great Pyramid, paid $30, and entered a tunnel-like space with narrow stairs.  There were quite a few people getting inside.  Our goal is to reach inside of the pyramid where the sarcophagus of the king id displayed.

Climbing up the steps

Entrance

Tunnel

Room where sarcophagus is placed

Sarcophagus 

It may not have been the most pleasant climb but the experience was well worth it.  It gives me bragging rights that I have climbed inside the Great Pyramid.

Hot and sweaty after the climb

View from the Great Pyramid