e7m
🛬 A Start Not According to Plan
The flight landed in Cairo late at night. I walked into the baggage claim hall and almost immediately realized: my suitcase was gone. The conveyor belt kept running, people were leaving, and I stood there looking at a lonely pink trunk that no one was happy about either. The airline employee listened to me as if losing luggage was part of the tour program, filled out a form, and promised "soon". The suitcase was delivered two days later.
I spent the first night at the hotel in the clothes I flew in, having bought a toothbrush at a 24-hour pharmacy for 150 rubles (17 Egyptian pounds). It was an unexpected way to get to know the city.
🏺 That Very Moment at the Pyramids
I arrived at the Giza Plateau in the morning, before the main flow of tourists. The entrance costs about 1600 rubles (18 USD). Crowds, vendors with camels, shouts of "photo, mister" — it was all there. But there was also a moment when I stepped aside a bit and just started looking.
The Great Pyramid doesn't look like it does in photographs. It looks like something that shouldn't exist. You stand next to it — and the scale just doesn't fit in your head.
No photograph can convey this. This is the feeling worth traveling for.
🍵 Cairo You Weren't Expecting
Cairo is noisy, dusty, and absolutely alive. Khan el-Khalili market is a maze where you can easily get lost for two hours and leave with a bag of spices you didn't plan to buy. A glass of fresh mango juice from a street stall — about 90 rubles (1 USD). Mint tea in a small café — free if you just sit down and start talking to the owner.
Egypt is in no hurry to make an impression. It's just like that — loud on the outside and surprisingly quiet inside, if you find the right place.
- Cash is mandatory: MIR cards don't work in Egypt — exchange rubles for dollars in advance or exchange currency at Egyptian banks at the rate. Street exchangers offer worse rates.
- Bargain everywhere: the first price named at the market is the start of the conversation, not the final offer. Feel free to cut it in half.
- eSIM instead of roaming: connectivity in Egypt is conveniently solved through e7m.ru — tourist plans from 207₽, activates before departure, no need to look for a SIM card at the airport.
- Giza in the morning: arrive at opening at 8:00 — crowds build up by 10:00, and the first half hour at the pyramids is almost quiet.