I went to Egypt. Never in my life did I think the dream I had as a child of seeing the Great Pyramids of Giza, the Sphinx, the Nile and the royal mummies would come true.
As a child “Tutenstein” was one of my favourite cartoons. This one-of-a-kind show was about the re-animated mummy of Tutankhensetamun (based on the real Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun), who is woken up 3 000 years after his untimely death. He must confront the truth that his empire has vanished.
It starred a 12-year-old black girl (Cleo Carter) who got into mischief with the “undead boy-king” and they had to work together to rescue the day.
“Tutenstein” got me into the previously terrifying and unnerving world of mummies. It made the dead palatable to my impressionable mind.
So, when a chance came for me to visit the North African country, I jumped at the chance.
My journey began with an Uber ride from home to King Shaka International Airport in Durban, from where I would fly to OR Tambo International Airport. With Uber kindly sponsoring the trip, they gave me a voucher so I did not have to worry about the pricey ride.
Having flown domestically, the airport was easy to navigate and I checked into my Lift Airline flight, waited and eventually boarded. The flight was easy, super comfortable, flight attendants attentive and it went fast.
I arrived at OR Tambo International Airport at 3pm with my flight to Doha, Qatar, bound to take off at 9.30pm, I had plenty of time to get acquainted with the bustling airport.
Going with me on this trip of a lifetime were three perfect strangers who were part of a media group.
I met up with one of them and before I knew it, it was time to board the Qatar Airways flight to Doha, Qatar. I had the middle seat, which added to my anxiety.
The flight was smooth and I was excited. When the plane landed in the enormous Hamad International Airport, I rushed to baggage claim, not knowing that I did not need to get my luggage since I was connecting.
A gentleman working at the airport told me this and I had to rush to my boarding gate, catching the flight just in the nick of time.
The flight to Egypt proved to be much more pleasant because I had the window seat and it was only three hours long. I could not believe that I was looking down on parts of the Middle East.
The plane touched down in Cairo soon enough. My companions and I took out some Egyptian pound notes for the trip and were shuttled to the Cairo Marriott Hotel and Omar Khayyam Casino.
We checked into the gorgeous five-star hotel, cleaned up and went to the restaurant for lunch.
The content creator I was with insisted that we head somewhere to experience the local spots. We were delighted to join. We Ubered to the Khan El-Khalili market, which was established in the 14th century.
On the way, there was almost too much to take in — the foreign architecture of the buildings, freeways like I had never seen and even the air was a sensory overload, yet I was gleefully fully present.
We got to the market and I wanted to touch and feel everything. Unlike my two globe-trotting contemporaries, to whom it seemed like this was just a regular afternoon, to me it was like being in another world.
It came as no surprise that I was buying a souvenir one moment and the next I turned and my companions were gone. I searched for the women for a couple of minutes, then decided the best course would be to go wait for them at the market entrance. I waited for over 15 minutes and my efforts felt futile.
It started to get dark and I had to make a plan. I needed to get a SIM card, data and Uber back to the hotel. I scoured the streets for people who sold SIM cards.
Luckily, I found a small stall and the man sold me the SIM for over R300 and asked for more money. I only had rand notes left and did not see a single ATM in that part of town.
The man was sticking to his guns and I realised I could not haggle like a seasoned traveller. I begged a vendor in the next stall to talk to him for me. After a lifetime, he caved and agreed to give me the SIM card.
He loaded it for me and I went onto the Uber app and requested a ride to the hotel.
The driver, Omar, arrived after 15 minutes; the source of the delay was chaotic traffic. The Uber app said it would take over an hour to reach the hotel. Perhaps sensing my panic, Omar bought us some bread and freshly squeezed sugar-cane juice.
an uber driver bought me bread and juice 😢 pic.twitter.com/7GigS4msVH
— a half moon (@Xolile_Mtembu) March 18, 2023
The ladies had searched for me and apparently, I was the one who had vanished into thin air. Back at the hotel, the trio wanted to go to a restaurant and my social battery had emptied hours before and had plunged to new depths after getting lost. I needed to recharge by being within four walls. I ordered room service and called it a night.
The next day, we were going to see the Great Pyramids of Giza. I was incredibly excited and felt tremendously lucky to be able to go see one of the wonders of the ancient world.
Our tour guide was a woman with her rumbustious daughter. I expected to snap awake from that very vivid dream any moment. Upon seeing the pyramids, I was awestruck. It was the first time in my life that I experienced the sublime.
We took a ton of pictures and the entire group was having a ball. We took camel rides around the pyramids to see the magnificent Sphinx.
After that, we went to a museum/store where a salesman showed us how ancient Egyptians made paper out of the papyrus plant. I bought art made on the papyrus plant with my middle name written in hieroglyphics.
Our next stop was an oil and perfume shop, where we spent hours having oil rubbed on us in an elaborate sales tactic with complementary snacks included. The young men who worked there unabashedly flirted aggressively with all of us. This must have worked, as we all left with vials of oil, thanks to one of the ladies.
We had dinner at a restaurant at the base of the pyramids and Sphinx.
The next day was more formal, yet not less fun. We visited Uber’s Centre of Excellence, where we were given a tour by the staff and gained insight into how the company ensures safety for passengers and riders.
Another surreal moment was going to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, where I finally got to see the much-talked-about mummies. The Royal Mummies Hall is located below the main hall and has dark walls. We were told strictly not to take any photos or face the consequences.
When we entered, I understood why. The atmosphere was sombre, as if I had walked into a large tomb. With all the myths and stories, it’s hard to remember that those mummified remains were once people with hopes, dreams and more.
The setting of the Royal Mummies Hall made me realise that I was not just looking at other artefacts from antiquity. It was an experience so far removed from my regular daily life that I wondered if this was not another one of my often intricate and terrifying nightmares.
Other tourists, were laughing and casually chatting. It felt to me like they were committing a grave sacrilege in those stifling and almost claustrophobic halls.
We capped off our trip with a beautiful night cruise on the Nile river. All the pictures, videos and words I can write about the experience will never fully capture what I felt on that trip.
Xolile Mtembu was hosted by Uber.
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