EGYPT DIY TRIP NOV 22-DEC 11, 2023 Report of Day 0.1, 0.2 [travel days] and Day 1 Cairo Abdeen Palace Museum
Day 0.1 Wednesday Nov 22, 4.30 pm
Boarded United Airlines Flight from Houston
United Airlines terminal Terminal C was separate, the international section was sparsely crowded. We got our boarding pass printed, breezed through security
our bags... we had cabin bags and personal item... no checked bags
Some nice wall mounted art...
Day 0.2 Thursday Nov 23: 9 hour layover
at Munich, Then Boarded Flight to Cairo
There are free rest lounges in Munich
Rest Zones: The airport has five designated rest zones where you can rest while waiting for your flight. In these rest zones, you will find reclining chairs with footrests and working stations with desks, power outlets etc . Locations of these rest zones are as follows: Terminal 1 level 5, Terminal 2 Level 4 & Level 5
Lovely miniature furniture
Play area
Day 1 Friday Nov 24: 2.20 am landing at
Cairo airport, Cairo Downtown apt Checkin, Egyptian museum facade,
Abdeen Palace Museum
Walked off the plane[we had no checked bag to claim], agent Hedra had our visa stickers ready. After 2 minutes at passport control, we were out. Picked up vodafone sim 440 egp for 38GB data . He
scanned passport. Put in the sim to our unlocked phone and said it'll
be active in 30 min
We had booked with our downtown apt [ 13
usd paid in cash to them] to pick us up when our flight landed at
2.20 am. Mohamed was not at the exit when we came out. Airport wifi
was not working. We crossed over, looked at all boards, crossed back
again. Touts were trailing us, we said No with a smile.
In a couple
of minutes, a guy walked to us, showed us our US number on his phone
and took us down the ramp to the car park where his car was waiting.
Mohamed has only Arabic, he communicated talking into the google
translate app on his phone. We did the same and fixed him for
Saqqara, Dahshur trip a couple days later for 1000egp.
Mohamed was already on phone with our
apt manager before arriving. He also knew how to drop us at the
doorstep... the address did not make it too clear.
The manager was waiting , he took us up
the elevator and into the apt on 5th floor. Got the money
in usd cash for the entire stay, no receipts. We got a lighter for
the gas stove after asking for it. We slept for a few hours
We bought some provisions from local shops, ate food. Around noon, we walked to the Egyptian museum [750m from our downtown apt] and requested to buy the Cairo pass. Ticket kiosk guy said pass will not be sold as it's a holiday [Friday]!! The museum was open and ordinary tickets were being sold... go figure.
We took some pics of the museum facade
We decided we'll take Uber to Abdeen palace museum, just pay for the ticket.
The Uber guy stopped at a parallel road saying it's our destination. Our map said otherwise. He was adamant. We had to get down and walk while other cars were zipping by our destination.
Abdeen Palace Museum:
100 egp entry, 10 egp for phone pic 9-3, 1 1/2 km from Tahrir square, Ornate former palace with 500 rooms, home to museums containing silver, weapons & royal artifacts,
Abdeen palace museum guys opened our bag, said we can't take in our 2 phones and camera. We had bought the entrance tickets and an additional 10egp for phone pictures. We had to leave our bag in their open locker and take in just one phone.
Built under the rule of Ismail Pasha, to become Egypt's official government headquarters instead of the Citadel of Cairo (which had been the center of Egyptian government since the Middle Ages), this palace was used as well for official events and ceremonies.
The construction started in 1863 and continued for 10 years and the palace was officially inaugurated in 1874. palace was designed by the French architect Léon Rousseau along with a large number of Egyptian, Italian, French and European decorators
we went to the arms section, thoroughly enjoyed the exhibits,
War Museum (Arms Museum)
One of the richest museums, the sons and grandsons of Khedive Ismail took care of and preserved it. It is divided into two parts:
a-The white weapons section: those rare weapons that were brought out by the hands of skilled craftsmen from the countries of the Islamic world and Europe, from different eras, including “swords; daggers; hunting tools; shields; gears; helmets; and fencing swords “shish”, some of which have a handle and a gold sheath Or silver; or ivory handles; and inlaying with diamonds; sapphires; emeralds; coral and other precious stones was used. Examples of these collectibles are “Ottoman Sultan Selim I sword, BC 16. Also, Muhammad Ali Pasha belongings of swords and daggers BC 19. In addition to this Napoleon Bonaparte sword. Finally dagger that belongs to German commander "Rommel in the 20th century..
b- Arms Museum
It was constructed by King Farouk. It displays different weaponry collections, including a number of Egyptian guns that belonged to King Farouk and a number of light weapons. This section displays groups of different firearms in terms of diversity; rarity; industry methods and model. This section begins with a hall to display “deceitful” partner weapons, which is a group of guns or a “shish” weapon executed in the form of sticks, which is supported by them. And a group of pistols and rifles that were ignited by sulfur and this weapon is known as “Match Lock.”
The exhibits date back to the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.
The manufacturer decorated these weapons either by inlaying with precious stones, or suffuring with gold and silver on the grip of the weapon, and the craftsman’s creativity reached the implementation of hunting scenes on the grip of the weapon, executed in the manner of hollowing out, for example, weapons bearing the name Muhammad Ali and others belonging to Napoleon Bonaparte
Royal acquisition section
In this section, various collectibles and antiques, such as: a sword inlaid with precious stones and decorated with colored enamel, is known as the "Coronation Sword"; as the emperors of Russia were crowned with it,
the sword of justice and coronation was made for the first Tsar of Russia. In 1948, King Farouk bought it from an auction in Europe for £11,000. The sword was made in Germany in the 17th century, plated in pure silver and gold, along with being adorned with precious stones such as garnets, rubies, and emeralds.
It also displays the crew of "Kamar" to carry bullets, which is made of local leather with wrought gold, given by King "Abdul-Aziz Al Saud" to King "Farouk"
We looked at the map and tried to go to
the international gifts section which gets great reviews. They said
it's closed, anyway the museum is also closing, at 2.30 pm, a good 30 minutes
before the official time!
We ubered home, had some food
went to the nearby Mall, there were no grocery shops, just people enjoying the weekend, eating out.
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