Cairo: Grand Egyptian Museum Tour & King Tut Gallery Entry

4.97

(152 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I didn’t expect to feel so small standing in front of Ramses II — I mean, you see photos but nothing quite prepares you for that first moment when the light hits all that red granite. Our guide, Ahmed, just grinned at my face and said, “He’s been waiting for you.” There was this faint smell of dust and stone in the air; kids were running around the open court while their parents pointed at the obelisk. It’s wild how everyone seems to slow down here. Even the security guard by the entrance was humming something under his breath (I never did catch what it was).

The Grand Egyptian Museum is massive — honestly, I lost track of how many times we stopped just to stare at something. Ahmed kept telling stories about kings and queens like he knew them personally. At one point he handed me a tiny replica scarab and said “for luck,” which I’m definitely keeping in my pocket. We wandered past statues with chipped noses and columns covered in faded hieroglyphs; every now and then someone would ask a question and he’d answer with this quiet pride. The King Tutankhamun Gallery was busier than I thought it’d be but seeing those golden sandals up close… well, it’s hard not to imagine what life must’ve felt like back then.

I have to mention lunch because it surprised me more than anything else — I picked Kushary (rice, noodles, lentils, fried onions all mixed together), which sounds weird but somehow works perfectly after a morning full of old stones and legends. The place we ate wasn’t fancy but it smelled like garlic and cumin and everyone seemed to know each other. Someone tried to teach me how to say “thank you” in Arabic; I probably butchered it but they just laughed.