Local breakfast items
Delicious pastry selection
Cold breakfast items
Evoo had many delicious snacks and the weather was lovely for sitting outside. We consumed many pastries for breakfast, had a cappuccino each, and then returned to our room where we made sure to pack up before taking another small nap. Our tour guide was meeting us at 3pm to take us to our main hotel for our stay in Cairo, the Marriott Mena House, and we wanted to be ready for that, but also sleep some more. After tidying our belongings, we set an alarm for 2pm and quickly fell back asleep.
View at breakfast
I woke up around 1:30 pm and woke Hunter up with me. We finished getting our things together and then went to the lounge for snacks and drinks. They were serving pastry and we each had a diet Pepsi. The view was lovely from the lounge.
Walking to the lounge, this security man was carrying a firearm
In the elevator
Breakfast options in the lounge
Afternoon view from the lounge
At 3pm we checked out of the Hotel and met with our guide, Hosam Ramy. We heard about Ramy through the Delta Non-Rev Facebook page and the excellent tours he provided for non-revs. We communicated back and forth and decided on an itinerary together for our 5 days in Cario. It was great to have someone familiar with the non-rev situation where we could show up early/late or not at all without any issues no matter the case. Lucky for us, we arrived a day earlier than we thought we might due to some lucky flights out of London, and instead of a 2am transfer we were able to do an afternoon one!
After meeting our guide he introduced us to our driver Ahmad who would be with us and we headed to the other side of Cario. Ramy began the hour-long drive with introductions and asking us what we knew about Egypt and what we were excited about most on our tour. We found out he is a dual Egyptian/American citizen and is currently working towards his Ph.D. in Egyptian history. This was so exciting to us as Hunter and I both love learning and want to know more about Egyptian history. Ramy then also explained some background history so we would have a good base to start the touring tomorrow.
Leaving the airport area
Driver Ahmen and guide Ramy
Driving through Cario was very interesting. As we passed various things Ramy let us know what it was we were looking off. We saw large cemeteries and passed by the citadel with The Great Mosque of Muhammad Ali Pasha or Alabaster Mosque which has 10 domes!
local buildings
Bustling Cairo
Mosque of Muhammad Ali Pasha
The City of the Dead, or Cairo Necropolis (big cemeteries)
Finally, we got to a point where Ramy exclaimed we would see the pyramids as we turned onto another road and wow they were stunning! Of course, we took many out the car window while moving pictures due to excitement and Ramy saying we will have better pictures tomorrow!
Pyramids!
Shortly after we arrived at our hotel which is at the foot of The Great Pyramid of Giza. We checked in and then were shown to our room with a balcony and view of the pyramids. It was perfect! After dropping off our luggage we went for a walk on the grounds to see the sun setting and capture beautiful pictures of the Pyramids right from our Hotel.
View from our balcony
Dual-view from the gardens of Hunter and I and the pyramids
Our hotel has some great history we also learned about. Hunter picked the Marriott Mena (pronounced me-na) House for the prime location, reviews, and history. The hotel has jaw-dropping views with the pyramids seemingly “right there” as the closest property to the site. Hunter wanted to stay here too because of the history. The Cairo conference between the Allied Powers during World War 2 occurred here, with Churchill having a suite named after him in the hotel. The British general Montgomery used it as his headquarters while fighting Rommel in North Africa and there is now a wing dedicated to him and his former staff. US President Nixon also met here with Egyptian leader Anwar Sadat to form the basis of understanding that later led to the Camp David accords and Egypt being the first neighboring Muslim country to recognize the existence of Israel. In between these political meetings famous celebrities like Frank Sinatra and kings of Egypt and other countries also frequented the Mena house. Although currently “just” a Marriott the Mena house is under partial renovation and will soon be a full JW Marriott which is our favorite hotel chain. We are very lucky to be able to stay here and experience both breathtaking views and incredible history.
Cairo conference attendees arriving at the Mena house
Nixon and Sadat meeting at the pyramids, just down the street.
1886 and modern views from the Mena house
For dinner, we checked out the lounge we get access to due to our ambassador status. We were blown away by the selection as we watched them bring all sorts of dishes out to the serving area. The staff was friendly and happy to explain each dish. Similar to our Thailand experience we could survive here without ever needing to buy a meal! We were excited to try every and it did not disappoint! The desserts were especially amazing with both local nut-based pastries, western-style mousse, and cheesecake bites available. You really couldn't go wrong and we both were so happy to get an amazing curated experience from the staff.
The lounge entry
Seating options
Free drinks anytime
Pastry & cookies
Preparing foods
Main dishes
Desserts
After stuffing ourselves with all the delicious food, we returned to our room for the night where we showered, did some blogging, and then fell asleep excited for tomorrow to come.
Night view from our balcony with extra lights from COP27
Sunday November 6, 2022
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