Meghan Kane’s fascination with Egypt started in the first grade. Her teacher read a book about ancient Egypt, and Meghan was hooked instantly. She came home, politely demanded her parents to take her to a museum, and proceeded to soak up book after book.
Eighteen years later, the Parker, Colorado resident received the opportunity to travel to the country that captured her imagination. She documented the trip in a travel-sized leather journal with thick beige pages. A book about the Nile River rested underneath the notebook.
“When something captures my attention, I want to consume all of it,” Meghan says.
The Kane family trip consisted of five days in the capital city of Cairo, followed by a river cruise down the Nile. Though Meghan had traveled all over Europe, Egypt was different.
“This was the first time I felt otherworldly. When I got to Egypt, I stepped into a different reality,” she says.
With towering pyramids, statues of majestic pharaohs, and archaic temples, there are nods to an ancient civilization wherever you look. Horse-drawn carriages prance through bustling streets, and the Nile is still responsible for most travel, tourism, and trade throughout this developing country.
When you travel to Egypt, Meghan strongly recommends a guide. They’ll help you translate, show you where to go, and act as a bodyguard, too. However, until you get there, here’s a guide straight from Meghan’s notebook to help you plan your adventure.
Giza Plateau (The Great Pyramids)
If you visit Egypt, you must visit The Great Pyramids. Out of the seven wonders of the world, it is the only one remaining. Even though they were built over 4,000 years ago, they remain the tallest manmade structure in the world. You can even touch these ancient masterpieces and (for an extra fee) go inside them.
National Museum of Egyptian Civilization
According to Statista, Egypt has 72 museums. The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) is a hot spot to learn about the first remnants of human existence all the way to modern-day Egypt. Some of the crown jewels of the NMEC are the mummies.
Initially, these preserved royal bodies were found lumped together in a pit. Grave robbers took the treasures from their tombs and discarded the mummies. Miraculously, anthropologists could still identify their names and royal statuses years later.
“We have mummies, but we’ve lost a lot of their treasures,” Meghan notes.
Valley of The Kings
Along the west bank of the Nile River in the town of Luxor rests the Valley of The Kings. This marvel contains 63 known tombs, including King Tut’s. For Meghan, the most astounding aspect of the tombs was the hieroglyphics. The paintings are well preserved and surround every square inch of many tombs.
“Since I’ve been learning about The Valley of The Kings since the first grade, it was mind-boggling to see,” she says.
Of the entire trip, the Nile River enthralled Meghan the most. According to Meghan’s research, The Nile has always been the way to get around Egypt. According to National Geographic, 95 percent of Egyptians live within a few kilometers of the Nile. Its waters provide irrigation that transforms the dry desert into lush farmland. Stretching more than 4,000 miles long and through eleven countries, it’s no wonder that the Nile provided sustenance for the earliest humans and marked Egypt as part of the cradle of civilization. Yet, this vital river has a dark side. Home to vicious and disease-bearing predators, the Nile is complicit in thousands of deaths. However, the duplicities are what makes Meghan revere it.
“Egypt is a double-edged sword. It has positive and negative sides, just like the human experience,” Meghan explains. “The country encapsulates how humans, regardless of how many centuries or millennia separate us, are pretty much the same throughout time. We are good, but we have greed; we are loving, but we have pride; and we have passions, but we’re protective over what’s ours.”
With towering pyramids, statues of majestic pharaohs, and archaic temples, there are nods to an ancient civilization wherever you look.
