I found Egypt was a south neighbor of Irsael suddenly, so I changed my plan and asked another week for leave to travel to Egypt. Everything went well when I arrived at Cairo international airport from Amman. I took a uber to my booked hostel when I got out of the airport.

It is convenient for tourists to take metro to travel around Cairo, but please attend to some compartments only for women. I got off the Giza station and transferred to one bus for the Pyramids of Giza. 

I was so excited to see the Great Sphinx of Giza after I walked through a dirty & messy village. A sphinx is a mythical creature with the head of a human and the body of a lion. Facing directly from West to East, it stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza. The face of the Sphinx is generally believed to represent the Pharaoh Khafre.

The sphinx measures 73 metres long fromt paw to tail, 20.21 metres high from the base to the top of the head and 19 metres wide at its rear haunches. It is the oldest known monumental sculpture in Egypt and is commonly believed to have been built by ancient Egyptians of the old kinddom during the reign of the Pharaoh Khafre (2558-2532 BC).

Based on a mark in an interior chamber naming the work gang and a reference to the fourth dynasty Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu, Egyptologists believe that the pyramid was built as a tomb over a 10-to 20-year period concluding around 2560 BC. Initially at 146.5 metres, the Great Pyramid was the tallest man-made structure in the world for more than 3,800 years. 

There are three known chambers inside the Great Pyramid. The lowest chamber is cut into the bedrock upon which the pyramid was built and was unfinished. The so-called Queen's Chamber and King's Chamber are higher up within the pyramid structure.

I strongly recommend to have a meal in the Pizza Hut with a wonderful view of the Great Pyramid, which situates in the front of the entrance.

Don't miss the Nile cruise with Belly Dance and Sufi Whirling, which is a form of phsically active meditation originated among Sufis, and still practiced by the Sufi Dervishes of the Mevlevi order and other orders such as the Rifa'i-Marufi.

In Egypt, the practice of whirling has been adapted as tanoura, which refers to the colorful skirt worn by the whirler, with a color representing each Sufi order. The word may also refer to the dancer, traditionally a Sufi man. Although it is mainly used for visual effects, the dancers also augment their balance with the tanoura, through a dynamic centrifugal effect.

Happy to meet Michael from Ministry of Enviorment Protection of New Zealand on the cruise and to know how they protected and developed the eco-environment.

Passed by one art museum and gallery.

The Cairo Tower is a free-standing concrete tower in Cairo, Egypt. At 187 metres, it has been the tallest structure in Egypt and North Africa for about 50 years. Sometimes it is considered Egypt's second most famous landmark after the Pyramids of Giza.

It is the best place to overlook the whole city of Cairo on the top of Cairo Tower. 

The beautiful Nile view from one bridge

The Egyptian Museum is home to an extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities. It has 120,000 items, with a representative amount on display, the remainder in storerooms. 

One local pretty restaurant 

There are two railway stations in Cairo. I booked a sleeping train, which is designed for international travelers and left the Giza station for Aswan.

I Happened to meet one couple from England at the rail station, who visited Suzhou many years ago and were impressed by Suzhou gardens and unique waterways.

I enjoyed reading, sleeping and meal on the train. The staff reminded me of his tip before I got off the train in the following morning. He was very helpful and friendly during the journey, of course, he deserved the tip.