One short day in Athens can hardly do justice to the Greek experience. We have so many wonderful memories of the Greek islands, especially the great food. But today we are docked in Piraeus, the port city for Athens, with only a few hours to visit.

The Acropolis

Luckily, we got to spend it at the most important attraction and symbol of the city - The Acropolis. The Acropolis is a large hill in the center of the city, which houses several ancient structures, including the Parthenon. We had an in-depth visit to this iconic former temple dedicated to the Goddess Athena. Our small group made our way up the many steps to reach the top in the company of our brilliant Archeologist Guide. Our reward was the amazing views out over the city. We also spent some time at the Acropolis Museum, filled with thousands of artifacts and reproductions of statues that have been discovered at the site. Fortunately, the predicted thunderstorms held off until we were down in the city streets enjoying some free time at the Plaka, a complete neighborhood of shops, cafes, and restaurants.

Cruise Specialists tour group at the Parthenon in Athens

Cruise Specialists guests at the Acropolis

Egypt

From Piraeus, we headed further east toward the port city of Alexandria, Egypt. We have never been to Egypt, so a special overnight tour, organized by Cruise Specialists, was the perfect way to make the most of our time. We were 38 strong, ready for the adventure.

Cairo is a three-hour ride from Alexandria. We headed out at 7:00 am with our Egyptologist and Guide Kareem, our Logistics Coordinator Saif, our armed Security Guard Mohammed, and our Driver Ashraf. They were with us throughout our two days.

Our first stop for the day was the massive Salah El-Din Citadel, built as a fortification for the city of Cairo in the 12^th century. Also at that site is the Mohammed Ali Mosque, burial site of Muhammed Ali himself, a beautiful building with spectacular chandeliers. Kareem gave us a short lecture on the origins and practice of Islam and the Koran.

By then we were ready for lunch, which was a lovely buffet served on a traditional Felucca boat as we cruised down the Nile River. We could hardly believe we were there - in perfect weather - cruising down the Nile.

Buffet Lunch on a felucca on the Nile River

Next, we were off to the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities. It holds over 170,000 artifacts. Luckily, we had Kareem to walk us through some of the most important exhibits. You can imagine we barely scratched the surface. We did get to the special King Tut exhibit and got a good look at his gold and jeweled thrones.

Egyptian Museum of Antiquities

We spent the night at the Fairmont Nile City Hotel. We all had suites, most had views of the Nile, and the rooms were bigger and more luxurious than most of us have experienced. After the Museum, we got a short break at the hotel before dinner. A highlight of our day came after dinner as we were taken for a long walk in the old walled city. This is not a tourist place - this is a slice of real life. Once again Kareem pointed out the historically and religiously significant stops, but the fun was in just absorbing the atmosphere. It was like a carnival, market, bazaar, and food festival all rolled into the long narrow streets. Scooters buzzed by us and merchants tried to attract our attention. Small shops selling anything and everything - cafes packed with locals eating and drinking, street performers entertaining in the hopes of earning some tips- it was wonderful. And then our bus driver gave us a real treat. He took his very big bus, with us on it, down one of these very narrow streets - we were sure he would hit something or someone. He then negotiated a left turn onto an even narrower alley. It was like an amusement park ride!

We enjoyed a sumptuous buffet breakfast at our hotel before heading out to see more iconic sights of Cairo. Our first stop was at the Necropolis of Sakkara to explore the famous Step Pyramid of King Zoser. It is the first pyramid ever built and the world’s oldest freestanding stone structure. At over 200 feet tall, with six levels, it has lasted since 2600 BC. It is the center of a massive archeological site that is continually discovering new burials.

Step Pyramid of King Zoser

Cruise Specialists guests; Giza Pyramid

Then off to the Giza Pyramids, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. They are stunning! We had an up-close visit with the smallest of the three large pyramids and learned about how they were constructed. Several of our group were brave enough to go inside through a long, low, narrow tunnel to see the actual burial chamber. Those of us with claustrophobia were warned against trying it. A few of our group took camel rides, some bought head scarves, but most just marveled at the privilege of being at this iconic place.

Cruise Specialists guest with a new head scarf

A fun lunch of traditional foods followed at the 9 Pyramids Lounge - hummus and warm pitas with a few glasses of wine really hit the spot. There was even rice formed into the shape of a pyramid. Lunch was made more memorable by our view overlooking the Pyramids. Two of the three big Pyramids have three small ones behind them - thus the name of the Restaurant. Who knew?

Steve and Wendy in front of the smallest of the three Giza Pyramids

One more iconic site - the Sphinx, with the body of a lion and the face of a man. Many of us reacted to its size as being much smaller than we imagined, although it is not really small. We were all tired but thrilled to have had this experience. One Sea Day before we are off again. Next port, Valletta, Malta.

Fondly,

Wendy and Steve

See all blog posts from this voyage:
Beginning our 42-Day Ultimate Mediterranean Voyage  |  Exploring Italy  |  Malta & Tunisia  | Gibraltar, Tangier, and Seville  |  Conclusion

See Cruises in the Mediterranean >>