3 Egyptian Adventures That’ll Go Down in History

There’s nowhere on Earth quite like Egypt. Between its golden deserts, legendary temples, and streets overflowing with unique cultures, it’s a place that just feels larger than life. Whether you’re bargaining in a Cairo souk or standing face-to-face with a pharaoh’s tomb, every moment feels like you’re stepping into another world. Here’s my personal Egypt bucket list, and some stories about my IRL experience.

Haggling in a Cairo souk

Visiting the Cairo souk market wasn’t my first time in a bustling foreign marketplace, so I knew it was time to put on my negotiator hat to snag some last-minute souvenirs—it was the last day of the trip, after all, and I needed to find the perfect keepsake. I had an idea to purchase a small canopic jar to put my new cartouche necklace in when I wasn’t wearing it, so that’s what I was looking for. Canopic jars are funerary vessels that were used to hold the embalmed organs (I know…just stay with me here) during the mummification process. There were typically four jars used for one mummy, and each of them had a bust of one of the god Horus’s sons on the top.

With my goal set, I bravely opted to venture into the winding alleys of the souk on my own, eek. The main roads were packed with shoulder-to-shoulder foot traffic, so I decided to go to a much quieter side street to browse. I quickly came across a small shop with plenty of canopic jars to pick from. An eager vendor greeted me with a friendly smile and offered to help with whatever I needed. After taking a good look at all the options, I settled on a set of small canopic jars that were gray stone with white etching inscribed on the outside. They were simply designed and the perfect size. I just needed one for my cartouche, so I decided to get the jar that had a falcon’s head on the top, representing the deity Qebehnsenuf.

Now was time to put my haggling skills to the test. Luckily, USD is widely accepted and preferred in Egypt, so I didn’t have to do any crazy-quick conversions in my head. I picked up the jar I wanted and asked how much. The vendor asked for $20, which I felt was somewhat steep for a jar smaller than the size of my hand. In reality, I only had $13 cash, so I took it out, counted it for him, and asked if this was okay. After a slight hesitation, he agreed to the deal and started wrapping up my jar. And then he wrapped up a second…a third…and a fourth! I kept my mouth shut as I quickly realized we were haggling over all four jars in the set and not just the one I wanted. SCORE! I left the store a very satisfied customer and four canopic jars richer.

Visiting the Luxor West Bank: Necropolis of Thebes, Valley of the Kings, Temple Queen Hatshepsut, and Colossi of Memmon

The sites we visited at the Luxor West Bank quite literally transported me back to ancient Egypt and had my jaw dropping constantly. I’ll be completely honest, I didn’t know much about the Valley of the Kings before going to Egypt. But now, I consider it one of my favorite travel memories. The Valley of the Kings is just as it is described, a valley tucked away into the mountains and teeming with at least 63 tombs that are extensively covered with elaborate hieroglyphs. At one point in time, treasures filled the tombs as well.

The Luxor West Bank was where I felt the most in touch with the fascinating history of the ancient Egyptians. Descending into King Tut’s tomb and then seeing his actual mummy on full display is something I will NEVER forget. Like…that’s literally him just lying there?? What!? And that wasn’t even the most impressive tomb. My personal favorite (no mummies included) was the Tomb of Seti I. Imagine several rooms and hallways with every inch covered in vibrant hieroglyphs that tell a rich story of the past. What I would give to see what it looked like after it was freshly painted over 3,300 years ago. Absolute magic.

The Temple of Queen Hatshepsut is as empowering as it sounds. A commanding monument etched into the mountains to honor one of Egypt’s strong female pharaohs who has a fascinating story. About 20 years her death, her successors tried to deface many of her monuments and erase her feats from history, but they could not fully get rid of this marvel of ancient architecture. It was an honor the explore the grounds and see another astounding example of the Egyptian craftsmanship on full display. Hieroglyphs are not in short supply in this country, that’s for sure.

Exploring Dendera Temple

Dendera Temple was the last temple we visited on our trip, so at this point I almost felt like an amateur Egyptologist. That achievement wouldn’t have been possible without our wonderfully knowledgeable Tour Director, Dalia, who had been teaching us how to decipher hieroglyphics and explaining their stories along the way. Dalia is an Egyptologist, as are all Ultimate Break Tour Directors in Egypt. She could answer quite literally any question you had about anything Egyptian history—it was wildly impressive. While we were exploring various sites, she told us that if we found a hieroglyph and wanted to know what it meant, take a picture and show her later and she would explain it for us. My new friend (shoutout to Emma if you’re reading this) and I decided to take it a bit further…

After our insightful tour of the temple, we had free time to roam. Dendera Temple honors the goddess Hathor and has beautifully painted ceilings (the blue was still so vibrant!). My friend and I couldn’t help but to look up at them in awe. Then, we started to realize that we thought we knew what was going on and what they were saying in certain parts. We took a bunch of pictures and then showed them to Dalia and asked her if it meant what we thought it did. And wouldn’t you know…we were right!! I truly felt like the main character in that moment. I walked away from that temple with a new favorite Egyptian deity, Hathor, and the temptation to add ‘amateur Egyptologist’ to my resume.

My time in Egypt was everything I hoped it would be and more. It’s a destination that challenges you, surprises you, and leaves you speechless in the best way. From Cairo’s chaos to Luxor’s calm, every corner of this country has a story to tell—and I’m already dreaming about when I’ll get to hear the next chapter.