Solving the riddle of the sphinx

Sujata Vijay, director of Bamboola Play School in Chennai, tells us about a family vacation she took to Egypt

My husband and I have been wanting to go to Egypt for the past three years, but due to the unrest there, we didn’t get a chance. However, this year we made up our minds to go — and the wait really paid off! The main reason we chose this place is because of its rich and fascinating history — my husband has been reading up, researching and even blogging about it for quite a while. As a result of his thorough study, we came across a few local guides in Egypt, who were our able companions throughout our stay there. Since we booked our tickets and hotel rooms in advance, we got some great deals too!

Speaking about our stay, we got to do a bit of the typical ‘touristy’ stuff, but thanks to our guides, we were shown some of the lesser-known locations as well. Few of the places that made an impact on me were the Valley of the Kings and the pyramids located in the vast desert. There are 62 tombs in all, out of which 30 are open to the public. Each one is placed half a kilometer away from the other — this is something we had to prepare ourselves for, since we had to walk a lot. But the fact that these gigantic, intricate tombs were built nearly 4,000 years ago without the help of any modern-day tools or equipment, was fascinating. Since my husband had studied about them, we knew the history behind each tomb. In fact, at times, he knew more about the places than the local guide itself! We even got to visit a few museums — my son got bored in half an hour, but my husband would just stare at each and every artefact for hours together!

We also got a chance to explore Cairo, from the locals’ perspective. They took us to some of the homes, and explained how they lead their lives on a daily basis. One thing I was a little disappointed about was the shopping experience — I expected to find some genuine Egyptian cotton clothing and jewellery, but most of the goods were made in China! However, when we were on the Nile cruise, we got to see people selling carpets and other products from the boats.

Food wasn’t much of a problem either, even though I’m a vegetarian. I had plenty to choose from, be it falafels, pita bread or a few rice dishes. My husband and son got to try out non-vegetarian delicacies, and they really relished it. On the whole, our trip was enlightening — one wouldn’t understand much about Egypt without prior research. But, the fact that the region has evolved through changes in language, culture and religion, yet still managed to create a huge impact on history, is worth appreciating.