Egypt is one of those countries where 5,000 years of human history casually sits beside a traffic jam held together by horns, optimism, and absolutely no discernible rules.

And somehow, it works.

I came to Egypt for the obvious reasons. The Pyramids of Giza, ancient temples, pharaohs, tombs, the Nile, and enough archaeological history to make everything you learned in school suddenly feel suspiciously inadequate. Seeing the pyramids in person is particularly ridiculous. You’ve seen them approximately 47 billion times in photographs, yet standing underneath one still produces the highly intellectual reaction of: holy shit, that’s big.

But Egypt isn’t a polished museum exhibit.

Cairo is loud, chaotic, dusty, crowded, aggressive, fascinating, and occasionally feels like someone turned the difficulty setting on international travel up a few clicks without mentioning it. Transportation can become an adventure. Vendors can smell hesitation from several postal codes away. Crossing the street occasionally requires faith in multiple gods.

Then you wander into a temple that’s thousands of years old, cruise down the Nile, stare at hieroglyphics carved before most civilizations figured out indoor plumbing, or watch the desert swallow the horizon, and suddenly all the surrounding fuckery feels completely worth it.

Egypt can be exhausting. Egypt can be frustrating. Egypt can also absolutely blow your mind.

Come expecting Switzerland and you’re going to have a nervous breakdown.

Come expecting ancient wonders wrapped in modern chaos, questionable decisions, relentless sensory overload, and some of the most spectacular historical sites on Earth?

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