February 25th, 2026
We were up again at 6:30 and breakfast at 7 and then on the bus at 8:30. Our first stop was the GEM, Grand Egyptian Museum. The museum is newly opened in fall of 2025 and covers 120 acres. It took 20 years to build and 1 billion US dollars. It is located very close to the Giza Pyramid which is the last remaining of the 7 wonders of the ancient world.
The outside of the museum.
Your are greeted by the towering statue
Pharaoh Ramesses II . Statue was found at the ancient site of Memphis (not Tennessee). The statue was carver 3200 years ago and weighs 83 tons.It is carved out of red granite.
The GEM goes up 6 stories and has 12 galleries.
It’s most popular display is the 5,398 artifacts belonging to King Tutankhamun, the pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty (ruled ca. 1332–1323 BC). This is the first time the entire collection has been displayed in one place,
These are the 3 coffins of King Tut. They were all made of wood and inlaid with gold and semi-precious stones. The eyes were made from obsidian. The one on the left is the largest and they nested inside each other.
The picture on the left is 4 mini coffins that the King’s organs were placed inside and then the carved head pieces were used as jar toppers.
They had several chariots that were buried in the tomb. King Tut actually died at 19. His tomb was found by accident in 1922 with thousands of artifacts in it.
This is the most famous artifact found. The mummy mask with gold and lapis lazuli.
The other artifact found is the boat that carried his coffins.
It is original and they found it in the tomb deconstructed. It took them years to figure out how to reconstruct. When the boat was found some of the original ropes, made of hemp, were still in place. They built this building just to house the boat.
We were given free time to wander on our own or grab a snack. Some visited the gift shop. After our visit we headed to the pyramids which is a short bus ride away.
They have camels and horses camped out in front of this view. Viking included a camel ride in our tour for those that wanted it.
You get on the camel while it is laying on the ground. I thought that would be harder than it was but it was pretty easy. The hard part is when the camel stands. You have to hold onto the horn and lean back while the camel raises up its back legs first to the knees and then the front and then stands all the way up. It is a little bit scary but then the motion is similar to horse back riding.
We were walked briefly around and then stopped for photos with the pyramids in the background.
The whole time the camel guy is helping you he keeps saying “I take care of you, you take care of me”. Our guide had told us to tip 5 dollars per couple which is what we did. We can now cross that off the bucket list.
We walked around the pyramids for 45 minutes taking pictures from different angles.
You can see how big each sandstone block is with Kathy in the right hand picture. The tallest pyramid is 405 feet high.
After the pyramid we went to the sphinx. The last time we were here the sphinx was covered in scaffolding for renovation.
This time we were able to get clear shots.
The day had turned quite warm especially in the direct sun. Glad we are here in Feb and not later in the season.
We had some free time at the Sphinx and then back to the hotel. We will have Reva dinner tonight, the 6 of us, and then we have to pack and get to bed. We will all get a wake up call at 4:30 am, breakfast between 4:45 and 5:30 and then off to the airport for our private flight to Luxor. The flight is 45 minutes and they used to give out breakfast boxes but too much confusion with security so now they have the hotel open up the restaurant earlier. As soon as we get to Luxor we are off to another tour and won’t get to the boat until 1pm for lunch. It will be a long day.