Secrets of Egypt & the Nile: Q&A with Nova Vista’s Founder, Becky Olson (Part 1)

We sat down with Nova Vista’s Founder, Becky Olson, to pick her brain about her recent trip to Egypt. A bit of a land and sea adventure, Becky stayed in Cairo and sailed down the Nile on AmaWaterways’ river cruise ship, the AmaDahlia. Read on to hear all about her voyage and find out why she describes Egypt as a trip of a lifetime.

What made you want to visit Egypt?

For me it was obviously a bucket list item because who doesn’t dream of seeing ancient Egypt with its pyramids, mummies, and tombs? But Egypt really wasn’t on my radar as a place to visit when we went, which was in February of this year. I’d fallen in love with working with AmaWaterways and because I’d become such a fan of their river cruises, when they announced they were bringing back their Egyptian itineraries I started reaching out to them every month asking when I’d be able to set up a group sailing. Once available, my clients were immediately asking for information because everyone knew it would be a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Tell me about your experience in Cairo. Where did you stay? Which restaurants were your favorite?

Ama wisely included a land portion of the trip in Cairo for three nights prior to flying to Luxor for the Nile River cruise and one night afterwards. If you’re familiar with river cruising, there are typically optional pre-or-post-cruise land package options, but for this particular itinerary it is automatically included.

When you fly into Cairo it’s just so incredible because you can literally see the pyramids as the plane is descending. Once we landed, Ama took care of everything. They handled our visas (a minimal additional fee), escorted us through security, immigration, and baggage claim before meeting our private transportation to the hotel. It was flawless.

We stayed at the Four Seasons Cairo at the First Residence which was fantastic. They treated us with local desserts and welcome notes upon arrival to our rooms, which were spacious with views of the Nile River. We also got to meet Walaa, our cruise manager for the entirety of the trip.

We had dinner at one of the restaurants in the hotel called Aura. The food was phenomenal - some of the largest cuts of chicken I’ve ever seen in my entire life! We also had lunch at the Ritz Carlton one day and at Mena House, which is a Marriott hotel, both arranged by Ama. Mena House has beautiful gardens with a direct view of the Great Pyramids of Giza. You are just sitting there having lunch with the pyramids right there – it is unreal. One night we ended up having dinner back at the Four Seasons, but on their multi-restaurant boat on the Nile! We sat out on the deck for dinner at the Greek restaurant, Zoe, and then came back inside for after dinner drinks since it got a little chilly.

 What was your favorite part of the city?

I think it’s impossible to pick just one thing to call my favorite!

We visited the Egyptian Museum where we saw the King Tut exhibit. We saw some of his thrones, including ones from when he was a young child. There were also lots of artifacts from his tomb, like miniature alabaster sarcophagi that contained his various organs, his headdress, staffs, golden toe and finger caps, and all kinds of jewelry. There were literally artifacts everywhere, I have never seen a museum quite like it.

The Mosque of Muhammad Ali was absolutely stunning. When you walk into the open courtyard you must take off your shoes or wear shoe covers to be able to enter. Inside the mosque there was stained glass everywhere with the most gorgeous light fixtures throughout, and with the way the sun was coming in it lit up the entire space beautifully. Behind the mosque there’s a ledge where you can look out over Cairo and off in the distance you can see the pyramids. It made for a perfect photo op. It was surreal being there during prayer time because they broadcast their prayers over loudspeakers and anyone who joins in can be heard praying out in the city. You couldn’t help but stop and listen.

Outside of Cairo, we went to ancient Memphis where we got to see the statue of Ramesses II, as well as other statues. Honestly, it felt like an old statue graveyard because there are all these ancient pieces just laying around, including random pieces of columns and statues that have been found.

We visited the Saqqara necropolis and saw the famous step pyramid of King Djoser, which is the oldest pyramid on Earth. The step pyramid is interesting because you can actually visualize the progression of the pyramids. It’s actual evidence of them experimenting with the engineering of these massive structures.

We went inside the Great Pyramid, which you must pay a little extra to do, but it was totally worth it. Because    it’s such a tight space there are parts where you need to literally squat and climb at the same time. Plus, it was so hot in there, so I can’t imagine going in the warmer months! At the very top you must climb and then crawl under some massive stones to get into the tomb room that’s in the middle, and there’s an actual open sarcophagus in the tomb. It was kind of an out of body experience to climb up the side of the pyramid and go inside of it. I’m grateful that my mild claustrophobia did not deter me from experiencing it (and I was completely fine inside).

After the pyramid we rode camels! They were very high off the ground, which I wasn’t prepared for, but it was a really unique experience. Our guide also took many cute photos for us, which was an added perk, and we were sure to tip him generously for it.

The Great Sphinx of Giza was a sight to be seen. The most iconic part of the Sphinx is its face, of course, but I was intrigued by the back of the Sphinx because it actually has a tail that wraps all the way around, which I did not know.

 Where did you board the AmaDahlia ship?

From Cairo we flew to Luxor where we were bussed from the Luxor airport to the AmaDahlia. We had lunch onboard and settled into our rooms, which were fabulous. My husband and I were in a Category SB stateroom on the Lotus Deck, which included both a French-style and an outside balcony. Stunning! The Welcome Sip & Sail Cocktail Hour introduced us to our delightful hotel manager onboard, whose name was Rafik, along with our ships’ captain, head chef, and many of the staff members.

Tell us a little bit about your time in Luxor.

We visited the Valley of the Kings and Queens in Luxor. The Valley of the Kings is one of the most well-known places in Egypt because it’s where King Tut’s tomb is. It was almost surprising to see how small his tomb is. He was young when he died, only 18 or 19 years old. And there’s always been some mystery surrounding the circumstances of his death, which could explain why his burial was a bit of an afterthought. Compared to some of the other tombs, King Tut’s tomb was found relatively intact because it’s hidden deep in the Valley, whereas other tombs have been ransacked by robbers or other kings who decided they wanted the gold of their predecessors. King Tut’s mummy is encased in his tomb, which was really fascinating. We went inside a few other tombs in the Valley of the Kings, including those of King Merneptah and Ramesses IV. These were much more typical examples of a king’s tomb – very large and they went down deep into these corridors that once you made it to the end there are these monstrous sized sarcophagi. Every bit of free space in these tombs is covered in hieroglyphics. There’s literally something on every surface in every one of these tombs.

Most people don’t go to the Valley of the Queens, but I would highly recommend a visit there. It wasn’t nearly as crowded as the Valley of the Kings, plus we had exclusive access to Queen Nefertari’s tomb, which was one of the most anticipated moments of the trip for me. And it did not disappoint! Her tomb was just so colorful. The paintings on the walls were so vivid, and the restorations were phenomenal. Nefertari’s tomb is known as the Sistine Chapel of Ancient Egypt because it’s just gorgeous.

We also went to the temple of Hatshepsut. She was technically a queen, but because the people wanted to overthrow her since she was a woman, she proclaimed that from here on out, I am a man! I am a king! The temple has been heavily restored, so not much of it is original, but getting to see the replica and the sheer size of it in the middle of the desert was really jaw dropping. And our incredible Egyptologist, Marwa, really made Hatshepsut’s story come alive for us by having us actively participate in a theatrical demonstration.