C.V. Visits — Postcards from Egypt

 
Black and white photo of the Great Sphinx of Giza under a soft, clouded sky.

FIG. 1 — The Great Sphinx of Giza (OF COURSE)

Silhouette of a pyramid in Giza, Egypt at dusk with soft clouds in the sky.

FIG. 2 — A PYRAMID SNIPPET

 
 
 

Shrouded in mystery, advanced complexity, elaborate ritual, and epic brilliance, the lore and history of Ancient Egypt has enraptured people for centuries. It’s no surprise that Egypt sits atop countless bucket lists. Seared into the collective consciousness are the iconic images of this place and civilization: the great pyramids rising from golden sands, remarkably preserved linen-wrapped mummies, and the dark azure Nile, framed by palm trees and papyrus reeds glistening under the desert sun. There is a universal longing to witness these wonders in person and to stand in the energetic cradle that birthed and inspired them. I had dreamt of traveling to Egypt since I was a little girl, when my fascination with Ancient Egypt first took hold. And in October of 2024 (it always takes me so long to finally share meaningful experiences), I finally stood before the sites and treasures that had sparked my imagination for all those years.

My romance with Egypt traces back to my earliest memories. My first exposure came through a book on King Tut owned by my grandparents, purchased when the famous Treasures of Tutankhamun exhibition toured the United States in the late 1970s. This exhibit ignited the Tut-mania of the era and inspired the marvelous Steve Martin skit. I would stare at the cover, completely transfixed by the gold mask and its haunting eyes, desperate to see it in person, only to discover it had long returned to its home far away. The seeds were planted though and I knew one day I would encounter it in real life. To help me fall asleep, my mom would perform a nightly ritual she called “Egyptian Makeup,” pretending to anoint me with sacred oils as she transformed me into an Egyptian priestess. She also enrolled me in art classes at LACMA, where one of the first things we made was a gold foil Eye of Horus medallion. A visit to the Egyptian wing at The Met further sealed my obsession: hieroglyphics, pharaohs, mummies. I longed to know more about these curiousities. By the time I was five, if you had asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would have answered without hesitation: an archaeologist, specifically in Egypt. In fifth grade, I made a paper-mâché replica of Nefertiti’s bust. In sixth grade, I dressed as Cleopatra for Halloween. What began in childhood never faded; it simply evolved and later aligned beautifully with my deep interest in crystals.

I didn’t start collecting crystals because of my relationship with Egypt, but when I found out the Egyptians were the original crystal collectors, it made perfect sense. Of course I’d be drawn to the same magical symbolism they were. For the Egyptians, crystals and precious stones were believed to hold protective, healing, and divine properties. They were integrated into temple rituals, sacred adornments, royal jewelry, and offerings to the gods. These stones signified both worldly prestige and cosmic alignment. To beautify a temple with rare stones wasn’t an act of vanity but a way of honoring the divine and reinforcing one’s place in the spiritual and social hierarchy. In one of my earliest crystal healing sessions, I had a vivid, almost electric memory of being a pharaoh in ancient Egypt. I kept repeating, “They tried to erase me!” The words poured out, insistent and emotionally charged, and I wasn’t entirely sure what they meant. After the session I set out to find if there had been female pharaohs who had been written out of history. To my surprise, there were! Hatshepsut and Twosret. Could I be the reincarnation of one of them? It was Hatshepsut who felt uncannily familiar. Her reign wasn’t driven solely by power; it was about beauty, legacy, and cultural flourishing. She commissioned grand temples, exquisite statues, and intricate reliefs that elevated Egyptian artistry to new heights. She was so successful and so powerful that her legacy was literally chiseled out of history after her death. Her stepson and likely co-regent, Thutmose III, led a systematic campaign to erase her from the record. Her images were destroyed, her cartouches removed, her statues smashed and buried. And yet...she endures. Whether or not I actually have past ties to Hatshepsut, I feel a deep kinship to her. She is my favorite Pharaoh!

I’ve been to some fairly far-flung places…India, Cambodia, Morocco, but Egypt is by far the most personally meaningful. To step into the places I had seen in books and documentaries and to have my lifelong dreams materialize felt truly otherworldly. Finally "returning" to Egypt in this lifetime was a surreal experience. There are so many special moments and things I got to see on this trip that it's hard to sum it up without going on forever. But here are some of them:

  • The Egyptian Museum of Antiquities with its peach-colored facade and charmingly primitive displays made it feel like a Wes Anderson set. I could have stayed amongst the dusty vitrines, quirky typographic signs, and barely guarded treasures for hours. And at last, I laid eyes on the King Tut mask I had admired endlessly on the cover of my grandparents’ book. 

  • Seeing the sacred Nile River for the first time from high above our hotel balcony, shimmering through the city’s haze and framed by swaying palms was like stepping into a dream. 

  • Meeting Sekhmet, my favorite goddess from the Egyptian pantheon. Sekhmet is half-lioness, and a breathtaking statue of her lives at Karnak Temple, hidden behind a locked door. You have to know to ask for the keeper of the key. I made sure we found him. The room was almost completely dark, save for a single shaft of sunlight playing across her stone face.

  • The Valley of the Kings was astonishing, with over sixty burial sites. Some are nestled so deep within the hills and underground that they are only accessible through creaky stairs and somewhat claustrophobic tunnels. These tombs are decorated with the most exquisite hieroglyphics and imagery, with preserved vivid colors that make their age hard to believe.

  • El Deir el-Bahari was a place I waited to visit with bated breath. Rising dramatically against the cliffs, this monumental mortuary temple is an amazing feat of design and scale, and it is Hatshepsut’s. To stand there, in the place she envisioned and commissioned, to walk those terraces and gaze upon the grand colonnades carved into the limestone, was epic. The place is absolutely insane. So modern, so refined, so chic! It did not disprove my reincarnation theory.

  • The work of Hassan Fathy, a visionary modernist Egyptian architect who believed that architecture should serve both people and place, drawing on ancient Nubian mudbrick techniques to create structures that were sustainable, affordable, and deeply connected to the land.

  • Cruising the Nile on a traditional felucca for three days, where time stands still and for a brief moment you can pretend you are a character in an Agatha Christie novel. You get to absorb the exact same landscape (albeit a few eletrical towers) that the Ancient Egyptians did. The Nile was such a profoundly important part of the way they lived, evolved, and viewed the world. 

  • Staying at the legendary Old Cataract Hotel was a time warp. Perched on the banks of the Nile in Aswan, it is the very place where Agatha Christie wrote Death on the Nile, which I had just begun reading during the cruise. The hotel’s grand terraces overlook the river, its interiors glow with vintage elegance, and the air feels charged with a sense of history and intrigue. To walk its halls is to be transported into a bygone era of glamour, where one can imagine a murder mystery lurking around every corner.

  • Egyptian culinary delights: fresh hibiscus tea, feteer (a layered, flaky pastry drizzled with molasses), and kochari

  • Ibn Tulun Mosque, one of Cairo’s oldest and most atmospheric mosques. Its vast courtyard and simple brick arches create a quiet escape from the city’s constant mishegas. Time seems to slow there, the bustle of Cairo replaced by silence and open sky.

  • The Gayer-Anderson Museum is a beautifully preserved 17th-century house in Cairo that once belonged to English officer and collector Major R.G. Gayer-Anderson. Stepping inside feels like entering a time capsule, yet its stylistic details could easily appear in the pages of Architectural Digest. Each room reveals a different vignette, with carved mashrabiya latticework, Ottoman furniture, Persian carpets, Islamic art, and curious treasures gathered from across the region. The layered collections create an atmosphere that is both historic and unexpectedly modern.

  • And of course the pyramids, because these babies do not disappoint. They are everything and more that one can expect them to be. Sacred, epic, marvels of engineering and human (or ancient alien) feat. I didn’t love the claustrophobic feeling crawling inside the burial chamber, but it was pretty wild to be in such a space.

And perhaps as is always the case when traveling, I develop the most intense fondness for the lovely, kind, and generous people who go out of their way to make sure we are comfortable, having an amazing time, and are left with the best impressions of their country. Our Nile cruise was filled with the warmest people with the brightest smiles and sweetest souls. I practically burst into tears on our final night when they presented us with a baked Alaska in the shape of the pyramids.

Egypt is, quite simply, magic. A bucket list trip that I feel so grateful to have been able to experience.

 
 
 
Vintage car parked near the cliffs of Deir el-Bahari in Luxor, Egypt under bright desert light.

FIG. 3 — IN THE PARKING LOT OF Deir el-Bahari

 
 
Palm tree in front of traditional adobe architecture designed by Hassan Fathy in Luxor, Egypt.

FIG. 5 — THE ARCHITECTURE OF HASSAN FATHY, LUXOR, c. 1946

 
 
Hieroglyphic carvings and Hatshepsut’s cartouche at Deir el-Bahari temple in Luxor, Egypt.

FIG. 7 — cartouche of Hatshepsut, Deir el-Bahari

 
Stacked column fragments and ancient stone ruins at Karnak Temple in Luxor, Egypt.

FIG. 4 — ROCKS OF AL KARNAK TEMPLE

 
 
Basket of limes at Khan el-Khalili market in Cairo, Egypt with hanging bananas in the background.

FIG. 6 — BASKET OF LIMES AT khan el-khalili, CAIRO

 
 
Carved hieroglyphs on Hatshepsut’s obelisk at Karnak Temple in Luxor, Egypt against a clear desert sky.

FIG. 8 — Hatshepsut’s Obelisk, Al Karnak

 
 
 
Tall palm trees along the lush banks of the Nile River in Luxor, Egypt.

FIG. 9 — Palms from the Nile River

 
 
 
 
Small polished crystals arranged on ancient temple stone at Philae in Egypt.

FIG. 10 — Crystals arranged at PHILAE TEMPLE

 
 
 

FIG. 11 — THE Giza Necropolis

 
 
 
View of the Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, Egypt rising from the desert under a clear sky.

FIG. 12 — The first pyramid, Saqqara

 
Colossal statues of Pharaoh Ramesses II at the entrance of Abu Simbel Temple in southern Egypt under a clear sky.

FIG. 13 — Colossal statues of Pharaoh Ramesses II at the entrance of Abu Simbel Temple in Aswan

 
 
Stone pillars at the Step Pyramid complex in Saqqara, Egypt with soft afternoon light.

FIG. 14 — SAQQARA

 
 
 
 
 
Sphinx statue with a partially damaged face at Deir el-Bahari Temple in Luxor, Egypt against a mountainous desert backdrop.

FIG. 15 — Sphinx, Deir el-Bahari

 
 
 
 
 
Stone pillar with Arabic warning sign at Deir el-Bahari Temple in Luxor, Egypt, partially lit by afternoon sun.

FIG. 16 — Deir el-Bahari

 
 
Striped cat resting on sunlit ancient stone blocks at an Egyptian temple site.

FIG. 18 — Temple cat

 
Painted ceiling with star motifs and detailed wall reliefs at Deir el-Bahari Temple in Luxor, Egypt.

FIG. 17 — AZURE SKY AT Deir el-Bahari

 
Palm tree beside ancient sandstone blocks at Karnak Temple in Luxor, Egypt with soft afternoon light.

FIG. 19 — Palm tree beside ancient sandstone blocks at Karnak Temple in Luxor

 
 
 
 
Two local men sitting beneath a carved obelisk with hieroglyphs at Luxor Temple in Egypt, near a statue of Ramesses II.

FIG. 20 — Two men sitting at Luxor Temple, near a statue of Ramesses II

Tall palm trees glowing in sunset light against a soft blue sky in Egypt.

FIG. 21 — Golden Hour Palms

 
 
 
Colorful wooden riverboats docked along the Nile River in Luxor, with distant buildings lining the opposite bank beneath a clear sky.

FIG. 22 — nile river boats, luxor

 
Close-up of a traditional felucca boat on the Nile River with painted bird sculptures and a sign that reads "Welcome to Magic."

FIG. 23 — A traditional felucca “welcome to magic”

 
 
 
Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan Egypt

FIG. 24 — the old cataract hotel, aswan, where agatha christie wrote her classic murder mystery, “death on the nile” (Unfortunate light leak)

 
 
 
Front of a vintage yellow car parked on a Cairo street, featuring an Egyptian license plate and scattered dry leaves on the ground.

FIG. 25 — On the streets of Cairo

 
Sunlight casting shadows on a black metal garage door in Cairo, with white Arabic and English lettering reading "Garage No Parking."

FIG. 26 — zamalek, cairo

 
 
 
View down a sunlit colonnade inside the Mosque of Ibn Tulun in Cairo, showing intricate arches, hanging lanterns, and rhythmic shadows.

FIG. 27 — the oldest well-preserved mosque in Egypt, Ibn Tulun, Built between 876 and 879 by its namesake, Ahmad ibn Tulun, cairo

 
Sunlight streams through a traditional mashrabiya screen at the Gayer-Anderson Museum in Cairo, casting patterned light and shadow across the floor in a quiet, contemplative room.

FIG. 28 — Gayer-Anderson Museum, cairo

 
 
 
Close-up of ornate plaster detailing on a historic building facade in downtown Cairo, showing signs of weathering and age alongside carved floral motifs and decorative trim.

FIG. 29 — Garden City neighborhood, CAIRO

 
 
Close-up of geometric plaster detailing on a historic building in Cairo, featuring curved loops and circular cutouts in a repeating pattern.

FIG. 30 — DETAILS of Garden City neighborhood, CAIRO

 
 
 
A black cat with glowing eyes sits in shadow against a green metal gate in Cairo, framed by strong sunlight and silhouetted plant shadows.

FIG. 31 — sacred creatures

 
 
C.V. TravelsJillian Kasimow