Category Archive for Egypt
Writer for LA Times Travel studios! Grand Egyptian Museum Goth artifacts & gift shop, Giza Pyramids Sphinx guide.
Ready for more Goth adventures from Egypt, including the new Grand Egyptian Museum? I’ve got you in this new post.
First, an announcement… I’ve joined LA Times Travel studios as a regular contributor! I will be writing about my travels worldwide for this Los Angeles Times vertical, in an ongoing column — you can read my travel journalism here.
My first article was inspired by my recent return to Egypt… a joy to be with the Pyramids and Sphinx again, in the revamped Giza Plateau! Keep reading for plenty of tips on how to see the ancient tombs without battling the heat and tourists, so you can get unobstructed pics like these.
I flew back to Cairo mostly to see the brand spanking new Grand Egyptian Museum, which was as mesmerising and spooky as I hoped it would be… Read on for my guide to seeing ancient Egyptian sarcophagi, death gods like Anubis, ankhs and more at the newly-opened GEM!
This time around, I only stayed in Giza for a few days (see my review of my luxe hotel located across from the Sphinx). On my first trip in 2019, Yukiro and I went all around the country — you can see all our tips for exploring Egypt on a guided tour here.
This has been a good career year for me… I’m now a journalist for Los Angeles Times Travel Studios! As a regular contributor, I’ll be sharing stories from my fabulous offbeat travels, which you can read here. (I will also soon be speaking at TBEX Asia in Almaty, Kazakhstan on Aug 22 — see the travel conference details here.)
First up: a guide to Grand Egyptian Museum’s gift shop, which IMO is the best in the world. I write: “Rather than hawking racks of microplastic detritus, Grand Egyptian Museum is a wonderland of handmade, natural, artisan goods evoking the splendors of Nefertiti and Cleopatra.”
Read my first article about the Grand Egyptian Museum’s epic gift shop here on LA Times.
From sculptures of underworld jackal god Anubis to canoptic jars and ankh robes… GEM Shop is arguable also the best Goth store in the world right now!
Ankh soap or handmade crochet Anubis dolls, anyone? 99.9% of products are handmade in Egypt, with proceeds supporting the museum and NGOS / local artisans.
You can’t enter the museum’s GEM Shop without a ticket to the galleries, or preview the items / buy them online… so you’ve just got to come.
I spent way too much at GEM Shop (but hey, it was for journalism research and for a good cause, right?) Was tempted by these pharonic Farah Omar silk scarves, and King Tut memorabilia.
Thanks for supporting my travel writing! See my debut LA Times Travel ETA piece, “Giza’s New Grand Egyptian Museum Swaps the Mass-Produced Souvenirs for a Sprawling, Gorgeous Artisan Emporium.”
The museum is right by Egypt’s Pyramids and Sphinx, which are as great as ever. The ancient Giza Plateau has mega-modernized since my first visit. In 2025, builders replaced the old Mena House entrance with a sleek gateway on Fayoum Desert Road, and introduced air conditioned electric shuttle buses. Now, you can hop on / off right at the 4500-year-old tombs of Egyptian pharoahs Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure!
Tips to make your Giza visit extra fabulous: Hire my lovely female guide, Sherine Ramadan! Visiting this World Wonder with an expert lets you make the most of the experience, and prevents vendors from hassling you. (To book her, contact ramadansherine @ hotmail dot com or What’s App + 201097104413)
– Get a timed ticket from the official website in advance (don’t fall for a spoof site!)
– Wear close-toed shoes as there is hot sand, stones and sandflies
– Go as early as possible to avoid the heat and tourists (and get unobstructed photos with the Great Sphinx and pyramids) –
The descendents of Anubis the jackal death god are guarding the pyramids at Giza Plateau! Just the tip of the Pyramid of Khafre retains its original limestone casing.
This was my second visit to the pyramids. I didn’t go inside the great one this time, but had fun exploring the rocks (and since I went so early, there were no people in the background).
Love the sleek new upgrades to Giza plateau. One of my fav moments: drinking an iced coffee from Mulliri while looking out at the pyramids!
If you’ve visited Giza, what were your impressions — and do you have travel advice to add?
All right, time for a tour of the spookiest exhibits at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza. Dream come true to wander the long-awaited museum, which opened late last year.
Felt at home with the spooky sarcophagi! Had to recreate the infamous Goth death metal pose from my previous trip, with the ancient Egyptian stone coffins. (The one on the far left has indentations that indicate the shape of knees!)
The museum’s sprawling galleries take an entire day (or more ) to explore. Gallery 10 is the Goth-est, with a collection of mummies and their sarcophagus final resting places.
Wonder if any of these will unleash a curse…
Grand Egyptian Museum holds over a hundred thousand antiquities, including gargantuan statues of Anubis the jackal, sphinxes, animal-headed gods and queens…
Of course, I took photos of the darkest elements like serpents, death gods, and canoptic jars to hold the mummy’s organs.
Tips for visiting the museum: Get advance tickets for first entry at 8:30am. Quickly make your rounds of GEM for unobstructred photos & a sense of the galleries (I then took my time to explore).
See King Tutankhamun’s magnificent burial relics, which are displayed here in full. This big-eared Anubis statue was to die for.
The museum’s galleries are arranged by era, and you can join a tour (but I prefered to go around on my own).
Ankhs galore! What would you most like to see at Egypt’s Grand Museum?
The architecture of the Grand Egyptian Museum is worth seeing in its own right… You’ve got to visit in the flesh to fully appreciate the dazzling scale and use of light and geometry.
Outside, these Sekhmet lion-headed goddess statues frame a fountain, staircase and courtyard.
Towering statues look over the high ceilinged entrance…
… and you’ll find cute sphinxes (lion bodies with human heads) all around.
The GEM is now well protected with security — when Yukiro and I visited the old Egyptian Museum in Cairo, we were miffed by how children could touch the Sphinxes! Now, nobody dare disrespect the old gods.
I’m still thinking of the dream-like walk up the massive entrance stairs (past giant statues of pharoahs and animal-head gods) to a picture window overlooking the Great Pyramids! (There are side escalators too, for accessibility).
As wrote for LA Times Travel studios, “Designed by Heneghan Peng Architects, the Grand Egyptian Museum began construction in 2005 and finally opened in November 2025. (By comparison, it also took about 20 years to build the Great Pyramid of Khufu… 4500 years ago.) The sprawling modernist architecture uses triangular forms and sand colored concrete to mirror the surrounding pyramids and desert. GEM’s 130 foot tall glass roofed entrance court is guarded by a colossal statue of Ramses II.”
Felt like being in liminal dream/fantasy like the novel Piranesi, wandering these steps and gazing upon a capital of Hathor (cow goddess), obelisks and sarcophagi.
King Tut was so extra that he was buried in multiple gilded sarcophagi, like a nesting doll! (The museum showcases the stone sarcophagus that held three nested coffins inside four golden wooden shrines).
King Tutankhamun’s burial tomb was discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter in the Valley of the Kings. His canoptic alabaster jars are also a tribute to himself — the lids are carved with his likeness, lip to lip.
I took a million photos at the Grand Egyptian Museum — as a lover of ancient Egyptology, this was my happy place. Here’s a statue of god Ptah, King Ramsesses II and goddess Sekhmet the lion.
Be sure to get advance entry tickets and arrive early so you can hang here all day. There are restaurants and cafes inside (like Nahr for Mediterranean healthy food), and save Egyptian pounds for the gift store.
Blown away by the design choices. This picture window looking out at the Pyramids… ahh.
Ankh ankh… I think you can see why Egypt (Giza/Cairo) is one of my top Goth destinations!
Google “La Carmina LA Times” or go to my Los Angeles Times profile page to see more of my travel writing about the Grand Egyptian Museum and its impressive gift shop. Wouldn’t you love to spend a day here? More photos underneath, so click to reveal…
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Steigenberger Pyramids Cairo Hotel: pool & patio room with Giza pyramid views! Andresgallardo Miffy, Scarlet Darkness
Egypt, I’m back! Staying at Steigenberger Pyramids Cairo Hotel in Giza made me feel like one of the ancient queens like Cleopatra, Nefertiti and Hatshepsut. (And don’t forget Egyptian disco diva Dalida!)
Read on for a look inside my dreamy stay at this hotel, which is right across from the three famous pyramids and new Grand Egyptian Museum (which I also visited, and will show you soon).
I’ll also share some summer fashion inspiration. Living for this new bag / jewelry collab between Andresgallardo and Miffy, my beloved Dutch white bunny mascot! And I’ll be existing in this Scarlet Darkness cotton dress and headscarf, inspired by historical fashion. (Check out their new arrivals here, and scroll down for the full shoot.)
When I was researching places to stay in Giza, I was enthralled to find Steigenberger Pyramids Cairo Hotel. The location can’t be beat: right across from the GEM and Pyramids / Sphinx… a dream for Egyptology lovers like me.
I had a pyramids view suite with a patio, which also looked out at the luxurious pool.
Note that downtown Cairo is about a 30 min drive in traffic to Great Pyramids and the Grand Egyptian Museum, so it’s worth staying in Giza for easy access (I was literally across the street from GEM, and Steigenberger offers free shuttles there throughout the day!)
Watch my IG reel about the hotel experience, including the restaurant, cocktails by the pool, and a look at the various rooms. (I set it to a favorite disco track by Dalida.)
And see my Walk like an Egyptian reel, where I boogie to The Bangles’ 1980s hit in front of the pyramids!
Just the tip of the Pyramid is visible from the expansive pool, where I spent much of my time hanging. (With shade and sunscreen, obvi.)
Life doesn’t get much better than wearing a robe and vibing with the 4500 year old tombs of the pharaohs.
Located right across from GEM in the heart of Giza, Steigenberger Pyramids Cairo Hotel has 132 luxe rooms. It’s ancient Egypt meets modern comfort.
Tip: when you’re looking up Giza hotels with pyramid views, note that many are low cost apartments that happen to look out at the Pyramids, but don’t provide great service or amenities (and might be a bit run-down). Instead, stay at the safe and stress-free Steigenberger Pyramids Cairo.
I’ll never forget lounging poolside to live guitar with cocktails named after rulers like Cleopatra and Ramses II. The staff was so lovely and knew my name – talk about 5 star service. (Special shoutout to guest services concierge Caroline for her kindness and help with photos!)
I always looked forward the dinners by the always-smiling chef Mohamed. Each night at the buffet, he’d make me special dishes like spicy Egyptian street food.
Since this is a German hotel brand, the desserts and breads were elite.
Wouldn’t you like to stay with Steigenberger Hotels and Resorts Egypt when you journey to the land of the Sphinx and Anubis? They have several properties around the country including at Red Sea.
And the Grand Egyptian Museum is across the street: tons of ancient arm postures there to inspire your dance moves. “All the Japanese with their yen / They walk the line like Egyptian!” Who else loves The Bangles’ 1986 hit? See my reel to this song!
Another tip: whenever I travel out of the country, I get an eSIM from Airalo. Gone are the days of pricy roaming charges and annoying physical sims that you had to insert into phones. eSIMS are purchased and activated digitally on your smartphone so you’ll have access to data/texting as soon as you land.
You can choose the amount of data and whether you want phone/texting: I had 10GB of fast Internet on my phone for the trip. Airalo’s Discover Global plan worked perfectly in Uganda, Egypt, and all over the Balkans — even in the more remote areas of my African journey. Very satisfied with the seamless activation and speed.
If you need an eSIM for your next trip, enter “CARMEN9462” when you check out at Airalo.com; they have tons of global plans that include data and texting.
The world is heating up, so it’s time to bring out my summer wardrobe. I can’t get enough of this collaboration between Andresgallardo and Miffy, my favorite mascot – the cute white rabbit by artist Dick Bruna. I’m wearing the leather teddy bear bag, tote, and porcelain and pearl chokers.
My summer go-to: romantic, flowy cotton dresses. I’m loving my blue and white Scarlet Darkness dresses and headkerchief. The dress’s corset boning ribbon ties are a nod to historical fashion: talk about bringing Gothic fantasy main character energy. Plus, there were no microlastics historically… here’s to wearing natural fabrics like cotton.
Hail Miffy for focusing on luxe collections: ANDRESGALLARDO’s jewerly and bags are handcrafted by artisans in Spain and Portugal (just look at the closeups on the stitching and handpainting). I’m also eyeing their Snuffy dog longer necklace found here.
Do you also love Miffy the cute rabbit and vintage-inspired dresses? (These photos are taken at Nemesis Coffee Great Northern Way in Vancouver, BC — named one of the world’s 100 best coffee shops.)
Closeup on my Miffy ceramic and pearl choker, and Scarlet Darkness white cotton sundress.
More fashion inspiration and stories from my summer travels on @lacarmina IG. Lots to share from Uganda, Egypt and multiple Balkan countries — and soon I’ll be in Central Asia and Korea…
Pyramids pyramids pyramids! Were you enthralled by ancient Egypt as a child? See all my Egypt blogs here (I went to various parts of the country in 2019) — and stay tuned for much more from the land of ankhs and jackal death gods!
LA CARMINA
