I woke up this morning with a sense of anticipation that I could feel in my chest, like a small drumbeat reminding me that today was the day I had been waiting for. When I first booked this trip, I thought I would be long gone before the Grand Egyptian Museum finally opened its doors to the public on November 4th. But once I realized the timing, and with a great chat with Mitch Samu—I extended my trip by three more days so I wouldn’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime chance. I had bought my ticket online, reread the confirmation several times, and counted down the hours until I could finally step inside the GEM on its very first week of life.

My guide for the day was Habeba Qutp, and she was extraordinary in every sense of the word. Intelligent, articulate, effortlessly kind—and, as I quickly discovered, stunningly beautiful. I think she wore something particularly striking that day because every few minutes another stranger would interrupt us to tell her how lovely she looked. They weren’t wrong. She handled each comment with grace and humor, and we laughed our way through the first section of the museum like two old friends. But she proved that her intellect and vast knowledge far outweighed her outer beauty, so I was very well cared for!

We climbed the great staircase together, moving pharaoh by pharaoh in perfect order, each name echoing down the centuries. It was almost overwhelming, standing on those steps surrounded by history’s greatest rulers arranged like a monumental timeline. And then came the artifacts—row after row, room after room, each piece deserving an entire afternoon of study. One day was not nearly enough. I could have spent a week and still wanted more.

Then we reached the Tutankhamun galleries, and that’s where Habeba truly shined as a guide. She had a remarkable way of teaching—she directed both my attention and my focus, gently guiding me where to stand and what to focus on. At one point she leaned close and said, “Look at this detail. Now… turn around. Do a full 180.” I did exactly as she said, and that’s how I saw the mask of King Tut for the very first time. There it was, glowing as if lit from within, impossibly radiant, impossibly alive. Simply the greatest piece of art ever produced. It took my breath away in the most literal sense. What a moment. What a memory. And I have her to thank for shaping it so perfectly.

My biggest lesson today? Get a good, knowledgeable guide for the Grand Egyptian Museum. It will change your entire experience. There is far too much to grasp alone, and with the right person leading the way, every artifact becomes a story and every room becomes a revelation.

Eventually, time caught up with us. Habeba had a lecture at her university and needed to leave by five, so we waved goodbye, and I spent the next hour wandering through the museum on my own. Just me and thousands of years of history, and the odd quiet that comes at the end of a long, perfect day. When I finally stepped outside, the sun was beginning to set over Cairo, and I felt full—of knowledge, beauty, gratitude, all of it.

For my final night in Egypt, I intentionally booked the exact same Airbnb I stayed in on my very first night. It felt symbolic to return to that balcony overlooking the pyramids, to sit in the same spot with a completely different heart. My first night had been filled with nerves, excitement, and the unknown. Tonight, I felt peaceful, seasoned, and transformed. A bookend to an extraordinary journey.

Tomorrow I fly home, and I will write one final entry—a reflection on the trip as a whole. But for tonight, I simply sat on that familiar patio, listening to the horns of the Tuk-tuks honking, watching the pyramids fade into the evening sky, and letting the enormity of it all settle into my bones.

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