Egypt trip report- loved it

I visited Cairo with my family. There were 8 of us all together. We were there for 7 days and we live in the USA and are Americans. I was worried about the Iran conflict affecting our trip but it was fine. The trip was amazing and we all loved it. Had young adults with us and 10yr old girl and 14yr old boy. We visited pyramids twice, rode camels and horses in desert, Nile dinner boat cruise, khan el khalili, mosques, great Egyptian museum, old Cairo museum, street food tour, felluca rides on Nile at sunset, Coptic Cairo, Islamic cairo, Gayer-Anderson museum, and even went to a Christian church on Friday for sabbath observance.

A few tips for those going:
1.) Uber is awesome there and cheap. Most rides were $2-4. We had to get two Ubers every time since our group was large. Don’t hire a driver- just uber. Beware of the scam where the drivers want to go off app and have you pay in cash. In those scenarios we just got out of the uber and grabbed another one.
2.) don’t get guides for everything. The guide business is shady in Egypt with overtipping, over paying, and kickbacks galore. Get a few guided trips but just do everything else on your own. It’s a little scary but Egyptians are friendly. All of the vendors at the khan and pyramids are absolute sharks, but just take it patience. Egyptians won’t steal from you but they will hustle you like crazy. We rode camels at the pyramids and I had to haggle with 7 different guys to get the price I wanted and then even after the rides, he wanted more. It was fine and the Egyptian way. We got a guide for the museum and she was worthless, but we did a walking food tour that was amazing and that guide rocked. I almost hired him for the next day to take us to the pyramids but my family said no guide. Glad we didn’t use a guide there. The buses are free and entrance fees are pretty inexpensive- we didn’t understand the history of everything we were seeing but we don’t have the patience for all that
3.) pyramids- beware of the gauntlet and racket that is the pyramid scene. It’s like the mafia. My advice: deep breaths, patience, hold your ground, and observe. If you communicate firmly with the vendors and guides that you don’t want to be bothered (don’t be rude- just say “Shukran”), they will back off. If you appear unsure, they’ll think they have a chance and will be unrelenting. Also, don’t trust any of them. Just be firm and then watch for 5-10minutes. You’ll understand the game, rules of engagement, what’s allowed, etc….
4.) Egyptians are awesome- so fun and wanting to help you. We were in back alleys in old Cairo and they’re all so friendly. Didn’t feel unsafe at all. We had 5 women/girls in our group (all modestly dressed) and none harassed. It was probably because of the men in our group, but thats fine.
5.) animals- lots of stray dogs and cats. Most of them are cute but you don’t want to pet them due to diseases and you can’t save them. So just enjoy seeing them and move on with your life. The horses and camels at the pyramids are what they are. Many people say they’re abused so you shouldn’t ride them…all I have to say is that many Egyptians live in extreme poverty and these animals have better lives than many of the poorest Egyptians. So I gladly paid to employ Egyptians to let me ride their animals in the desert and it was a great time. We ubered from pyramids to a local stable and rode horses and camels out in the desert. Amazing and unforgettable.
6.) dirty, crowded, crazy- Egypt is not Europe or America. Just roll with it. They are lots of poor people which sucks but you spending money there helps the overall economy. Don’t give out swaths of money or trinkets to the beggars- it just makes them flock to you and doesn’t really help them. Made that mistake on day one and told everyone in our group not to do that anymore. Once we stopped doing that, the swarms of beggars stopped coming. Get a nice hotel so that can be a refuge for you at night after long days in Egypt.