Written by Alexandria Hilton
So, you think you think you know Cairo?
At first glance, Egypt is a once-in-a-lifetime kind-of-thing.
“If I had dime for every time someone walked through my door and told me they were only going once…”
Malaka Hilton motioned to the door at the front of the office, the one that leads straight out onto once-quaint Sarasota’s once-quiet North Palm Avenue.
It’s hard to miss the sarcophagus as you walk through that door, ancient Egypt closer than usual.
Malaka has been identified as exceptionally gifted in her knowledge of the Middle East and Egypt by Travel and Leisure, Conde Nast– who am I kidding– you know all this already!
Egypt has been at the center of Admiral Travel for a long time, in many ways close to home and heart. For this reason, Malaka has visited with and without guests dozens of times at this point in her career. Does she ever get tired of the same old trip?
An innovator at her core, Malaka tells me a secret of the business,
“There’s always something new and exciting. It’s true that it takes a bit more legwork nowadays, as the whole world connects, but our team on the ground knows us too well not to come up with something really special for our guests each and every time we return.”
It is somewhat culturally significant, I must add, that when you are of Egypt, you get the best of Egypt.
To someone who says, “I’ve already been to Cairo. I want to see something new.”
Malaka would ask,
“Have you been to the GEM?”
The Grand Egyptian Museum is officially scheduled to fully open on the 3rd of July. Malaka and her VIPLane guests visited with privileged access on the 25th of March because… well… Malaka doesn’t wait.
For anyone a fan of mystery and history, the GEM is sure to, if it hasn’t already, wrestle its way into your dreams; as the world’s largest archaeological museum dedicated to a single civilization, “stunning” may be a drastic understatement. With over 50,000 artifacts between its walls and tunnels, ATInsiders found themselves awestruck.
A mind-boggling intersection of ancient civilization and state-of-the-art architecture, this museum and the exhibitions within are reason enough to head back to Cairo.
