Experiencing wanderlust but don’t know where exactly to go? How about Egypt?
While the U.S. Department of State recommends you practice caution if you decide to visit, with the proper precautions and travel partners, it will be an unforgettable experience. The Pyramids of Giza? Luxor Temple? The Nile River? The ancient tombs found in the Valley of the Kings? You can’t go wrong.
Entrepreneur Krystal Hardy Allen recently reveled in the beauty and history that makes the Northeast African country one of the great wonders of the world in honor of her 40th birthday
— and she brought her girlfriends and a photographer along for the fun.
“My vision was deeply personal, spiritual, and intentional from start to finish,” Allen shared in an Instagram caption about her adventure. “As a little girl, I learned about the seven wonders of the world. As an adult, I dreamed of what it would be like to visit and touch the Great Pyramids, to sail on the Nile River, and to see what our ancestors created and left as a visual and symbolic legacy. When I began to pray and contemplate how I wanted to enter 40, Africa fell on my heart and so did centering my Black womanhood.”
In January, the K. Allen Consulting founder gathered up six of her closest girlfriends, who all covered their own travel costs, and for a week, they enjoyed everything from ATV riding through the desert to touring the pyramids, a private cruise down the Nile River, camelback riding, museum tours and relaxing with massages at the Four Seasons Cairo. Allen covered the costs of their luxurious and planned activities, including ensuring they had personal drivers to get around from the Four Seasons. Allen also flew out photographer Michael Carson to capture the ladies and to do a solo photo shoot with the birthday girl.
She, like many Black women, decided to go into this year prioritizing joy and self-care following last November’s Presidential Election. “As a Black woman – given the presidential election and overall political weight and realities of the world, God knew exactly where I needed to be and with whom to enter 2025 recharged, refreshed, and renewed to fulfill the next chapter of my life,” she wrote in a Facebook post.
And so, she went big. Allen enjoys going big, whether she’s surprising her parents with their first home in her hometown of Selma, surprising her staff with tickets to Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour, which went viral, or gathering up her girls and enjoying a photo shoot in Cairo.
If you need some inspo to book that flight to Egypt or just to enjoy that getaway that’s been a goal of yours to make a reality, scroll through Allen’s images below and book your own flight soon.
