Pyramids!

We arrived in Cairo, Egypt around 5am and crashed after the long and stressful trip getting there. After we woke up we ran a couple of errands and wandered around a bit before heading to the light at the Pyramids of Giza! We thought we’d have to drive for an hour or two outside of Cairo to get to the pyramids but that was not the case! They are located right smack in the middle of the busy city of Giza. It was very dark out (and cold!) but we could still see the impressive silhouettes of the Pyramids. Even at night they seemed magical and amazing. The light show was slightly informative but overall pretty cheesy.

The Pyramids of Giza are the only remaining ancient wonder world and we went back the next morning for another visit. The Pyramids were built as tombs for pharaohs and we were totally awestruck by the size and grandeur. THEY ARE HUGE!!! Each block of the pyramids weighs approximately 2.5 tons and it is baffling to see that someway and somehow people(?) managed to perfectly engineer and construct the blocks into pyramids 48 stories high.

We climbed up a tiny fraction of the largest pyramid and then went inside! There is a small, slightly claustrophobic, tunnel carved into the interior of the pyramid and we crawled through it and up a pretty steep ascent to a room that used to host some serious booty! The climb back out of the pyramid was physically challenging (our legs were still sore days later!) and a little scary because one careless step could have been bad news! It was exciting and a bit eerie to be inside of a structure dating back more than 4000 years!

We spent hours at the Pyramids admiring them and all of the activity around them. A savvy camel owner showed us a post card of a 3 pyramids together taken from a spot in the desert beyond the pyramids. So, we loaded onto camels and set off into the desert to get our picture. The camel ride was a blast and we got our post-card worthy photos. Everything was going according to plan until my camel bit Carrie’s camel’s tail and the camels started fighting. Carrie and her camel driver took off ahead leaving TJ and I to manage the camel on our own. I was a little worried since my camel was looking at me funny and seemed to be in a biting mood… We eventually made it back to the base of the Pyramids and then checked out the Sphinx.
The Sphinx has a woman’s head and a lion’s body. Apparently “she” used to tell riddles then kill anyone who couldn’t come up with the correct answer. Unfortunately the Sphinx’s stone is deteriorating from the inside. Experts have tried to restore the Sphinx but their attempts have made the condition worse. The Sphinx was impressive despite her nose being hammered off sometime between the 11th and 15th centuries and the numerous pigeons who use her as a resting spot.

Our next stop was Saqqara. Saqqara is a huge cemetery that was an active burial ground for pharaohs and their families, administrators, generals and sacred animals for 3500 years. Saqqara is also where the first pyramid was constructed. Our book said we should dedicate at least half a day to this site but we found 30 minutes sufficient.

After Saqqara we visited an open air museum at Memphis, which features a huge limestone statue of Ramses II. While both Saqqara and Memphis demonstrate amazing history, the Pyramids at Giza sure made for a tough act to follow!

We had our driver drop us off at the Khan al Kahlili market where we intended to do a little shopping. Unfortunately, the market was not a pleasant shopping environment as the shop owners/workers were aggressive and extremely annoying. They would say things that they thought would get us into their shop but instead angered us to the point that we wouldn’t do business with that person, regardless of whether they had something in their shop that we wanted. We left empty handed and irritated, hoping that we come across better markets in Istanbul.