THE PYRAMIDS AND MORE!
Trip Start
Oct 01, 2008
1
101
319
Trip End
Sep 02, 2009
Cairo,
Egypt
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
We are off to see the Pyramids today. The doorman arranges for a taxi for us and it is 200 pounds for the day and we pay the entrance fees. He is not a guide, just gets us from place to place. We are early and before rush hour traffic. Amazing we can see the pyramids and we are still in the city. Len takes a picture and realizes he left the card of the camera back in the computer. We ask to go back, Len tells the driver we will pay extra, another 50 pounds. Len is so upset with himself for having forgotten the card. The driver gets out his cigarettes to smoke, Len says no smoking and I say I have asthma so he doesn't smoke. The driver would now like to just take us for a tour in town and do the Pyramids tomorrow. He quotes a price and I tell Len it is twice what the hotel told us, lets just keep to this schedule.
We get the card and head back to the taxi. I get in and say hello, as if we are meeting for the first time and he laughs. We head out now in rush hour traffic and change the route. So amazing when we see the pyramids right there with the apartments before them. The driver takes us to a government run tourist ? where we speak with a man who tells us about the tour on horseback. I say I think we should go out and look at there the Sphinx and Pyramids are and how far it would be to walk. We end up negotiating a price and then realize we are going on horseback. I look at carriages and say why can't we go in a carriage, but we have paid, so up on the horses we get. We are lead out of this area, pass lots of camels and other horses, ready to go. It is a disgusting route and just gets dirty and smellier as we go along past all the creatures. We get to the entrance, have to get off and go through security and back on. We go across sand and are at the back side of the 3 big and 6 small pyramids. The guide is excellent with his information, jokes and English. He takes pictures of us along the way, then off the horses, with his headscarf, standing and sitting. He did an excellent job, we found out when we got home!
We went to the small pyramids and climbed; and then over to the larger Mikerinos pyramid and Len began his climb until someone came along and yelled at us. Ooops, you can't climb the big pyramids. We apologized and afterwards thought, yes, they shouldn't be climbed. It is a sad dirty place with bottles, bags, cans and animal crap all over the place. We rode on and then walked to the Khefren Pyramid to walk all around it. This is the only one left with a little bit of the outside finish left on it at the top. We are offered camels to take pictures on or for a ride, t-shirts, we are give gifts of small head scarfs and cord, as a friend, then asked for a small amount of money and when we say no he grabs them back, we know it isn't a small amount of money that he wants, it's lots.
We did enjoy the size and statue of the pyramid, quite incredible and unbelievable that we are actually here and touching them. We walk back and the guide is there close with the horses, I think he is getting tired of waiting for us and for us taking so long. We now head to see the sphinx, get off and have to climb down a wall to get in. Lots of people here as it is a small area where you are allowed to go to take the pictures, no getting close or within touching distance at all.
We leave and hop the wall and ride back to where it all began. We are taken inside a shop to wash up and use the toilette, but it is a government perfume shop. After washing up the manager asked was the guide good and we should give him a tip. We had discussed this while washing and were prepared for it. He got the tip and asked for something for the small boy that lead our horses. We said no, as the kid probably would never see it, he wasn't there. We now sit through a perfume demonstration and then decline and leave.
As we leave we see that we could have done the tour on our own walking. It was a cool and windy day and it would have been ideal. Enough said, we did enjoy the ride and it was n unique way of seeing the pyramids.
We then went to Memphis, about 12 miles south of Cairo to see a small sphynix and the remains of two four-metre statues, ones in alabaster of Ramesses II. The 10m (33ft) Colossus of Ramesses II, is in a small building We couldn't believe all the ruins or part statues, vases, etc. that are outside. No protection at all from the elements of nature or all of the pollution here.
Lunch was a Hazelnut chocolate bar, water and some Werthers candies.
We then went to see the Sakkara step pyramids and King Djoser's tombs. In their prime these must have been the most ornate and spectacular. They were made 300 years before the great pyramids. We went into the tomb and the walls were all 'Pyramid Texts', of spells written to help the king ascend to the heavens and descend again, which reveal the relationship of the king to the gods. Some areas had lots of colour still remaining on them. Then we went down a small narrow stair way into the dark of the tomb. Just like we had seen of programs on Egyptian pyramids. The room we enter into has more pyramid texts, the next smaller room had stars all over the ceiling. Len took a picture, oops, we then had a watcher over us, saying no photo, hand out looking for money because of the photo, we said not money. I was looking for a candy in my pouch so ended up giving him a candy and his buddy was right there with his hand out too. Then he asked my in German for a pen, so I answered him in German, nine, nix scriber. We really enjoyed this stop.
The driver told us each place he gives something to the security police for him to park. Some places we got to walk to get in so he wasn't near security. The driver asked us if we would stop in at a carpet store and do the tour and go to the 2nd floor and if we did he would get 10 pounds. We did agree to do this. It was the end of the day and we could use a drink.
It actually was very interesting watching them hand weave and knot the carpets, then they are sheared as the carpet progresses along. They made carpets from camel wool (the under belly area) and camel hair (back area) and from pure Egyptian silk. The silk carpets were beautiful and oh, so soft. The man worked only 3 hours a day on the silk carpets because the knots had to be made perfectly. We watched some young boys working, he explained they were only there to learn the trade after school and would not work there until they were 14 years old.
We then went upstairs and sat and had our drink while he showed us all the completed small sized carpets. The silk ones turn a darker shade when turned around, lighter when looked at from the other side. I would love to walk on one with my bare feet.
We looked around at all the carpets hanging and on the shelves. The price tags were quite hefty. We thanked him for the informative tour and then left. On our way home we stopped at the roadside to get some oranges. Lots of small donkeys pulling carts or people ridding on them. Seen a tuk-tuk, not many around here, similar to the ones in Thailand.
It was a long ride back and in traffic of course. We stopped at the bank to get some money to pay the driver and then found a restaurant for dinner. It was an Indian restaurant, the food was good, chicken was hot, but the fries and vegetables were cold. We started with some Balabi bread, which is like a big puff ball. Quite interesting and delicious when you are very hungry.
Back to the hotel and ready for bed - it is only 5:30! So we stayed up and did some planning for the next part of our trip.
![[11] Camel and Pyramids](http://images.travelpod.com/users/el_condor/thumbnail.asia_2005.1143747660.picture_032.jpg)