Pyramids
Trip Start
Jul 06, 2008
1
25
26
Trip End
Aug 18, 2008
Giza,
Egypt
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
1) Saqqara - to see the Memphis Pyramids
2) Giza - to see the Great Pyramids
3) Giza again - to see the Sphinx
Our day began 9:00am with the personal driver picking us up from our hotel room. We headed to the car and drove to Giza to pick up our guide. She was very nice, wore the head scarf and 'regular' clothes and spoke very good English.
Our first stop was Saqqara, which had the pyramids in Memphis - the old city, it used to be the capital
01. Trevor and Dana at Memphis Pyramid
. There were there pyramids that we looked at. The largest pyramid was still in good condition, the second pyramid was beginning to fall apart, and the third pyramid was basically looking like a pile of sand. We were told that this was because the first pyramid was built for a strong King and he demanded that it be built properly. The second pyramid was built for a not-so-strong King, so the workers did not use the best materials all the time, but mixed stones with some sand. The third pyramid was built for a weak King, and the workers did a very bad job. We think that this is more just a story told and made up by tour guides. (Not that we have any background in Egyptian history). It just didn't seem quite right - perhaps the representation is fine, but we think there must be some other explanation. We were given our information and then told to have some free time to take photos. We were able to wander right up to the pyramids and amongst the ruins of Memphis. There were many local Egyptian men trying to 'help' tourists take their pictures, or preying on a large group of middle-aged Oriental women, trying to get them to pay for pictures with camels. One poor lady was even heaved ONTO a camel (ignoring her plea's not to). She was plopped on the camel, got a picture and then asked to get off - but he began leading the camel away from her group. Many more shouts came about and soon enough the lady was hauled off again
02. Local Man
. As this group tried to get away and back down the only path available, the man quickly stepped infront of them blocking their way and requesting money. They ended up paying and we were quite glad that we weren't newbies at this. We got our pictures of the camels when we wanted to and we had the firm, "No Thank-You" down to an artform, so that the Egyptian Money Grabbers didn't really bother us a whole lot. Although there were the exceptions and some were far more persistant than others. We did manage to stay polite the entire time though.
Back in the car with our driver and guide, and had been quite pleased with both of them so far. As we drove away from the Memphis pyramid, our guide turned and told us that included in our package was possible tours and demonstrations at a Carpet School, an Egyptian Paper-Making Factory, and a Lotus Factory.
Great.
We politely declined the Carpet School and, to be polite, said we could go to the Paper Factory but we didn't want to buy anything. She said, "You don't HAVE to buy."
Great.
At the paper factory we got a brief explanation and demonstration of how they made the paper from a plant or reed and also told us some of the depictions on the paintings that were in the building
03. All Three Pyramids
. The whole explanation and demonstration took about 20-30 minutes and was really quite interesting. Then we were given small cards and pens. We were told to walk around the factory and write down any numbers of any of the paintings that we might be interested in. Great.
We weren't interested in any of them, but we put in a good effort (we thought) and looked around the building in full. Enjoying the free Pepsi's given to us upon arrival. Eventually, when we thought we'd put in enough time, we gave the cards back and thanked her for the demonstration and were on our way again. The demonstration, the Pepsi, the A/C and the break from the sun were well worth the half hour of our time.
Back in the car again and noon was fast approaching. Our guide asked if we would like lunch now or later. Being as we didn't have breakfast, lunch now was looking good. We drove for a bit and then pulled over and were led into a building by our guide. As we went up the stairs a large 'banquet-type' hall was before us, and the room was completed empty. We knew this was another stop on the list of 'buisiness associates' for this type of tour
04. Camel and Pyramid
. We gave eachother a raised-eyebrow look and sat down. Our guide told us that it was open buffet and the cost was $15 US each. We know that in Canada this is not a big deal - but in Egypt, this is more than a daily budget. This was ridiculous. It was more than we each paid for a hotel room. We had eaten meals (with enough food to be plenty full) for about $2 Canadian. Refusing to allow them to take advantage of yet another tourist, and due to our complete stubborness, we explained that we would rather not eat than pay this amount when we knew the prices were hugely inflated. We had also only brought with us the approximate amount of money to cover the entrance fees into the various sites we would be seeing. The waiter/owner quickly dropped his price to $10, which is still stupidly high, and by now we were simply too ticked off that we were getting the run around and we stood up, as our guide asked us if we had VISA. (That might have been straw that broke the camel's back). We shook our heads and began to walk out.
Our guide was slow to follow and seemed to be a little upset that we were not interested in the carpet, or the paper or the overpriced meal that her counterparts and her have been making money on - probably quite regularly. We returned to the car and the driver was waiting inside a small stone room just off the side-walk
05. Trevor on Path
. They traded some dialogue in Arabic (we can only imagine) and the guide said, let's take a break here for a moment. We sat down in the shade and they presented us with a special deal. There was another man in this stone room and we were told that since our next stop was the Giza Pyramids, we could pay to ride his camels there. If we paid him the 50 egyptian pounds each for the entrance fee, he would take us around on his camels for no further charge.Question:
How do you spell dodgy?
Answer:
E-G-Y-P-T.
We politely refused only to be hassled further by this man. Our guide continued to explain that this would be the same price - but we would get camels as well! When we inquired about purchasing the tickets, she told us we would give HIM the money and he would get the tickets. "No one can come to Egypt and not ride a camel!"
We can.
This just did not seem like a good situation, and to be right on the heels of the whole restaurant con, we were none to eager to be pulled into another Egyptian scheme. We continued to politely decline, and we were soon told it was our choice. We hoped that this would not effect the rest of our 'guided' tour, but we were prepared to be somewhat on our own as far as that goes.
The ride to the Giza pyramids was silent except for the constant discussion between the guide and the driver - all in Arabic of course
06. City Pyramids
. It turns out though, that our guide continued to tell us about the pyramids and the history, although she told us we had a maximum of 20 minutes at these, the most famous of the pyramids. We nodded and headed off, only to discover that this was NOT a long time, and since we skipped lunch - we should have PLENTY of time here. We headed back to the car after 20 minutes of walking around the great pyramid and asked for more time stating that we came to Egypt to see these. Expecting the worst, we were pleasantly surprised when she smiled and said, "Of course!" (We are so confused. Lost in translation maybe?) None-the less, we were very happy that things were still going rather well despite us probably being 'difficult' customers.The Great Pyramid was quite large. We had a tough time getting a picture of it in one frame, and had to be quite far away. For an additional charge, you can go into the pyramid, and since we were there - we couldn't really NOT go in! Once inside, stairs led us up a very steep stairway in which we had to duck or hunch over to climb. It was quite the ascent and at the top was an open room with a stone tomb in it. Not much there, but very cool to see the inside of a pyramid.
A few more pictures, and plenty more refusals of 'picture-taking services' and we were back at the car again and greeted with a smile
07. Camel and Pyramid
. (Phew).Our final itme for the day was the Sphinx. They were going to simply drive by it and have us take pictures out the window (boy do you have to be one your toes here!) but we, very sweetly requested that we stop to allow even 10 minutes to take some photos. The guide said they would wait for us across the street at the KFC. Yes, there is a KFC across the street from the Sphinx in Egypt. You look to your left, you see the Sphinx, you look to your right, you see Colonel Saunders. Bazaar.
Before we headed back to the hotel, our guide askd if we would be interested in stopping at the Lotus store. Holding back groans, we politely declined again, but asked her if SHE would like to go. She smiled and said no. We thought that was kinda funny. Giggle-worthy even.
In the end, we had a day filled with great sites and good stories.
Our whirlwind continues as we head to Luxor tonight on a night train. This could be interesting.
Hugs and Love,
Dana and Trevor
