The pyramids....without a camel!
Trip Start
Sep 17, 2007
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197
272
Trip End
Oct 08, 2008
Giza,
Egypt
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Our guidebook matter-of-factly mentions that there is a 30 cent bus that travels to the pyramids. I've never heard of anyone who has successfully taken this bus, but we decided to give it a try. It was a lot cheaper than a taxi, and people who got into taxis ended up taking expensive detours and expensive camel rides.
In the end, it was surprisingly easy. Finding the right street was a little hard, but we did manage to flag down the right bus, and he even charged us 2 pounds. We headed south to Giza for about half an hour and were looking around for some indication of when to get off
two pyramids
. A guy who just happened to be sitting in front of us turned around when we stopped and said we should get off at the next stop. He said he used to work at the pyramids, blah blah blah. He even pointed out one of the pyramids as it came into view over the buildings. Well at least we were close.
I suppose the reason this didn't register on our scam radar is because we almost always rely on the kindness of strangers to tell us when to get off public buses. So we followed this guy off the bus, and he talked us into a minibus that turned around. Damn. We'd been scammed off the public bus to the pyramids.
He took us down to the side entrance of the pyramids complex, where camel drivers can slip you in without paying for a ticket (you just pay them a lot of money). Then he gave us the choice of doing it "the Egyptian way" and coming with him to get on a camel, or going to pay for a ticket (he said this with some scorn). I was pretty annoyed that he had said he wa bringing us to the main entrance, so I chose the non-Egyptian way. We paid for our trust in the kindness of humanity with a very long, hot walk back out to the road
this one is huge
. We stopped at the side entrance, where camel drivers attempted to persuade us it was the main entrance, than gave up in disgust and walked all the way around. We reset our scam radars. Egyptian touts have no sense of decency whatsoever.So after being told it was too far and we needed to take a taxi (it wasn't), and the entrance was in the stables (it definitely wasn't), we finally and victoriously made it to the front entrance to the pyramids. I'm pretty sure the only way you make it here is if you have a guide and a tour group or if you are very persistent. The ticket office is an unmarked shack. I find this strange. We passed through the entrance and came face to face with the Great Pyramid of Cheops.
After checking out the huge blocks, which were larger than Erin (see photo), we circled the large heap of stones and waded through the camel drivers offering camel rides:
Camel Driver: You want to take a camel ride?
Erin: No. I don't like camels.
Camel Driver: Camels are nice. The price is very cheap, Egyptian price
Erin-sized blocks
.Erin: No thank you.
Camel Driver: Guess how much.
Erin: No
Camel Driver: Come on, guess how much.
Erin: Fine. How much?
Camel Driver: *quotes a ridiculous number*
Erin: *laughs*
Camel Driver: okay, name a price.
Erin: NO
This conversation could stand in for everything we end up doing in Egypt.
The pyramids are massive. But after this wears off it just looks like a pile of stones and you want to see them from a distance. We wandered around the second pyramid, which has a little limestone hat (the pyramids used to be covered in a sparkling white layer of limestone). We peered into the solar barque pits, which is where the boats used to transport the pharoah's body to the pyramid were buried
the sides
. On the side of the second pyramid, in a rather unsightly building, is a restored version of a solar barque. It costs almost as much to get in here as it did to get in the pyramids. But Erin wanted to see it, so we went. It was pretty interesting. The boat is pretty large and held together with rope, of all things. It could be considered the oldest boat in existence. Pricey, but cool to see.From here we wandered down to the Sphinx. It was much bigger than I thought and pretty impressive looking. There was a ticket check to get into the temple around the Sphinx (this is a problem if you don't buy a ticket), and then we were sitting by the Sphinx with the pyramids in the background. Perhaps one of the most iconic sights in the world. Erin was classy and wanted a photo of her kissing the Sphinx. I had to agree it was a pretty good photo.
From here we walked into the dunes alongside the pyramids for a good view. This is the trail the camels usually take. We had a couple followers. Guess how much? Guess how much? At the first viewpoint we were adopted by a couple of Libyans on vacation. They posed with us for a bunch of photos, then told us we should come to Libya and see their pyramids. He made us write down his name and the general region of Libya he lived in
looking up
. I think we can just ask around when we're in Libya. It was pretty funny.From here we climbed along the dunes until all nine of them lined up in the classic picture. This spot was taken up by an Egyptian and his two sons. He told me this was the best spot for a picture. How convenient. So I succumbed, got him to take a couple pictures, and gave him some baksheesh. The picture turned out really nice. The kids came up with two bottles of coke, one already opened. A dirty trick, to guilt the tourists into buying the soda because they feel responsible that it was opened.
We moved on to a more quiet viewpoint and sat to admire the amazing view in front of us. The pyramids at last, and without a camel. The suburb of Giza comes right to the foot of the pyramids plateau, so you can see Cairo in the background.
Hot and sweaty and low on water, we successfully caught the bus back and immediately bought several liters of cold water. Then we ate in our favorite restaurant. A feast can be had with pita bread, felafel, fuul (kind of like chili), and a yogurt and cucumber salad. Put it all together and it's amazing.
~Travis
