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Published: August 8th 2007
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The Pyramids of Giza Breaking the pattern of the past few mornings, we are up and ready to leave for Giza by 9:30am. Tita Marie had the doorman pick up some taamiya and aish (bread) from nearby, and we breakfasted Arabic style with some fuul (like a chicpea mash) and fruit as well. I love the taamiya. It’s perfect - crispy and delicious, and a nice change from the usual chickpea falafel. Giza is only 12km outside of Cairo, so the ride is short. Our hosts have already been to Giza, and as it is quite a hot day and Tito Armando has an upset stomach, they opt to drop us off and head to the mall. Tito Armando takes some time to warn us about the “professional hecklers” at the site - basically, all the people offering tours or souvenirs who will be more than persistent in trying to part us with our money. The first thing they do, even before we get out of the car (as they’re yelling that we can’t park there, which we’re not planning to do) is ask us for our passports so we can buy tickets. Yeah, right, does anyone really fall for that?
Giza Pyramids
Just can't get it quite in one shot. Tita Marie gives me her cell phone, and I can tell they are both afraid to leave us there on our own, especially after the Khan al-Khalili drama. We reassure them that we’ll be alright, and proceed to buy our discount tickets, ignoring the many men telling us to give them the money and they will buy the ticket and give us a great tour for no extra charge.
Going through security, I get a call on the cell. They want to make sure we’re okay. And we are. We soon develop more than one strategy for the dozens of people who bother us while we try to appreciate the pyramids. The best one is to completely ignore the person. Don’t look at them, don’t say anything. But when they extend their hand and say, “Welcome to Egypt,” ignoring them makes you the rude one. I learned to place my palms together and bow like a Thai lady. Leroy reverted to French or Portuguese more than once. But ignoring is best. The Great Pyramid of Khufu, the largest pyramid, stands more than 480 feet tall and is more than 700 feet long on each side at the base. Oh,
Giza Pyramids
Meli is feeling like it... I forgot, I should get the measurements in meters now. In any case, it’s big. The smooth sides are long gone, and rectangular stones remain. We cannot go inside until the ticket office opens at 1pm, and we’d have to pay again (and our books makes us think there’s not much to see). In any case, it’s 11am, and we’ll miss it. The middle pyramid belongs to Khufu’s son, Khafre, and it still has a limestone cap, harking back to what the pyramids used to look like before that limestone encasing was taken and used to build other monuments. I am absolutely happy to be here, actually standing in front of these great monuments. At one point, we walk to a spot where we can see all three pyramids and the sphinx, with a backdrop of desert and camel-riding police officers. You can’t help but wonder what it was like in the time of the pharaohs, and what great visions guided them to make this amazing funerary complex. We stomp around for a good two hours, taking pictures of the sphinx from many angles. I can’t help but laugh when I remember what Tita Marie thought when she first saw
Giza Pyramids
This way to heaven! Giza - she said, “His nose is missing! I like Vegas better.” All kidding aside, ancient Egyptian culture is incredible. After a couple hours and once our water runs out in our search for the Solar Boat museum, we call Khaled to pick us up.
Abou Shakra and Wadi Digla Lunch is back in Maadi at a restaurant called Abou Shakra, and we order up the Egyptian specialties - wine leaves, hummus, tahina, baba ganoush, lamb moza, beef and kofta (spiced minced lamb meat) grilled kebab plates, lentil soup, a mixed salad, and two kinds of bread. It’s a feast. While Egyptian taamiya is yummier to me than falafel, I’ll take regular dolma over the Cairo version (which has tomato sauce). Leroy and Tito Armando pull their weight and finish the meat, and then we waddle into the car for an afternoon ride in the desert. Wadi Digla is a desert park. I can’t imagine anyone coming here for a bbq because it is hot and unforgiving. There is no shade, and our 4x4 rocks to and fro as we drive on the road. But it’s beautifully isolated. We don’t stay long as I have work to do and
As still as a statue
I didn't know statues carried video cameras. (Aww, honey, you missed my feet and my Egyptian statue stance!) I leave early in the morning.
Yacoubian Building Back at the Maadi crib, I work on my presentation while they sip on chianti and watch Yacoubian Building, a movie based on a controversial novel about Egyptian life - power, politics, sex. It’s a good movie, one that was almost banned because of the unfavorable light it placed certain aspects of Egyptian life. It’s a sad tale of a Cairo with so much promise and the subsequent disappointment with that unfulfilled potential. I join them halfway through the movie and we all stay up late into the night.
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