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Published: April 8th 2006
The Great Pyramids
To be here, looking up, is one of the great things I have ever done. The pyramids or bigger and more awe insiring than I imagined. Welcome to Egypt
We have made it to the bustling streets of Cairo. All the horror stories of Cairo that I have heard in my research of this place have been so very, very wrong. This is a wonderful city. Even before landing the flight steward on our flight in (on a brand new plane that was nearly empty, which made it very cushy) offered to give us lift into town. We landed after 5:00 and were at our hotel at 6:00. Not a single hassle except for the guy who wanted money for giving me a paper towel in the bathroom.
The Ishmalia House Hotel is amazing. We have a birds eye view over the heart of the city, a busy circle know as Tahir Square. The room is huge with wood floors and a sparking clean bathroom with hot water. The weather is amazing at 70 in the day in 50 at night. I used a blanket for the first time in 3 months! What makes it more exciting is that we have to take the … um.. well I guess we will call it an “elevator” up to the 8th floor. The various noises and
Inside the Tomb
This was a partialy restored tomb in which kings were buried. You can see very clearly the hieroglyphs etched into the walls. shakes make it a little unnerving, but fun!
Food is even better. The first taste of real falafel (called taamiya here) and you realize you have never had falafel before. Kushari is also on most menus. It is pasta with lentils, chickpeas, fried onion, tomato sauce, and spice. Fuul (fool) is a mashed bean served in a pita like falafel, also good. There is a side dish called torshi: pickled radish, carrot, and other veggies that is a bit of an acquired taste, but I like it. There is so much more to try. The even better part is that we can feed both of us for under $2, all day.
Walking around the city is an experience in itself. The streets have marked lanes that seem to have no other purpose than decoration. Two lanes turns into five, if you can really call anything here a “lane”. Walking across the street involved trust, hope, sweat, adrenaline, luck, a little agility, and a lot of guts!! While you have to watch out for the “friendly local” who will show you the way and yet somehow steer you into a perfume shop, most people have been friendly and kind.
The Sphyix
What can you say? This thing was really cool to see up close! The Pyramids of Giza To see the pyramids you must first get there. Most tourists will choose to take a taxi for about 2 bucks, but we are two cheap for that. There is an a/c tourist class bus that goes there for about a buck, still too much. We search for the local bus that would get us there for 1 Egyptians Pound or about 20 cents. This does involve learning Arabic numerals. We need the 900 bus, but if you got on the bus that said 900 on the side you would actually be on the 955.
I will never forget that first glimpse. Just a peak of the looming triangular mass that makes the pyramids was enough to get me excited. Once you made your way through the gauntlet of touts selling everything for camel rides to plastic pyramids the fact that you are standing on top of 4000 years of history hits you head on. The Great Pyramid of Kufu rises over 400 feet directly in front of you.
We walked though a lot of the crumbling side tombs. I was surprised at the amount of hieroglyphs still perfectly visible, just like
See, we were really here!
Here we are at the pyramids! in the books and movies. In the tombs no photos are allowed. This rule only exists so the guards can ask for tips (called baksheesh) for "letting" you take a photo. The other memorable item for any pyramid vist is the camal touts.
Tout:“Want to ride a Camel?”
Us “La (no)”
Tout “Good price just for you”
Us “La shukran (no thank you)”
Tout “You know how much?”
Us “No, really we don’t want to”
Tout “Twenty pounds, special price just for you”
Us—we stopped talking at this point
Tout “His name is Charlie Brown” (there were at least four camels named Charlie Brown)
Tout ”Maybe let then yes?·”
Tour “Hi ho sliver away”
Us “Really, we DO NOT want a camel ride”
Tout “OK, see you later alligator”
Five minuets later “You want to ride camel”
Repeat somewhere around 10 to 20 times
Despite all of it, the hassles are minimal really. We saved the Sphinx for last. This was the highlight for me. I just could not get over being here, this close, seeing it with my own eyes!
The Antiquities Museum This place is as about outdated as the artifacts it holds.
Room with a View
This is our view from our balcony on the 8th floor of the Ishmalia House Hotel. For 9 bucks a night we get a view of the Antiqueties Museum (the roundish building), the Citadel (not in the picture), and the bustling Midan Tahir. We even get breakfast! There is over 136,000 exhibits. The highlight is of course the famous gold sarcophagus and funerary mask of King Tut. There is an entire wing dedicated to the gold items found in King Tut’s tomb. Tut was not even a great Pharaoh compared with Ramses and Seti, so one can only imagine how much treasure they had packed in their tombs (no one knows since there have been tomb robbers for thousands of years). No cameras inside, not even for baksheesh so no photos for this part!
Next Up Tonight we will enjoy the sound and light show on the pyramids. The next day its down the less famous but no less impressive pyramids of Dashur. Before we leave Cairo we till check out the Al-Azhar Mosque (We will try for pictures Jodie) and Islamic Cairo. There is so much to see in Cairo alone!!
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Carol
non-member comment
Hi-You don't know me but I've been following your blog
I found your blog while researching a trip I just made to Ghana. I have been writing to Kirt and Hilda about Books for Africa and have started collecting books for the project. The Bromleys' site and your blog were a wonderful help to me on what to expect. We were 9 people from Advent Presbyterian Church working with Living Waters for the world putting in a water purification project in Abetifi. My daughter Cybil who is a senior in high school came with us and read your blogs. Cybil was the hit of Abetifi as the only young person on our trip. We fell in love with Ghana and the people we met. I hope to return soon but until then I will trvel thru your blog! Peace and travel mercies, Carol Covic