Pyramids and the Sphinx

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The day I have been waiting for all my life. No seriously, who doesn't dream of one day seeing the pyramids of Giza? That's right, nobody! Even if people thought I was crazy for going to Egypt they still mentioned that they would LOVE to travel there. The pyramids are one of the great wonders and mysteries of our world. We question them, we marvel at them, and we wonder in amazement at how they could have possibly been built so long ago.

Getting up at 8 was no problem for me or my roommate because we were so excited to finally go see the pyramids and the sphinx! AUC took buses of some 60 international students, the majority of whom, this was their first time to see the last standing ancient wonder of the world. The pyramids are technically located in Giza, right next to Cairo and it's about a 40 minute bus ride from campus. The first glimpse of the pyramids is literally indescribable. You see them so many times, on tv, in books, in magazines, that seeing them for the first time in person almost doesn't seem real.

After getting our tickets for entrance, 30 Egyptian Pounds (i.e. 5.95370 pounds=1 USD) and an extra entrance ticket to Menkaure's Pyramid we were off to explore ancient Egypt with our personal tour guide. The first stop was the Great Pyramid of Khufu (The Great Pyramid of Giza), the first one you see after the entrance gate. Among the 3 pyramids it is both the largest and oldest, originally standing at some 480 feet and finishing at 2560 BC. It is quite a site to behold! Next to the great pyramid are the queens pyramids. These are smaller in size and did not seem to survive as well as the "big 3", but archaeologists did find makeup in them when they were excavating. The second largest pyramid, The Pyramid of Khafre is the one in which you can still see some of the original limestone on the top. Finally, the third and smallest pyramid, Pyramid of Menkaure, has had the inside closed for reconstruction for some time, but just opened back up again this year! This is the one the majority of my group went into. The journey down is steep and not for tall people, make sure you duck or you will surely bash your head! It is also extremely humid inside and there is not that much too see, but the experience was well worth it.

After visiting the pyramid complex we headed over to the sphinx. As I'm sure most of you know, the sphinx is a mythical creature with the body of a lion and the head of a human. My first impression of the sphinx was how old it looked. While it was highly impressive, it looked like one good rainfall could wash away all it's features. I'm glad to have seen it when I did because some archaeologists believe it could deteriorate over time from water erosion, though others do not. I for one hope it remains intact for a long time for many generations to come and see it's grandeur.

The trip to the pyramid complex was really incredible and something that I have wanted to do since I first heard about the pyramids at a young age. One thing that did strike me was how little tourists were there. Granted, it is August in Egypt, and many people don't travel to Egypt during this time. However, our tour group was the only group there, with maybe a few individual people and one family. The Revolution does seem to have scared some people off and Egypt relies heavily on tourism for their economy and obviously they are hurting. You could tell when the regular hagglers came up to us trying to hawk their products, but you really can't blame them. Everything they sell is one USD, too, which really isn't that bad. Hopefully in the coming months, possibly after the elections (whether next month or if they get postponed) will bring back Egypt's tourist industry.

Now, after the pyramid trip AUC took our group out to lunch. It was a nice lunch buffet consisting of pita, tahini sauce, pasta, rice, chicken, pigs in a blanket (piggies!) and water. It tasted delicious after a hot morning under the sun. Afterwards everyone was exhausted and we pretty much all passed out waiting for our next adventure on Saturday to Old Cairo.

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Photos

Pyramids
Great Pyramid of Khufu

Pyramids
Great Pyramid

Pyramids
Complex; Great Pyramid, Pyramid of Kharfre

Pyramids
Pyramid of Khafre

Pyramids
Panorama Shot with Cairo in the back

The Sphinx
The Sphinx

The Sphinx
Lean on Me

The Sphinx
Profile Shot

Comments

[Areep]

hi
nice one. hope i can make it through this place!