http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Giza/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Africa , Egypt , Lower Egypt , Giza en-us Tue, 14 Oct 2008 09:23:19 BST Tue, 14 Oct 2008 09:23:19 BST Because everything in Egypt closes around 300 in the afternoon during Ramadan we got an early start today visiting the pyramids. First we visited the pyramids at Giza directly outside of our hotel. We walked around the pyramids before entering the pyramid of Khafre the second pyramid at Giza the one with Sphinx. It was VERY hot and hard to breathe inside the pyramid but it was fascin http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Giza/blog-324381.html We arrived in Cairo at approximately 200 am local time after a relatively painless flight from Zanzibar to Egypt. The airports along the way were a study in contrasts... at the Zanzibar airport there were no computers no luggage conveyors no automation whatsoever. Gates consisted of pieces of computer paper taped to the glass doors behind the building with handwritten numbers on them. Outs http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Giza/blog-323988.html So today I finally got around to seeing the Pyramids after 2 weeks in Egypt. The average tourist makes a beeline for them almost before getting off the tarmac at Cairo International but I got a decent view from the plane on the final approach. That was enough to tide me over until now but a lot of people left for Alexandria today so I figured it was good timing to see the Great Pyramids.To g http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Giza/blog-319808.html We rose early this morning as we were both very excited about seeing the pyramids After a nice breakfast with Derek another Australian on our tour we all bussed it out to the pyramids. It was very exciting when we all caught a glimpse of ldquoCheopsrdquo the great pyramid through the buildings as we travelled through Giza. It was at this time that our tour guide asked who would l http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Giza/blog-318529.html . http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Giza/blog-309100.html Subtitles Rome Wasn't Built in a Day But we Visited it in a Day Kate Denied Entry to the VaticanDear Friends and FamilyNOTE We cannot believe it has been 11 days since we posted an entry This is our longest one yet so if you are pressed for time be sure to read at least the sections labeled 653146531365332653206533065327653276532565331 and http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Giza/blog-305140.html Today was our first real day at St. Andrews. Hardly anyone has had a full nights sleep since we've arrived. Still despite our haze or it could have just been the Cairo haze..more than likely we appeared at the gates at 9 AM. We had been warned by Fiona that registration day is chaotic.My guard was down at first. For the first hour I functioned as furniture in the main room of the buil http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Giza/blog-293576.html 20170228252615937329233832261220043260536529233287251052151634892303402615919968296773265422283201546529221253253246530030007653012289921152208412049165314653141229034892312432355930001Dashur 21040 saqqara 2087721040Giza1229036884200133520132147369422644933 http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Giza/blog-293188.html Today has been difficult Sab.The heat the lack of sleep the constant attempt to translate the harassment and the constant awareness to avoid behaving in a way that could solicit harassment has taken its wear especially in the past two days.I actually toyed with the idea of including some of my other letters and descriptions in the blog before this post because I was concerned that anyone re http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Giza/blog-293182.html We were all waiting in anticipation to see the great Pyramids and Sphinx They were surrounded by city streets but still it was an awesome sight We all stood staring with amazement. Such an incredible sight and the work that went into building such amazement Severasl of us climbed inside the pyramid. It is a very constricted space. Once you climb your way up you find yourself in a small room. It http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Giza/blog-285501.html Yesterday was quite uneventful. I was on a bus pretty much all day. I enjoyed my morning Siwa style getting some fresh bread for breakfast and then relaxing until my bus at 10am. It took about 4 hours to get to Marsa Matruh where I hungout for an hour and a half until the 330 bus to Cairo. I met a military pilot on the bus who was very chatty and asked me uncomfortable questions such as North A http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Giza/blog-281495.html Hi EveryoneFor the past nine days we've been on a tour with Go Bus Egypt. The tour began with an early start and a visit to the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx. They were amazing what can I say they were huge. It's a very busy place loads of buses loads of tourist and loads of people trying to sell everything to you. It was here Stephen first got an offer for his wife of 40 camels a go http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Giza/blog-277937.html So...like a lot of people I suspect Bryan and I have been thinking about visiting the great pyramids since we were very little. Finally today was the day.Unfortunately we were both feeling way none the better for the 10 beer of last nights gala event and the early wake up call to packeatload bus was a sorry state of affairs between the two of us. I didn't feel good at all and Bryan was mo http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Giza/blog-276270.html Port Suez to Port Said We had spent the night anchored outside of Port Suez awaiting the rest of our caravan. There are no locks in the Suez Canal since the water level in the Red Sea and the Med are the same. In most places there is only room for one ship but there are a few areas wide enough to pass so this is where the Northbound and Southbound Caravans pass each other. We were suppose to e http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Giza/blog-276199.html Today it was an early rise to visit the pyramids. We left at 830 on our own airconditioned bus with tour guide. This was definitely the way to travel as opposed to the horrible smoggy piece of shit taxi we had last time. It was already quite hot when we got there but no more then you would expect in the desert. Ahhh loving the heatOur first call of order was the Great Pyramid. Very imp http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Giza/blog-272812.html Although I would have liked to have seen much more I only had a day in Egypt and so it was that I headed off to the Pyramids. I was bowled over. I knew they were big but not that big The sight was aweinspiring ... and the Sphinx ... well ... impossible to take it all in.Having had my mind blown by the complex at Giza the remainder of the day was spent having my mind blown by the treasures of http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Giza/blog-271253.html Az itteniek imadjak az edesseget valamint az alkudozast korruptak es erdeklodok.Kairo egy nagy bazar ami egyben egy oriasi nyilvanos WC is egyben.Imadni es utalnivalo. http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Giza/blog-251669.html On our last day we had the chance to see Islamic Cairo. We started at the Ibn Tulun mosque the oldest mosque in Cairo. It really shows how the mosque was at once a religious building a fortress and a school even sometimes a hospital. It is not the largest or grandest mosque I have ever seen but it has an old majesty and a fascinating history. Its minaret spirals around the outside with stai http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Giza/blog-250057.html This is generally a good rule to follow for anything a country uses to draw in tourists. No Climbing on the Statue of Liberty No Climbing on the Leaning Tower of Pisa No Climbing on the Eiffel Tower. No Climbing on Big Ben while it is true you can climb stairs to the top of these monuments the Pyramids are totally different as they are in fact just one large set of stairs. Like one poorly pl http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Giza/blog-246836.html Escaping subSaharan Africa without getting caught up in Kenya's political strife we arrived in Cairo after a brief stay in the very modern and luxurious city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates everything there looks brand new as the city is constantly under construction.My first impression of Cairo was of a noisy dirty busy city full of smog traffic and cars from the late sixties and earl http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Giza/blog-245213.html In September 2003 a friend told me that a travel company in Hanoi was going to organize a tour to Egypt. I had never expected that someday I would step my foot in Africa to see the pyramids and Sahara desert as it was unrealistic for me to travel so far away. At that time after the SARS Emirates Airlines offered a great airfare from Bangkok to Dubai then Cairo and fortunately the travel comp http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Giza/blog-242258.html We almost didnrsquot get into Cairo..and this time it wasnrsquot because of Yugsrsquos Osama lookalike passport photo Most Arab countries deny entry to anyone whose passport shows evidence of a visit to Israel. While I havenrsquot been to Israel my surname doesnrsquot help much. You can apply for a visa in Cairo but Im positive that if I didnrsquot already have one I would have http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Giza/blog-232820.html As noon approaches on the first full day in Cairo the taxi pulls away from the apartment flat in Maadi with the Gizah Pyramids as the end destination. A taxi has been hired for the entire day for 25.00 Egyptian Pounds approximately 300 EUR or 4.50 USD an hour and the party of six is crammed into the Peugeot 504 Station Wagon. Seated somewhat comfortably with two in the rear seat three in t http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Giza/blog-231561.html hey ya'all Nick and I are safe in Cairo. We had a 15 hour long bus ride due to some delays we were stuck at the Taba border crossing for over 4 hours. Other than that we had a safe trip. We got to our hotel late last night around 1am and then woke up early at 7am so that we could make it to the pyramids before it got too touristy and too hot. We made it and it was so surreal to actually be in th http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Giza/blog-229356.html My daughter is fanatically interested in Egypt. She is studying Anthropology at the university and has been pouring over Egyptian history since she was 14 years old. In August we will be traveling with her to Egypt which will be her first trip there but as circumstances go my husband and I visited Cairo shortly in August of 2007. http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Giza/blog-229054.html It was scorching once we got to Cairo. Once I stepped off the plane I thought someone was torching my flesh and I was about ready to die. It was so hot that I literally burned the soles of my shoes when I touched the sizzling hot sand. We all looked miserable but we got used to it and it was no problem. Irsquove never been this hot in all my life. I felt that coming here I could experience how http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Giza/blog-228598.html Ohh Cairo. Sandy dirty Cairo. Maybe it's because we're nearing the end of our travels. Maybe it's because 90 of people I've talked to on this trip want my money. Maybe it's because I'm wary of a country that has to federally fund a Tourist Police force. All I know is Cairo is a disaster.I remember when we were planning this leg of the trip in Egypt and we had figured that a hotel would be a http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Giza/blog-227543.html When I was applying for and got accepted by Peace Boat I very naturally thought about which ports and parts of the trips would be the best. For months before embarking I looked forward to two parts of the trip the Panama Canal and the Suez Canal. To get to our next port of call Port Said we traveled through the latter. On that day there was nothing going on onboard. There were no classes http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Giza/blog-227492.html