Cairo - Day 1, Pyramids, Memphis, Saqqara, Papyrus

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Despite my hectic workload, I kept my weekend trip to Cairo with my usual Trekkup group, partially swayed by that it seemed we had a free afternoon on Sunday at a nice hotel. Yeah, no. This did not happen. This was by far the most busy, packed weekend I think I have ever had. It was great, don't get me wrong, but my god (or as our guide Amina would say, "For God's sake"), I am still exhausted!

We met up at the Sharjah airport, which I have not flown from since before Covid. Aside from the heavy traffic from Dubai, it is a cute building and pretty efficient. We took Air Arabia to Cairo and despite, leaving on time, we somehow landed 40 minutes late - I have no idea why. So, we landed at 12:40 ish and two of our guides were inside the customs area (???) waiting for us to direct us to pay the $25 for our visa, which they then placed in our passports and we quickly went through customs. After a couple of people picked up their checked luggage, the 17 of us were escorted to our bus. The drive was interesting and at one point we were able to see the pyramids silhouetted against the lights of the city and sky. We thought we were staying at the luxurious Hilton Pyramid Golf Resorts.... but we wound up across the highway (an extra 20 minute drive at 2:30am) at the Moevenpick. It was nice too, though my roommate and I had some trouble with our room initially and we had to switch rooms. However I was able to pass out around 3:30am and sleep in a bit until about 7:15. We had a nice breakfast in the busy restaurant before heading on to the day's adventures!

The Giza Pyramids and Sphinx

Our first stop which was the most important was to see the famous Great Pyramids. We were all still pretty amazed that we were even here. Amina got our tickets for the main sites, but we could pay an additional (approximately $15) amount to enter the Great Pyramid and walk up to the tomb area. She warned us that it was very tight conditions and there was not much to see at the tomb, but most of us still opted to do it. So, she gave us a short history of the pyramids on the hot bus (because she could talk without shouting) before walking us over to the Great Pyramid where we were finally able to take some photos.

I won't go into too much of the history as they are so famous, you easily find the information online in about 2 seconds. However, while people typically see the two larger pyramids (grandfather and son) and the smaller pyramid (grandson), there are actually 9 pyramids at this site, with the other six in various states of ruin and belonging to the queens associated with these men. The pyramids were built between about 2,600 and 2,500 years BC (almost 5,000 years ago!!!). The Great Pyramid, the tallest at a present height of about 138.5m, was built for the fourth dynasty pharaoh Khufu. It is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one that is intact. The other pyramids were for Khafre and Menkaure. The initial white limestone casing has eroded over time, but you can still see a bit of what it looked like at the very base and at the top of the second pyramid. The pyramid is mostly constructed of limestone, but interior chambers are made from granite.

Those of us going inside, got to climb up a bit of the exterior wall and waited for about 7 minutes before entering the small cave to make our way to the interior. This is the thief's entrance; the original entrance is a bit higher up. It was quite crowded within and very narrow walls. Narrow in that two people going opposite directions was a bit of struggle in some places. And due to the lack of air flow, humidity noticeably increased as continued. Soon, we were walking up a steep incline with notched steps on a wooden plank. Mostly it was narrow two-way traffic, but there were a couple of places where people were on either side of the tunnel. Then at the top of the incline, you had to duck very low beneath the overhanging rock and into the very plain tomb that was very humid. A quick glance around and back down you go. While not visually exciting, it was still amazing to experience - and you got to see the high ceilings within the shaft. Just seeing this architecture was worth it.

Then we got on the bus (Amina kept us on a very strict time schedule all weekend so we could see everything) and drove past the second pyramid to the hill where camels, horses, and horse carriages were waiting. She gathered which type of transport (if any) each of us wanted, collected the money, and worked it out with the vendors. I initially said camel, but my friend P and I decided to switch to the horse carriage. This was a bit more relaxing and as she had promised, we were taken over to the hills where we could see all nine pyramids for one of the iconic shots. Our guide was a pro and immediately had us posing for silly and serious photos before returning us back. The guys here expect tips - we pretty much had to tip all weekend, so make sure to bring small bills.

Then we drove down through the insane crowds to see the Sphinx. At one point, we saw a horse down in the middle of the road and I thought it had been hit by one of the many cars and covered my eyes, but apparently it had been just laying down due to exhaustion as it had been climbing the slope. My heart broke at this point. But we all saw it get up and it was ok, just over-worked. We got out of the bus and took a few photos of the Sphinx, where I kept a photo of my mom with me as she has always wanted to visit Egypt, but she now hates flying. The Spinx is part of Khafre's pyramid complex and was excavated from the desert sands, as were much of the infrastructure of the complexes. It was pretty amazing how big the overall site is!

Papyrus Academy

Next we had a quick lunch (remember Amina's schedule) at a buffet, which was pretty good. I had one of my favorites, Moussaka, vegetarian and it was yum! Then we stopped "quickly" at a papyrus academy where an older lady demonstrated the how papyrus was made. Generally, it is made from the papyrus plant, but you can also make a cheap version from bamboo, which is much of what you see in most souvenir shops. But supposedly not here. You shave off the plant in sheets, soak it for 6 days (the darker ones are 12 days), then you lay flat together and press. Then it was sales time. They took us into an interior dark room and pulled the curtains (here we go....) and turned off the lights. The surrounding pictures were then lit up in neon (blacklight) in different pictures - neat, but a bit kitchy. However, I did like many of the regular pictures and had decided to buy one or two, even before our "discount". Definitely felt full on sales pressure, but I actually like to buy art in most places I visit and these were quite interesting. So, I bought one for myself and for my mom, who loves Egyptian history due to her favorite game, A Tale in the Desert.

Memphis

Our next stop was a long drive to the former capital of Memphis. The drive was a bit unfortunate as we passed clearly poor areas, and depressing as there was just concrete rubble and trash everywhere. Everywhere. Once we got there, Amina got our tickets and gave us a brief time to explore, starting with the huge statue of Ramses II that was under cover. It was quite crowded here (of course), but the statue was truly impressive. But I soon had to escape the masses and went outside to explore the rest of the ruins. Some were set up and intact with a bit of history, such as one statue of a woman with cow ears; known as Hathor, she was the goddess of love, motherhood and music. Others were just pieces of ruins haphazardly along the site. It was quite interesting and would have liked to stay a bit longer.

Saqqara

However, we had to make haste to our next site as visiting hours were going to end soon. Saqqara is essentially the necropolis of Memphis with some very interesting sites, and many news ones discovered all the time. In fact, my friend and I were just saying that - here you just dig down and find something new all over the place. It's incredible.

The main draw is the Temple of Djoser, which is a step pyramid and the oldest stone structure in Egypt, maybe the world. However, to reach the pyramid, you walk thru the Hall of Columns, where 21 columns line each side. With a little wall behind to add extra support, and thus making little alcoves which are believed to have housed statues. There is a wood / plant / tree theme throughout, staying with the entry way ceiling with wood beams, then the tops of the columns bring to mind trees. The original roof collapsed some time ago, but you can still see see the tops of many columns.

Then you enter onto a plaza with a clear vire of the pyramid. It was pretty nice and with the great weather, the photos were perfect. There were lots of cute dogs and puppies here too! We did not approach the pyramid, but spent our free time roaming about the other tombs and structures.

These also became interesting. There was one big, deep pit where can see an entrance to a tunnel at the bottom that goes to the pyramid. Lots ruins to wonder about here. I wound up a tomb for Princess Seshseshet Idu, which a local guy beckoned me into show me around. I knew he would want a top and I was OK with it as he showed me some of the interesting features of the artworks and hieroglyphics. And much of it was in color. He also got some good photos of me in there too, so I was happy.

Aromatherapy

Our guide said we had a choice before dinner, we could go back to the hotel far away for a short break but might encounter traffic or go to an aromatherapy place before dinner to pass the time. I knew if I went to the hotel I was not leaving, but I do so hate leaving late and it was a two hour time difference. So we chose aromatherapy and I had a good time, unsure what to expect. It was another sales pitch, but this time they are selling scented or therapeutic oils. They tap you with a hint of the oil and trek you the benefits or the scent. Ugh they were all so nice and I knew I'd be spending even more money. So I would up with 4 300ml bottles (I think- dang metric!). I got two sweet smelling: white lotus and cleopatra which is flowery and honey scented. I also got two therapeutic: sandalwood and amber something that acts as melatonin.

Dinner Cruise

We had to be at the boat for a dinner cruise which started at 9, but we got some killer traffic after we dropped Amina off. They literally stopped the cars on the entrance ramp to the highway and we were stuck in the same spot for at least 20 minutes, but finally it was released. We made with plenty of time though, though this was not really my thing. I guess the point is to have dinner on the Nile. We had a buffet dinner which was fine and four of us shared a bottle of wine. Then they brought out the belly dancer who was totally dialing it. But the main entertainment was the impressive whirling dervish who did all kinds of tricks while spinning. And he was totally flirting with me. However, all I really wanted to do was go to sleep in my bed... so after a couple hours we left and were back at the hotel at 11:30 pm. What a day!!!

Squishmellows

I should also mention that I have two new squishmellows accompanying me. My niece and nephew said Perry and Bernardo loved their adventures and they wanted to give an opportunity for others to go. So, now I have Marta and Marisa joining me and this was their first real fun trip!

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Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Beauty around every corner
Rich in history and artifacts. Thanks for taking us along.