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Published: August 17th 2006
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The Sphinx and the Pyramid of Khafre
The view as you enter the Giza site. Today, I saw the pyramids. And yes, the Great Pyramid is very large. I opted for a tour organized by the hotel. Just me, the tour guide and the driver. First, they took me to Islamic Cairo to visit a mosque. It's a beautiful mosque, and very different in design from the Turkish mosques. We also climbed a minaret to get a view of the city. Down below was the city of the dead, a cemetary. And looking out I could see perhaps a couple of kilometers in every direction. There is a lot of pollution and heat here to really obsure the view. Cairo is a huge sprawling city, but it's impossible to see from one end to the other. It's very monochromatic, you really see only one colour as you look: a sandy brown, few trees, lot's of squat apartment blocks, traffic, minarets and brown haze.
Then we drove to the Papyrus Institute. Papyrus almost became extinct about 1000 years ago. This place preserves the ancient method of preparing papyrus and sells paintings. I spent some money here on three items, one is quite large. They also wrote something
in hieroglyphics for me. You have to be careful buying papyrus paintings on the street as it is actually dried banana leaf. How do I know I didn't get fleeced? This place is sanctioned by the Ministry of Tourism and I have letters of authenticity. How do I know I still didn't get fleeced? What I bought is supposed to last a lifetime, unlike banada leaf and I have the name and address of the store, with receipts. And I trust my hotel, which arranged this.
Then off to the Pyramids. This was 11 am. My guide did not come into the site with me. I had 2 1/2 hours to wander around as I wished. It's not what you expect, but the city now extends right up to the entrance. There is a KFC there. I entered and walked alongside the Sphinx. He faces east. I walked up to and around the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops). I was approached so often with offers of camel rides, post cards, miniature pyramids, "official guides" offering me help, one man said we could climb to the top at night time "money talks", water and Pepsi. I took a photo of a camel and his rider for 5 Egpytian Pounds, one Canadian Dollar. One boy kept following me as I walked away and he tripped, the trinkets he was selling flew in all directions, and he really hurt himself. I thought to myself "How much is ths going to cost me", but fortunately the Tourism Police were nearby and he scolded the boy. But in the end, although I was hassled often it really wasn't hard to get rid of them. A "no" once or twice sent the hasslers / touts away.
I walked and walked. My guide had said he could arrange a camel ride, but in the end I chose to walk. Something that never occurred to me, nor have I read: I thought I would walk around the second pyramid of Khafre and spend some time in the shady side. At noon when the sun is at its apex, because of the shape of the pyramids, there is no shadow on any side. No where is there respite from the sun. It was about 38 degrees. I had my one litre bottle of water that I finished. I also ate some biscuits. Looking away from the city all you can see is sand, sand everywhere. It was quite awe inspiring to think that after all these years of seeing this site, I have finally walked on the same ground as the ancient Egyptians among the Pyramids.
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