Advertisement
Well, I left Mumbai bearing a course through London en route to Cairo, after a short delay, two full baggage searches and one full body search in India, I was on my way.
I landed in London to find the most sincere and polite airport staff I have encountered to date. I strolled through customs, enjoying the pure anonymity brought with the European world. I was so use to being accosted as soon as I landed, that it felt a little strange to be ignored, but I did relish in the fact that no was trying to sell me anything. Toby was there to meet me as I exited the airport. It was great to see him! And he whisked me away for a whirlwind 8 hours in London. We walked out of the airport and stepped directly on to the approaching train (I doubt by chance) where we headed to Caroline's perfectly located flat in Kensington. Sitting on the train I was overwhelmed by a sense of excitement that didn't strike me last time I was in England. After a quick coffee and that greatly needed injection of civility I was able to freshen up, I even got to
use hot water, I luxury I haven't observed since Melbourne.
From there Toby and I headed into Central London for little look around, before heading down to the 'Dove' pub burrowed into a small hill above the river Thames, it was a beautifully serene place to take a drink an catch up. From there it was pretty much back to the airport for my flight to Cairo. This was a really great day and brought with it much anticipation for the travels of 'Lukeyopolous' and 'Tobyopolous'
By the time I had got back through customs, which wasn't such a breeze after all, the three time zones, two days, one very bad curry and no sleep was really chasing me down. So I headed to Gate 22 (easier said than done) and camped out for a while.
I slept through most of the flight, but arrived in Cairo still slightly dazed and confused, I headed through Cairo to where I was staying, settled my gear and spent the day wading my way through downtown Cairo and trying to convince my body it should be awake.
Cairo isn't a gentle city, but thats not a critisism. Home to more
than 16 million Egyptians, Arabs, Africans and various others, the "Mother of the World'" as they call it, is very much a romantic all out assault on the senses. Chaotic, noisy, polluted, totally unpredictable and seething with people and their enchanting history, the sheer intensity of the city has already seduced me.
The next morning feeling much better I was up early and heading to the famous Cairo museum. Cairo's Museum of Egyptian Antiquities is an unbelievable treasure house of riches, housing innumerable artifacts I had longed to see, after spending the best part of the morning and the early afternoon, wrapped up in five thousand years of Egyptian history and the exuberant luxury of air conditioning, I headed for the Giza plateau and the sole remaining wonder of the ancient world. The Pyramids of Giza!
The Giza necropolis, is amazingly situated in the immediate vicinity of the southwestern suburbs of the city, its corners draped over, and jostling for room agains all manner of trincket stores that embody modern Cairo. The are also probably one of the most famous ancient sites in the world. These pyramid complexes are from the 4th Dynasty pharaohs of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure and combined with the Sphinx are synonymous with the image of Egypt.
There is a tendency to view the pyramids and Sphinx as individual objects, however the entire necropolis is a heavily intertwined group of related architectural components, including subsidiary pyramids, solar-boat pits, a palace, a harbor, workshops, and a funerary temple connected by a causeway to a valley temple. Together these constituted the physical elements of the cult of the pharaoh, in which the king was worshipped after his death, in an attempt to achieve immortality.
The pyramids defiantly still live up to more than 4000 years of publicity; they are amazing; their shape, geometry, age and sheer size render them somewhat incomprehensible. They rise out of the desert with majestic grandeur, posing a million questions all at once. I stood in absolute awe, gazing upon a symbol to 4000 years of strength and prosperity and the essential precursor for the civilized world. Again at the chagrin of those eco-tourist, I decided I couldn’t pass up the possibly once in a lifetime opportunity, to get inside the Burial Chamber of the great pyramid. After I bought my ticket, I joined the line for all those non-claustrophobic, strong hearted, limber healthy people (as I was told I had to be all of these) and started to descend the 1 sq meter tunnel 65metres below ground, before heading back up for 85m meters to the centre of the pyramid and the enormous, perfectly carved sepulcher. The entire structure, especially the core tomb is an amazing testament to ancient architecture, however I wasn’t able to stay long as this seemed to be the place where all those who didn’t know they were claustrophobic found out, and like a pendulous wave panic seemed to spread through an entire middle aged tour group, all pushing and struggling to get out.
After the mesmerizing influence of the Pyramids I, and avoiding the stampeding portly tour group I headed for the last major part of the Giza necropolis the Great Sphinx.
It is believed that Khafre's workers shaped the stone into the lion and gave it their king's face over 4,500 years ago.
Moreover it is a symbol that has represented the essence of Egypt for thousands of years. Even with all the exposure, nothing can really prepare you this astounding shrine.
Carved from the bedrock of the Giza plateau, the Sphinx is truly a mysterious marvel from the days of ancient Egypt. The body of a lion with the head of a king, the sphinx has come to symbolize strength and wisdom.
After this amazing day I headed back to the hostel to get my things, as I had an overnight train to Aswan.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.11s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 14; qc: 66; dbt: 0.0608s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb