The Pyramids and the museum

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A much more relaxed start to the day was let down by the oppressive musty furnishings and poor breakfast served in our hotel. More people had joined our combined group and 22 of us got on the bus to take us to the Giza. On this occasion the company had outdone itself and we had an excellent guide who was both informative and interesting. He also helpfully advised us how to avoid and get rid of the various peddlers who would inevitably pester us when we arrived.

After driving up between the larger two pyramids we walked around the impressive tombs, taking photos and avoiding the camel/donkey jockeys, dung, trinket-sellers, men dressed as security guards and precocious girls. The coach took us up to a nearby viewing point where all three pyramids could be seen together with Cairo in the background. Another complex of pyramids was visible on the horizon, but as the guide had explained, those at Giza drew most of the tourists, retaining their mystery even to this day.

The coach then took us down to the Valley Temple (so named because it used to be on the bank of the Nile) and the Sphinx. The guide told us that there were 97 principal pyramids in Egypt and all of them had sphinxes. The one we could see was that of the Pyramid of Khafre (the middle one). He said there was a much larger one for the Great Pyramid buried 47ft below the nearby village (Cairo literally touches the edge of the plateau) and another for the smaller Pyramid of Menkaure under the sands to the west. I'm not sure how true that was, but the idea of uncovering a huge, intact and painted sphinx in the near future certainly sounded quite inspiring.

Following a photo opportunity we returned to the coach to visit the Papyrus museum, which was quite interesting, and then to a nearby sandwich place. I was still wary of the food so did not join in. We then drove across Cairo to the Egyptian museum where the guide took us around the principle exhibits and explaining various interesting things that we would not have guessed from the rather poor labelling. The gift shop was also disappointing.

Somehow the day had gone very quickly and it was late afternoon by the time we returned to the hotel to visit a local cafe for an uninspiring "last meal". Four of us were leaving while the rest were taking the sleeper train down to Luxor. Although some people were keen to continue, I was beginning to feel tired of travelling now, possibly due to the lack of food and many early starts.

After some snack shopping we returned to the hotel to say goodbye to everyone before heading up to our rooms to pack in anticipation of flying home the next day.

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Comments

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trip
Well it certainly was a good trip with lots of stops, you need a blog to remember all the places you went to. I'm surprised you did not raid Blacks for treking food to keep you going; lots of nice oaty bars!!