The big news is that we were able to cross a couple of items off the bucket list - visiting the pyramids and riding a camel. Yes - we all rode and it was pretty funny. You kind of had to be there however I do happen to have some photos....(if I can upload them - I'm at a great internet cafe however have to find some way to transfer them from my laptop to the PC (forgot my jump drive). If I can get this nice Egyptian guy to quit playing pool and help me, then maybe I can get them posted.
We started the day with the camel ride and rode up to the largest of the three Cheops pyramids. It was a very hazy morning and the pyramids, which one can usually see from the city, just rose up out of the fog as we approached them which actually was a little spooky because they are so huge and they suddenly appeared out of the haze.
The camel ride was uneventful really , no one fell off at least although I didn't think yesterday that I would be ever able to walk straight again. The camels are really large, smelly, lazy beasts and lay down every chance they get. They get up -hind legs first so if you don't lean waaaay back, you can get dumped on your head. Their gait is very rough too and since mine didn't have any stirrups, I was afraid more than once that I was about to go over, which would have been tremendously embarrassing. I did however, take my little camera with me and managed a few photos. Ha!
The ancient Egyptians used to fill the tombs/pyramids with furniture, food, and other household goods that the Pharoah would need in the afterlife, which was a huge amount of stuff. (JoAnn and I think that this is a pretty good idea - that way we don't have to get rid of our 'stuff' and can take it with us and not have to clean it out now) Anyway, it was fairly recently (early 1900s) discovered that the Egyptians also buried their BOATS (!) so they would have them to use in their afterlife. In the early 1920s, a boat was discovered buried next to the pyramid in a stone 'box', which was displayed in a museum next to one of the pyramids. Ed was especially impressed and we joked with him about burying him in his boat, or with his boat, or something like that.
After Cheops, we went to Kepheren which is guarded by the Sphynx. I thought that the Sphynx would be bigger than it actually was, although it was a huge structure when we got up next to it.
I guess just comparing it to the pyramids made it seem smaller. One thing that we have become very aware of is that Egypt does not have the same (overly) safety standards that the US does which is sometimes a huge relief however many times there are huge drops (like maybe 60 feet!) with no guard rails and so you have to be really really careful not to back up while taking a photo - right over the edge. It would be easy to do. (don't worry - we have JoAnn to warn us) Many times there are no handrails on stairs either which can be spooky, to say nothing of physically challenging because they are usually steep. But I'm not complaining - it's just different.
After the temple, we were bussed to Memphis, which was the ruling city (left my guide book upstairs) many years ago - divided Upper and Lower Egypt. The bus ride to Memphis was a real trip because we ventured outside of Cairo. (we still have never stopped for even ONE stoplight or stop sign, believe it or not) We visited a museum in which a gigantic statue of Ramses lay on his back (he was hansom)
and some other artifacts however, I really enjoyed the ride the most (sitting in the front of the bus) because seeing the countryside was so different from the city. There were at least as many mules pulling carts, famers on their wagons with horses, goat herders, and boys driving cattle - in the streets with the cars and trucks with no stop signs or stop lights.
There are women in burkas, carrying things (one was carrying a large box with a TV in it) on their heads. Everywhere, the kids wave at the buses and sometimes the local people do too although they must see many tour buses, I would imagine.
The last sites of the day were the Pyramid of Sakkara, which looked like a large pile of rubble. We visited the tomb, which had I known how difficult it would be to get into, I would have reconsidered. It was not one of the more impressive tombs other than it was challenging to get into. Being short helped as we had to sort of duck-walk to get into it (and out). However, the temple next to it (Mastaba of T) more than made up for it with the spectacular carvings on the walls. They were the most beautiful ancient art that I have seen. Mackenzie and Ted should see it...it is a spectacular excavation and surely must be a World Heritage Site? Unfortunately, we could not take our cameras inside so I did get a small catalog that shows some of the carvings.
At the end of the day (we were pretty exhausted by this time), we went backwards in time to the Step Pyramid of Djoser, designed by Imhotep - one of the oldest structures in the world. All I can say is that the light, being dusk, was perfect, and we closed the site.
The policemen blew their whistle and we had to leave.
After returning to the hotel, we decided to find the Egyptian McD's however because we really can't cross the streets here (we used the Metro tunnels to cross the streets), we had trouble finding it and gave up and had pizza at an Italian place by the hotel.
Now you can see why my head hit the keyboard and I had to give up.
Oh - one more interesting fact: The Egyptians in Cairo (pronounced Care-row), do NOT turn on their headlights at night. They use them to blink (along with their horns) at other cars. Really weird - like they're trying to save electricity or something?
And.....HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ZACH! I tried calling...but you did not answer. ;( I bought you something really cool today at the bazaar....bargained it down to 5 Egyptian pounds (about a dollar). You'll love it - and thanks, Mackenz, for the comment because I haven't seen your e-mails. And Lee, and Sandy, and Old Faithful (Judy), and Bob....
2 comments:
Where's the pictures of YOU on the camel?!
quite interesting read. I would love to follow you on twitter. By the way, did any one learn that some chinese hacker had hacked twitter yesterday again.
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