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| Giza Highlights |
Wednesday, November 23rd – Pyramids and Camels and Mosques!
Today was magic! From the first glimpses of the pyramids poking out over the city buildings to the breathtaking realization of how huge they actually are as you stand in their shadows to the exhilarating duck walk we did down into the depths of the third pyramid to indulgently fun camel rides and stepping into gorgeous mosques – it was one of those days that makes the trip.
We woke up, excited to head to Giza, grabbed breakfast and met with our guide and driver. The seven clambered into the van and braced ourselves for another day of Cairo traffic and our forty-five minute drive to Giza. As we drove we noticed one particularly alarming thing – when we reached an especially rough-looking area of town that was full of unfinished brick apartment style buildings (keep in mind, a tremendous amount of Cairo would qualify as “rough,” this area was moderately worse than some of the areas…we actually such much, much worse. Anyway, as we drove through this area, we noticed men in black uniforms standing at attention on the freeway looking down into this section of town. And it wasn’t just a few men in uniforms, it was dozens and dozens of men with transport trucks, automatic rifles, tear gas guns, shields, helmets…and in some places they were standing shoulder to shoulder. We quickly asked our guide what was going on and he said that Egypt was in the midst of their parliamentary elections and that some groups rioted and protested when things didn’t go the way they wanted. He said the election had been going on for ten days now. We asked, why this area and he explained that this is the area in which protests have occurred and that during this election there have been two mosques and several churches damaged or destroyed in the area. Our Luxor guide also told us (the next day) that this was the first parliamentary election in which women were allowed to run for office and I saw political posters for both women wearing traditional Muslim dress and women that looked like modern politicians. All throughout the cities there were pictures of different politicians (mainly male) draped from buildings. We were told that there are 14 different political parties and that the current leading party is the National Party, which is also the oldest party in Egypt. The military is volunteer-based.
On the way to Giza, the level of poverty and quality of living plummeted. And then, as we peered at the city apartment buildings, we caught a glimpse of the pyramids jutting out over the rooftops! By the time we pulled up to the pyramids, we could scarcely believe how immense they were! We bought tickets to enter the third pyramid, were given the main admission tickets by our guide, and were ready to go! We had seen the pyramids from the airplane and they had almost looked small. As we walked to the base of the first one, the Great Pyramid, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, small was anything but the right description. We stood in the shade of an awe-inspiring, three million stone pyramid! We were even able to climb up the first few steps and take pictures ON the pyramid! So cool! During this, I was approached by several sweet Muslim girls (teenagers) who asked if they could have their picture taken with me – when I agreed they all excitedly crowded around and took picture after picture on their little cameras, showing me the results and saying “ah, fantastique!” After this, we headed to the third pyramid and were able to take great pictures of the second and most intact one.
And then! We got to head down into the third pyramid!!! Excited we had to squat and walk at a downward slant for quite a distance before were could comfortably stand again. At the bottom, we reached a room that led to the top of the sarcophagus and actually climbed on the granite that had covered the tomb. Further down we saw the room where his goodies for the afterlife would be and then got to go into a smaller side room that provided spaces for the pharaoh and his family to be interned – they each had little cubbies. From there, we climbed back up and out and headed over for a more panoramic view of the pyramids and also decided we were going to go for it – we were going to ride camels! Oh, and a fun fact? We learned there were over 95 pyramids built by the Egyptians.
I was worried the camel ride was going to be cheesy…but I didn’t want to have come this far and not do it…so Emily, Daniel, Michael, and I all decided to go for it – it really was fun! I thought I would feel silly, but we headed down a sand dune into the Sahara and got a great view of the pyramids as well as excellent photos with the pyramids in our background. It was really cool! We didn’t see a camel spit, but we certainly got to see their crazy gullets and got to hear the ridiculous slobbery-grumbly noises they make – they were very funny.
After all of this, we got to visit the Sphinx as well! From there our guide tried to add in a visit to a “market” which meant perfume store that took us back and tried to sell us things – thankfully Daniel stopped them mid-demonstration (it could have gone on for a very long time) and we left, worried we wouldn’t have enough time to enjoy the Citadel.
We decided to forgo lunch and to try to visit the Citadel and Mosques before eating – daring, yes, but everything closed at four. This is the Citadel that Saladin built to protect Cairo in case the Christian Crusaders attacked Cairo as well. It’s a really cool fortress at a pinnacle point within the city – and at the top, there is a beautiful Mosque. So, we got to don our scarves, take off our shoes, and walk through a beautiful Mosque – the interior was very different from the ones I had visited in Bosnia. Several of us sat down and spent a while studying the intricate artwork of the domes. I taught Michael and Stephanie about arabesque and calligraphy. After that, we enjoyed the city views from the edges of the Citadel and finally caved and bought lunch (around 3:30). The remainder of our day was spent relaxing, going over pictures, working out our Luxor day trip details, and trying to grab a few hours of sleep before we left at 3:30 am for Luxor. It really was a fantastic day – the best group day of the trip!
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