For as long as I can remember, the Pyramids have been at the top of my "Must-See" travel list. We had reveled in their presence the previous night at the Sound and Light show, but nothing could prepare me for their daytime glory.
Driving along the highway, past dilapidated buildings with no windows, the Pyramids peeked out amongst the cityscape. They appeared almost smudged in the Cairo smog and dust. My skin still prickled with excitement each time they popped out between the buildings.
This was perhaps the most surprising thing about the Pyramids. Every picture shows the Big Three against the empty desert landscape. They appear remote, like it would take a two hour journey by camel to reach them. However, this is not the case at all. The Pyramids of Giza are literally a suburb of Cairo. The apartment buildings encroach on this ancient site, just about as close as they can be without getting inside the actual complex.
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| The Pyramid view you never see |
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As impressive as the nighttime Pyramids viewing was, these wonders of the world were meant to be seen in the splendor of the sun. The sunshine glitters on what little remains of the limestone facade. They somehow appear larger during the day too, like the sun gives them some kind of unmeasurable power. It was only that sense of wonder and magnificence that kept me from keeling over in the hundred-plus desert heat.
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| Look at the little people on the bottom left for an idea of scale |
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| This also gives a clue of how massive the stones are |
We were lucky again to be visiting during this time of uncertainty. There seemed to be more tourist touts and camel men than actual tourists, giving us a bit of space to ponder the magnificence of it all. Unfortunately, this also meant that there were fewer people for them to annoy. I once had visions of taking a camel trek around the Pyramids. By the time I had spent half an hour there, I was ready to punch the next guy who asked me for a camel ride.
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| It was way too hot for a two-hour camel trek... |
After climbing around for a bit, our guide drove us to the third pyramid, for which we had bought a ticket to go inside. A steep ramp with footholds led us down and deep in the interior. It was cooler than outside but stuffy because there was no moving air. No pictures were allowed within -- but then, there wasn't much to see anyways. The walls were unadorned; there was no remnant of any sarcophagi. The only thing that made it worth the ten L.E. was just the awesome knowledge of being INSIDE an actual pyramid. Once again, we almost had the place to ourselves...only two other tourists had ventured down with us.
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| Our Pyramid |
After walking around for about an hour, we were completely parched. The three bottles of water I'd brought with me were done. Surprisingly, virtually no one was selling water in the entire complex. We finally found one and of course, he didn't have change for us. So, a sleazy tourist tout tried to take advantage of the situation by offering to make change. But first, he insisted on having Jon try on a Lawrence of Arabia headdress and took some photos. He claimed all this was for free, but of course, tried to charge us for it as we were leaving. The honest water vendor reimbursed us for what the tout had taken and we walked away as we heard angry Arabic shouted back and forth between the two.
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| The classic Pyramids shot |
The Pyramids were so exhilarating, and the sun was so hot, that by the end of our time, I didn't even realize that we hadn't seen the Sphinx yet! We got in the car, and I was expecting the guide, Big Mo, to take us back to the hotel. Instead, we pulled up and yet again, had the moment almost to ourselves.
I've heard that all tourists to Giza hope to be photographed solo in front of the Sphinx. Usually, this is impossible because of the vast hordes of people. But luck (and people's fear of traveling) was with us today as we managed to snap several photos with no one but ourselves in front of the Great Sphinx.
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| Never realized the Sphinx has feet! |
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| Me, myself and I and no one else... |
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| And the final photo op |
And so we were whisked back to the hotel. We had checked out but the your managed to get us a day room where we could freshen up, cool down and shower before heading off on the overnight train to Aswan.
