Giza, Camels & Memphis

Our day started with a trip to the Giza Pyramids, over 4000 years old which is impossible to get your mind around.  The largest one is for the father of the three pharaohs buried there – Khufu.  He wanted to have the largest of the three, so his son (Khafre) did make sure his was smaller but managed to have it erected on a slightly higher area of Giza!  You can also still see some of the original limestone top layer at the apex of his pyramid.  You feel so insignificant against these structures.  To be able to climb on them was one of our highlights…..right up until we discovered that the Tourist Police (no joke!) were actually blowing their whistles at us.  Guess in our enthusiasm we strayed a bit too far up!

About 3 photos in, the flashing battery sign appeared on my camera – thank goodness for Errin’s.  About 10 photos later….guess what?  Errin’s battery started to die!  The rest of the day was spent carefully planning our photos ops and ensuring we saved enough juice for each place we visited.  D’oh!

We drove a bit further up, checked out the other pyramids and then bartered for our camel ride with Omar who is now famous as Obama rode his camel and he has the photo to prove it!  With the help of Viola, we got a good price and mounted our rides, so to speak.  Staying on while the camel rises to its feet was interesting and mine decided that it quite liked side stepping every so often that made staying on seem a bit difficult!  Errin was on Casanova and I had Daisy….not very camel-like names but we all made friends.  We trekked out to get a better view of all 9 pyramids (the women folk had 6 small ones) and then our camel herder boy decided that we should run back.  Just like riding a horse, he says!  A very tall horse.  Once you got the rhythm it was actually quite comfortable but our camels were not terribly energetic and would stop after a short sprint.  Lazy good for nothing……back in the bus, smelling a bit like camel, and we were off to check out the Sphinx which looks surprisingly smaller in real life.  Errin managed to take some great photos as my camera was dying a quick death.

Next on our agenda was to find out how they make papyrus – a surprisingly easy process but boggles the mind as to how it was first stumbled upon.  The pictures they had there were gorgeous and I have to admit to succumbing to temptation and purchasing a couple.  After that we went to a cotton shop and tried on different types of galabeya, the traditional dress of the Egyptians.  Apparently there is a galabeya party on our cruise!  I tried on several scarves and the girl put them on in the style worn by the ladies….so not me!! 

Our next destination was to the Step Pyramid, the oldest one in the world.  It is located in Sakkara on the West side of the Nile where yellow meets green – that is how Viola describes it and it is exactly what happens.  Desert meets fertile land.

There was a wall surrounding the pyramid and parts of it are in fantastic shape.  You can really see how accurate the Ancient Egyptians were with their engineering and architectural design, quite phenomenal.  The walls were polished limestone, so smooth and cool to the touch….rather welcome as it was getting quite hot by this time.

Some restoration work is being done to remove the layers of sand that has accumulated on the steps, plus they are replacing some of the stones.  Watching the workers was hilarious – they are all showmen and were good at hamming it up for the tourists.  It looked like they were employing techniques of old, so it might take them a few hundred years to get the job done! 

On to Memphis, the former capital of Egypt.  There is a poor village there now but they have discovered some statues, including a huge one of Ramses, but believe that the ancient city is actually below ground, buried by years of silt from the flooding of the Nile.  There was not much to see in terms of ruins but the squalor in which people are living was quite poignant and made us realize just how much we take for granted.

We popped in to a carpet school, a common type of school that the farmers’ children attend as that is one of the main sources of income.  The teacher explained

the various techniques and showed us the different types of carpet under construction.  Their fingers fly as they create these wonderful designs from small pieces of paper, quite fascinating to watch.  We watched one man cut down the threads as the carpet was being created and you saw the pattern emerge as all the fluffy bits were removed.  He allowed us to try – it was not easy and we both failed miserably!  We shall stick to our daytime jobs – well, I would if I had one!  Unfortunately Errin’s camera finally died so we have no record of our lack of carpet cutting prowess!

In a city of 20 million it is hard to avoid traffic snarls so our return journey to the hotel and then our drive to our dinner cruise were much longer than they could have been, but that is life in Cairo.  You either accept it or you go crazy!  Or perhaps you do both as we decided that the drivers of Cairo are truly crazy!!

It is an interesting study just watching what goes on as you are driven around.  In the heart of Cairo we saw several flocks of sheep being herded down the busy street – can you imagine that happening at home?  Vehicles of all descriptions jockey for position to get to the front of the line; kids on motorbikes (three at a time!) weave their way through the cars, buses and trucks with gay abandon; people cross the street with little regard for safety or the speed of the oncoming traffic – it is insane!!!

Our dinner cruise was an interesting experience, perhaps a little overpriced but we got to see the Whirling Dervish and the customary belly dancer.  The former spent at least 20 minutes spinning around in his very colourful skirt, flipping tambourine looking objects around his head wearing shoes that looked like blue welly boots!  He then proceeded to split his skirts and the lights went out…..not a power failure but necessary to show off his outfit as it was all lit up in coloured lights!!  If anyone remembers the movie The Electric Horseman, it was a bit like that…..hilarious!

Not being experts in the art of belly dancing it was hard to comment on whether she was good or not, however, the enhancements she has obviously received certainly made the men on board pay attention!

The food was pretty good and we enjoyed our first alcoholic beverages since arriving in this fair land!  A couple of cold beers went down quite nicely.  We chatted with the gentlemen sitting at the table next to us who were on a business/ pleasure trip from Israel of all places! They were enjoying themselves and they certainly stopped their conversation whenever the belly dancer took to the floor!

Another very full day experiencing the amazing sights, sounds and smells of Cairo.  A shower never felt so good and it was heaven to get rid of the residual camel pong that seemed to linger for a lot longer than it should!  

And where would we be without a couple of these.......