The Pyramids of Giza

On Tuesday we ventured to the outskirts of Cairo to Giza for a visit to the Great Pyramids, another World Heritage Site and another of the new7wonders (the only ancient one remaining on the list). We conferred with a friend who resides here and were given a heads up for costs and what to expect en-route, which incidentally ended up probably saving us a few headaches, as well as a good deal of money. Getting to Giza is an adventure in and of itself. The trip begins with a rather lengthy taxi ride through the belly of the beast (Downtown Cairo), in one of the largest and most populated cities in the world (20+ million). After fighting through traffic for about an hour, we reached the suburb of Giza and saw the Great Pyramid off in the distance behind the surrounding buildings and street signs. As we approached the entrance, a number of excited Egyptian peddlers attempted to join us in our taxi in hopes of becoming a tour guide or assisting us with commandeering an air conditioned taxi (in the form of a horse or camel ride). We politely declined many of their offers, sometimes over and over again (they can be very persistent).Some even went as far as telling us that the entrance was closed and that it was required that we rent a horse or camel because there was absolutely no walking allowed. (J) We both got a good chuckle out of this, Anthony even went as far as saying that he would love to have the opportunity to ride a camel, but unfortunately he just was not able to. Finally we were left alone for a few minutes, as time went by though, more people attempted to lure us in with different offers, this time our driver had had enough and he began sending them away in loud and firm Arabic which was quite helpful.

We reached the entrance finally and many people circled around looking to assist us in any way they could in order to earn Baksheesh (a tip). We purchased our tickets, proceeded through the gate, and began our walk into the complex. A few minutes later we realized that we had forgotten to pick up our change at the entrance booth and worried we would never get it back since we had already passed through. Fortunately, when Anthony returned to the window the woman smiled and said, “Oh, yes, here is your change sir, no problem.” It was at this moment that we both realized how thankful we were that we were visiting a country where people are very honest.

The first relics that come into view as one enters the complex in Giza are The Sphinx and The Pyramid of Khafre (Chefphren) (one of the 3 largest of 9). The area is home to a number of structures with the three largest being (The Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops), the Pyramid of Kahfre (Chephren, built by Khufu’s son and smaller in size but on a hill to appear taller), and the Pyramid of Menkaure (Mycerinus). The 1^st built with stone carried from the present day Cairo area, the great Pyramid made of stone from Asuan, and the final larger structure with stones from Luxor. Other structures in the complex include a number of smaller tombs and remains of residential and/or farming areas. We spent the better part of the day exploring each in great detail, taking a number of silly photos, and finishing things off with a camel ride on a middle-aged beast named Michael Jordan. This was something that we found quite entertaining as we traveled around the different structures and were offered rides on various taxis whose names coincidentally referred to both fictional and real people. In fact, to try to allay some hassles we began speaking only in Spanish, but sometimes a peddler would be able to haggle in Spanish, too, or a version of Spanglish and Italian words. We met a very nice camel driver with a famous Giza camel named Charlie Brown who spoke Spanish fairly well, that led to a long conversation and us having to decline helping some university students with a survey since it was in English and Charlie Brown’s owner was still with us. Ginnie felt she should have earned some money when she caught a boy and a man taking her photo and then was asked by a young Egyptian girl and boy to take her picture with each of them. If we took pictures of Egyptians we’d be asked for Baksheesh, so it seems only fair to do the same! All in all we met quite a few Egyptians attempting to get us to take a ride or buy cheesy pyramid statues, and actually had some great conversation with a few along the way. Considering the steep decline in tourism since the revolution, competition is more cut throat for the limited number of tourists visiting. This decline made for a great opportunity for us as there were far fewer people around to get into our photos!

As we made our way around the complex, we eventually opted for a camel ride because, well, Anthony had really wanted to ride a camel around the desert in Egypt and what better place than at the Pyramids. The ride offered great views from atop the camel and also allowed for us to take in some great vistas across the desert on one side and the entire Giza complex on the other. Not to mention that it gave us time to reflect on where we were and consider how we were traveling through the same place as ancient pharaohs from over 4000 years ago.

After about four hours or so we headed out, secured a great deal on a taxi by pitting a couple of drivers against each other and causing them to negotiate with us for the fare. We returned to Cairo via a somewhat wild taxi ride (lots of tight squeezes, hairpin turns, near misses, and a great deal of traffic while waiting to go through the now- famed Tahrir Square). Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the ride was a stop at the gas station where the driver purchased 8.5 liters of gas for 3.6 Egyptian Pounds – the equivalent of about $0.30 per gallon. Shocking, but true!Now, if everyone could just officially get on board and start boycotting the huge oil companies in The United States, maybe we could get a decrease. No matter how you slice it, $0.30 per gallon at the pump in Cairo, adding in transport costs to North America, still does not equate to nearly $4 a gallon. Well, that’s it from here, time to get off the soap box and head out on our next adventure.

Al Hub as-Salam!