Cairo, Egypt- Giza Pyramids and Sphinx
My first introduction to Cairo, Egypt was at 3:30am on Tuesday June 17, 2008. I was picked up by a driver from my hostel, along with two other travelers staying at the hostel. We all gathered our back-packs and followed the driver to a 1970’s Peugeot that looked like it should be retired to a junkyard……and based on the ’surgery’ that was performed to get the car started, it should be put to rest! The driver had to add water, hit the starter three times with a hammer to get it started and once it was started he had to hold the drivers side-door shut with one hand to keep it from flying open, while using his free hand to drive and smoke a cigarette…talented man! Once we were on our way, I introduced myself to the two other travelers staying at the hostel…..and to my amazement they were both from Bainbridge Island, Washington….about fifteen minutes by ferry from where I grew up! It took Oceans, Continents and Countries to bring us together at 3:30am on June 17, 2008! The world really is small…but seems so much larger while sitting behind a desk in a cubicle!
After sleeping peacefully for five hours, I decided to get up and explore Cairo by foot. I walked down five flights of stairs and spilled out into the sweltering, polluted, noisy streets of Cairo! The streets were overflowing with honking cars as far as the eye could see and my first challenge of the day was to cross these streets….yes, one would think it an easy task to cross an intersection, ummm…think again, not Cairo, a city that has no visible stop signs, stop lights or lanes (none that I could locate)! The first thought that entered my mind when I saw the Egyptians cross the chaotic, congested streets was the arcade game from the early 80’s called “Frogger“. The object of the game was to avoid cars while navigating through them to reach the other side. And this is exactly what had to be done……but in real life, not virtually! No hesitation can be made on the part of the person attempting to cross into the congested streets, you must keep moving once you enter the traffic and KEEP ON MOVING!……there is a skill involved, I’m sure, but I never fully caught on to it. So, as a result, I just followed the Egyptians as they crossed the intersection and used them as a bumper….unbeknown to them :)
On my third day in Cairo, I went to Giza, which is 7km from Cairo. There are three pyramids in Giza, “The Great Pyramid of Cheops,” which is the largest of the three pyramids, the pyramid is made of limestone and granite and contains 25 million block stones rising to 450ft. The other two smaller pyramids are the “Pyramids of the Queens,” which contains the tombs of the wives and sisters of the king. I only went in one of the pyramids and trust me when I say this…..I could have done without crawling (seriously, you almost have to get on your hands and knees just to get to the center of the pyramid) through the dark, humid and narrow ‘walkway’, because once I reached the middle……it was anti-climatic! For a first “the beauty really lays on the outside”….when speaking about the pyramids in Giza!I would have been content just to see the outside….but now I know what lays inside…….hoards of tourist and nothing more (I suggest you save your 25 Egyptian pounds and buy yourself a “I Love Egypt” Tee-shirt instead)!
After visiting the pyramids, I walked over to visit the Sphinx and then headed back to my hostel until the evening, because the afternoon heat was unbearable….it was a cool 105 degrees!
