Days 422-432: Cairo and Surrounds
Cairo, Giza, Saqqara, Dahshur
We loved Cairo! It is a marvelous city. It’s low-hassle, not terribly crowded, full of neat buildings, sane traffic, great metro, enough expats to provide anonymity, and full of friendly locals.
For some reason, we had been dreading our time in Cairo, fearing it would be a lot like Delhi. We spent 10 days there and could have spent longer. The folks were really friendly and genuinely appreciated the little Arabic that we spoke. Cairo also had the highest density of forehead bruises we’ve seen in all the Middle East. These bruises are from devout Muslims supplicating themselves on the floor during prayer and we had been warned that it was a danger sign for non-Muslims. In actuality, we were received with nothing but friendliness and kindness, but we tried not to ask folks with bruises where the nearest liquor store was.
Neat architecture at a six-way intersection in Cairo. The traffic looks much worse than it usually is.
Giza is a defacto suburb of Cairo and a short bus ride away from downtown. After hearing how disappointed people were with how tiny the Sphinx is in person, we were pleasantly surprised to find it quite large! The face on the Sphinx is supposed to be that of Pharaoh Khafre, who’s pyramid is nearby.
Who knew the Sphinx had a tail? The tail and feet have been recently “restored” (read that as totally replaced).
However, the pyramids were actually quite tiny in real life.
We really came to Giza to see the Pyramids. They are simply incredible! Just enormous and made of huge blocks of stone (2.5 tons each). It was stunning to look upon them and realize that people built them, and did so 4500 years ago without modern equipment. Awesome in every sense of the word.
Okay, the pyramids are really, really big. That green spec is Kelly on the smallest of the three pyramids (the only one you can get close to without the cops yelling at you).
It was a bummer that we couldn’t climb the Pyramids like you used to be able to. But to be honest, they were really tall and incredibly steep. The cops probably got tired of cleaning up people who fell.
We paid a shitload to get inside the Pyramids of Khafre and Khufu, and have to say they were very unexciting. But let’s be honest: location is everything. It’s hard to beat being inside the only remaining Great Wonder of the World. That being said, the precision with with the stones were cut and positioned was astounding.
We liked Khafre’s Pyramid the best because it still had some of the limestone casing on it’s top, which hinted at how incredible these pyramids must have looked when they were completely covered in smooth, polished limestone and glistening in the bright desert sun. In addition to the three Great Pyramids, there are six smaller queens pyramids as well.
Three of the small “queens” pyramids in the foreground, the three Great Pyramids in the background, and a group of tourists that got roped into a horse ride. Great Pyramids from left-to-right: Menkaure, Khafre, and Khufu.
The hassle at the Pyramids is the stuff of legends. So we were pleased to find that the cops must have started cracking down on hawkers because it really wasn’t that bad. We even saw a whole field of kitsch peddlers pick-up and run as the cops were coming.
To the east of downtown Cairo, the huge Northern Cemetary is also called the City of the Dead. It is actually a city of the living since people have moved into the tombs, built roads and buildings all around, and even have a post office.
The intricately carved dome of the Qaitbey Mosque with the “City of the Dead” extending into the distance.
Islamic tombs in the crowded City of the Dead.
There is a large section of Cairo called “Islamic Cairo”, even though it is no more Islamic than any other part of the city. It just has a lot of neat, old mosques.
Cool metal details on an old wooden door.
The ornate prayer area of the early-style mosque of Sultan Hassan.
Nice scene in Islamic Cairo. These orange trees were everywhere along the Nile and just stunningly pretty.
The enormous Khan al Khalili is a kitsch-shopper’s paradise, but less than pleasant place to shop if you’re looking for something other than alabaster pyramids and cheaply made t-shirts. We had visions of shipping an enormous box of neat souvenirs home from Egypt, but they were dashed after a day of wandering the Khan. Dang! Although we did end up with some alabaster pyramids…
Cat guarding a storefront in Khan al Khalili to make sure no one interupts midday prayers.
Doorway to a madrasa near the Khan al Khalili.
We spent an entire day at the Egyptian Museum. This place ties the British Museum in our book for the coolest museum in the world. Incredible! Alas, like the rest of Egypt, there is a ban on cameras inside, which was probably a good thing so we didn’t run out of memory. The death mask of Tutankhamun alone was worth a trip to Egypt. Marc braved the Royal Mummies exhibit, but has to admit he was creeped out by the state of preservation of the hair, finger nails, and faces. Ramses II looked like a blond surfer with a regal nose arch.
The first pyramid built in Egypt was built in 2650BC by Zoser in Saqqara. It wasn’t a smooth-wall pyramid like the ones in Giza, but built in steep steps with much smaller stones. It was quite impressive for a first attempt and is considered the oldest stone block monument in the world. On the back of Zoser’s pyramid is a small “serdab” which is a small room with two holes in the walls, through which you can stare into the eyes of a statue of Zoser. Creepy.
The step pyramid of Zoser in Saqqara.
We snuck a picture inside of the Pyramid of Teti. This was actually the coolest burial chamber of all the pyramids we got into and had stars carved into the ceiling.
Further south from Saqqara is the town of Dahshur where the first two “real” pyramids were built. By “real” we mean smooth walled, rather than steps. The Bent Pyramid was started at a very steep 54 degree angle and would have been incredibly high if it was finished that way. But it looked like it was going to collapse about midway up, so they changed the angle to a less-steep 43 degrees. Because of the angle change, it has a big kink in it, hence the name “Bent” pyramid. Most of the limestome casing is still on the pyramid too and looked really sharp.
Kelly, the Bent Pyramid, two “tourist cops” trying to get backsheesh out of us, and Antonio the camel.
We were in Cairo when the World Cup started and the only we could find that was showing the games was Pizza Hut. So we ate a whole lot of pizza and the staff were very consoling when America played. During the course of subsequent travel, we saw World Cup matches broadcast in Arabic, English, French, and Malagasy. What was more interesting was the change in commercials. We had wholesome, headscarf-clad mom’s serving soup in Egypt, to HIV/AIDS public awareness ads in South Africa, all the way to fully-naked groping shower gel ads on French broadcasts in Madagascar.
Tags: Egypt
Kelly & Marcus
July 11th, 2006 at 7:20 am
Those guys with the forehead bruises are actually guys tryin’ out for the French Soccer team so it’s okay to ask ’em for directions to the nearest liquor store…
July 11th, 2006 at 7:48 am
Great to see those pyramids! Have fun on the safari – keep all body parts inside those boats! Can’t wait to hear about Kruger – what fun!
xoxoxo
July 11th, 2006 at 4:40 pm
The first paragraph turns out to be the teaser in the front page. It reads very positive. So I was expecting the second paragraph to say “just kidding. It was the busiest, terrible traffic, bad metro….”
Cause I found it to be that. But then again I can only compare to the US, whereas you can compare to the rest of the world.
Cool. Glad you are having fun.
July 11th, 2006 at 7:57 pm
I’m glad to hear that the Sphinx has a tail. Otherwise, how would it balance as it jumped from pyramid to pyramid?
July 19th, 2006 at 7:00 pm
Marcus – What an amazing trip you have been on. It has taken along time for me to catch up to where you are now. I see that life is treating yo well and the family is the same (Hi Jon and Mom) Look forward to checking in on you and your wife in the comming weeks/Months. Enjoy your adventures and be safe.
–Keith