June 24 - the Pyramids

If you're in Cairo, you've got to go see the Pyramids and the Sphinx. People will look at you like you have two heads if you come back from here without seeing them. I personally had no interest in safari adventures, but was persuaded to go on one because of the "people looking at you like you have two heads when you tel them you've been to Africa without going on safari" rule. So today we went to the Pyramids in Giza (which did interest me all along).

Giza is about 20-25 minutes southwest of Cairo by air-conditioned minivan, which is how we got there after our new best friend Youssiri arranged a driver and tour guide for us. We left at 7AM, which was great because that helped us avoid some of the heat associated with being out in the middle of the desert in the summer. We also made sure to be there early because access to the Pyramids is limited and it pays to beat the crowds, as you can get turned away if you're not early enough (or so I was told).

As you approach the Pyramids of Giza, you are in the town of Giza, which is basically a part of the sprawl of the city of Cairo itself. There is development to the east of the Pyramids, creeping right up as close as it can come. To the west, there is nothing but sand. The Pyramids grow in their magnificence with every step closer that you take. After paying the entrance fees (there are separate fees to go inside the two greatest Pyramids), we finally were close enough to walk next to, touch, and climb on the Pyramids. It's a bit strange to walk all over these amazing monuments, but much worse has been done to them in the over 4,500 years since they were built and I don't think they're going anywhere, so what the hey.

climbing around on the Great Pyramid of Cheops

There is of course a vast horde of people trying to squeeze every dollar and Egyptian Pound out of you that they can. I can't blame them, as I am relatively very wealthy compared to many of the people hustling away at the 'mids. The most common M.O. of these guys was to literally force a "gift" into your hand, saying it's for free and good luck and then to demand a tip. I appreciated their hustle, but I was not interested, finally letting anything they tried to give me fall to the ground, which they assured me was very bad luck.

Our tour guide Mohamed had the driver speak to some of the camel wranglers to get us a good price on a camel ride (I know, cheesy tourist, but when will I ever get to ride a camel again?) and we set out with some camel wranglers to experience the thrill of loping along on one of these giant beasts. The hardest part of the ride was the camel getting up from its seated position as it rocked forward and backwards as it extended first its back and then its front legs. I nearly fell off, as no one told me to lean back as it started to get up. The other challenging part of the ride was dealing with the incessant prodding for tips from the camel wranglers. "I take care of you, you take care of me," "Give me something and it is our secret between God," and "Good camel makes good tip," were some things I heard about 1000 times in the five minute experience. I will have to say that the raised perspective of being on the camel made for an amazing experience while exploring the area around the pyramids, and it was well worth the $12 or so I spent on the entire experience. After we paid our tips and got off the camels, we still had to pay the original fee to the guys who I'll call the "camel pimps," who ran the show. These guys were hassling us for even more tips. I say this not to complain, it's just an observation on how the guys we met at the pyramids were the most brazen hustlers I've ever met in all my travels to any tourist landmark. Good for them, as they are just trying to get a buck in this lifetime just like me.

Emily, Dan, myself, and Joe in front of the Pyramid of Khafre

After departing from the camels, we made our way over to the Sphinx. It was smaller than I had imagined it, but very captivating, especially considering the massive pyramids that provided the background for it. Our tour guide told us that the Sphinx had been buried in sand up to the neck until 1937, so the Sphinx that Mark Twain and Gustave Flaubert gushed about in their writing was merely a head sticking out of the sand.

the beautiful and mysterious Sphinx

We were back by 12:30, and on a day like this you could sleep the rest of the day and not feel guilty, but we did go out exploring and we learned a couple more things:
1. the reason there are so many police hanging around our building constantly is that we are right next to a synagogue that has been targeted for terrorist attacks.
2. the men's bathroom in the Ramses train station (according to Joe) is something that has to be seen to be believed. He couldn't even describe it. I never saw it, so I have to go back.

And that's it, my reason to come back to Cairo: the men's room in the Ramses train station. All for now.