Friday was scheduled to be another packed day of touring, so we woke up early and skipped the buffet breakfast in favor of room-service. We had wonderful ham omelets and pastries while overlooking the Nile!
Muhammad and a driver picked us up promptly at 9:00 and we headed to our first stop, Sakkara. The plan was to start at the furthest destination and work our way back to Cairo. The drive to Sakkara took us through the ancient city of Memphis, which is now a collection of farms and very rudimentary living. We were amazed to see children and families riding mules and pulling rickety carts of vegetables. It was like going back in time several hundred years. Several times we had to stop in the middle of the road to let herds of sheep and cattle cross.
We eventually made it to Sakkara, which is an archeological site that pre-dates the Great Pyramids by about 500 years. The site contains some of the first pyramids that were ever built, with the centerpiece being the step pyramid built by Djoser during the third dynasty. Our guide explained how the Egyptians believed that the West Bank of the Nile was considered the “land of the dead” because the sun always “died” in the West. Hence all the burial grounds lie on the West Bank. At Sakkara, we spent time exploring the museum and walking around the pyramids. The highlight was a panoramic viewpoint that provided fantastic views of the step pyramid and the surrounding desert. It was truly amazing to see how quickly the desert took over once you left the Nile River Valley.
The area around Sakkara is world-renowned for housing incredible carpet schools, where children learn how to intricately fabricate beautiful Egyptian carpets. We stopped at one of the schools and were blown away by the art of making carpets. They had several loons set up with kids making carpets stitch-by-stitch. After the demonstrations downstairs, they took us up to the gallery which showcased the incredible finished carpets. Some of the most exotic silk carpets were selling for upwards of $5000 US for a 4’ x 6’ section. That was a little bit outside my price range, so I bought a small wool section for about $30!
From the carpet school, we headed to a restaurant for an “authentic” Egyptian feast. We knew it would be safe to eat when we saw a row of tour buses lines up out front, indicating that the restaurant is definitely for the tourists. The food consisted of wonderful appetizers consisting of flat bread and various forms of hummus and dips, followed by a main course of spit-roasted chicken. We left completely stuffed and ready to take on the rest of the day.
It was now time for the main attraction: The Pyramids of Giza! After seeing so many pictures and postcards of the pyramids, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what to expect. It turns out that I was wrong; nothing compares to seeing the pyramids in person! Like the Eiffel Tower, they are much bigger in person and very impressive. Even more so is the fact that they were built over 4000 years ago and to this date scholars can’t agree on how such a feat was accomplished.
Our first stop was the Great Pyramid. We walked right up to the base of the pyramid, gazing skyward at the peak over 450 feet above us. The pyramid is so high that it was the tallest man-made structure on Earth for 3800 years, only surpassed by the Eiffel Tower! We were able to ascend the pyramid about 20 feet and get pictures, then return to the ground. Tourists are allowed inside the great pyramid, but it turns out that you have to buy tickets well in advance and there is a very limited supply.
From the base of the Great Pyramid, we drove to a plateau overlooking the entire site. This is where all the “postcard” shots are taken, with the pyramids providing an excellent backdrop. We joined hundreds of tourists in taking staged photos and felt no shame for being a stereotypical tourist.
The plateau was also home to about a hundred camels and handlers, ready to go on a tour for the right price. Luckily Muhammad was there to negotiate the arrangement and we bartered down to a reasonable price. Despite seeing camels in zoos and at the fair, I had never realized how tall they are until I was sitting on top of one! The amazing thing is that you get on the camel while it is sitting down and then it gets up, leaving you sitting at least 10 feet off the ground. It is like riding a horse that is much taller and always leaning forward (to compensate the saddle had hand-holds in both the front and back to prevent you from launching onto the camel’s neck). A kid no older than 10 led the three of us down the plateau and back to the base of the pyramids, stopping for several great pictures along the way. Muhammad and the driver were waiting for us at the bottom to whisk us off to the next stop: The Solar Boat Museum.
In 1954, archeologists were digging around the base of the great pyramid looking for new entrances to the tombs. What they found instead was a rock chamber holding the pieces of the oldest known ship in the world, constructed around 2500 BC. Over more than 10 years, scientists reconstructed the boat and built a museum at the site of its discovery to showcase the amazing piece. Fully assembled, it is over 140 feet long! It is believed that the boat was buried with the king so that he could use the vessel to sail in the heavens.
From the solar boat museum, we walked down the hill to another famous sight: the Great Sphinx. This was another instance where pictures just can’t describe how large the statue is. To get the best vantage point, we stood in line and went to the top of a rock outcropping on the side of the statue. We took several pictures, but by that time we were getting a little tired and didn’t spend too much time there.
Our last stop of the day was a papyrus museum, where we learned about the art of making paper from papyrus and were suckered into buying all sorts of papyrus art. Surprisingly, this was one of the highlights of the day. We all were impressed with the art and purchased several of the pieces to bring home. I don’t think that our guide expected us to spend so much time there, because we didn’t get back to the hotel until about 6:30.
This concluded our adventures in Cairo. We got back to the hotel and had another wonderful dinner (duck breast and prime rib!). After filling out and mailing all our postcards, we settled in to sleep for what would be a very short night. Before the sun rose the next day, we would be down in Luxor for the second half of the trip.
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