Today is a huge day. Most people can only dream about this day...
Here we are getting ready to go exploring in the desert. We're wearing hats and loose-fitting clothing. And lots of sunscreen!
It was a short cab ride to the Pyramids of Giza. Most people don't realize how urban the area around the pyramids is. There are shops and hotels and restaurants right up to the entrance of the complex. Some day, I imagine the city of Giza will completely encircle them. It would be a shame because the desert is as much a part of the pyramids as the pharaohs were. It would sort of ruin the effect.
This picture shows the Mena House Oberoi Hotel. It's an upscale hotel just outside the gates. It's famous for being the place where Churchill and Roosevelt hatched the plan for D-Day. You could walk to the Pyramids from here.
And suddenly, we're here! To me, the pyramids didn't seem that big. I think it is partly because you have to be so far away from them to see the whole thing. Another reason might be that Cairo is so smoggy and hazy that their profile is fuzzy. I don't think it had rained in a long time, so the dirt in the air was almost palpable.This is the Great Pyramid of Khufu. It is the oldest pyramid at Giza but not the oldest pyramid in Egypt. In fact, it is among the newest. This one is certainly the biggest.
You could climb up to a certain height.
It was awesome to touch the limestone and see centuries of "graffiti" carved into the rocks. It's hard to believe these stones were laid here 46 centuries ago.
I climbed up a ways and took a picture of Ma below. There were some tombs (called "mastabas") to the side of the pyramid, but we didn't go to see them.
There were "touts" everywhere selling souvenirs. They would harass you anywhere you went. The cab driver told us to watch out for "monkey business". He was right.
This is the middle pyramid: Khafre. Khafre was Khufu's son but not his direct successor. It still retains a small portion of its original smooth exterior. It looks like a hat on top.
This is the smallest of the three pyramids: Menkaure. Menkaure was Khafre's son and successor.The gash was caused when Saladin's son tried to disassemble it in 1186. I'm glad he didn't succeed.
There were plenty of opportunities to ride a camel. We didn't. We took a cab to the different areas on the site instead. It would have been a really long walk. The site is enormous.
