After a quick “complimentary” breakfast of all bread at the hotel, we boarded a bus to make our way to the Pyramids of Giza. We were all pretty excited since this was something high on our list of things to see. When we arrived and started walking up to these structures, appreciating the sheer size and recognizing the effort that was needed to build these things, it really fell into perspective. Mudi gave us a very brief overview on ancient Egyptian history and allowed us time to climb up a few levels of the largest of the three big pyramids in Giza. It was HOT and we were all pretty “damp” by the time we got back to the base. While it was neat to be able to say that we got to “climb” a pyramid, for me personally, taking several steps back and seeing it in its entirety was far more rewarding.
We retreated back to our air conditioned bus and drove past the pyramids to a small hill overlooking the valley. We had a great vantage point to take several pictures of all the pyramids together.
We then had an opportunity to hop on some camels and ride to an area unreachable by vehicle or foot to get a view of all three of the larger pyramids along with some smaller surrounding pyramids. We hadn’t intended to do this given we had done the “camel thing” in Dubai, but the temptation of viewing the pyramids from another angle was too great! Plus it’s really hard to say you didn’t have a good time after you’ve rode a camel
After our camel excursion, we made our way to the second Pyramid, where we had tickets to actually crawl into it and see the room where the mummy would have been. I was pretty excited for this opportunity (How many people an say they’ve been inside an Egyptian Pyramid?!). The consensus among our group though was that the idea of being inside a Pyramid was far more interesting in our minds than what we actually experienced. It was a five minute pseudo crawling descent down a wooden step ladder type ladder and when we arrived, it was simply a darker empty room. All the treasures and artifacts had either been looted or moved to the Egyptian museum for everyone to view. Our group joked about how anti climactic the experience was but at the end of the day it was still another experience! (Unfortunately cameras were not allowed inside the pyramid)
We then set out for the Sphinx, This had also been high on our list! Our bus pulled up and we took a short walk through some ruins before arriving at a viewing area right beside it. We spent some time listening to Mudi explain the story of the Sphinx as well as debunking a few myths including one about Napoleon shooting the nose off the Sphinx, sadly the Sphinx was built with lesser quality stone and through wear and tear the nose fell off. We took a few pictures of the Sphinx along with some “tourist” pics of the Sphinx before moving onto lunch.
Lunch was at a place that was an outdoorish Garden with many tables setup and thatched roof coverings. We were served some traditional Egyptian dishes like hummus, eggplant, falafel and a mixed grill of chicken and kofta. It was super tasty and our group finished everything that was put in front of us!
Moody then told us he would be taking us to a Papyrus workshop so what we could see how ancient papyrus was made. As we headed towards the workshop both Gimpy and I were starting to wonder if it would be the same Papyrus store that we had gone to our first day in Cairo. As the streets started to look more and more familiar we were getting more and more eager. We eventually pulled up in front of the SAME shop! We had a lukewarm introduction to Cairo because of this place thinking things may not have been fully legitimate, however being back again, this time under a G adventures banner gave it a bit more legitimacy in our eyes and raised the over all happiness amongst Gimpy, Muscles and I. It was funny because some of the staff recognized us and started chatting us up while the others were browsing papyrus on the walls.
We then made our way to the Khan el-Khalili bazaar. Mudi led us through a few blocks of the market. We passed stands and stands of small shops selling anything from pyramid/Egyptian statues to scarves and jewelry. He explained to us what might be a good purchase here and what may be something we can get at other cities (spices in Aswan, statues in Luxor). After a round through the market we sat down at an outdoor restaurant to have a few cold drinks.
The restaurant’s patio opened into a square (along with many other coffee shops). The square was extremely busy with people. Because it was Ramadan many people hadn’t eaten the entire day and all of them (including Mudi) was waiting until 7 PM. As the time neared, all the nearby restaurant patios started filling up with people and the restaurant staff started to place food on tables in anticipation of the time. It was such a unique experience to see the discipline of people resisting the urge to eat until the appointed time, yet still be smiling and enjoying each other’s company. At 7 Pm everyone opened the food in front of them and started eating, the entire community and the square around us stopped what they were doing and started sharing meals together (almost like everyone was eating at one big table) It was so cool to witness the entire area’s level of happiness raise after a long hard day of fasting. It was such an unique thing to be in Cairo during Ramadan and to sit with the locals and share in such an important part of their lives. The sense of community, generosity (those with food were giving food to those who didn’t), and relationship was easily seen and felt. Definitely one of the highlights of my trip!
Sadly we would need to leave the facilities and head to the train station to board an overnight sleeper train bound for Aswan. Muscles and I shared a cabin. The accommodations were pretty cramped, but the bed was comfortable enough for a night. We were served a basic meal for dinner (Like an airplane meal) before getting the room setup for sleep. We were pretty sweaty and covered in sunscreen from the days activities and there weren’t any shower facilities on the train, so it was a slightly uncomfortable time rolling around sticky. But after a full day of activity, no one had any issues with sleep and we would arrive in Aswan in the morning.
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