I woke to a foggy morning. The below shows what the pyramids looked like yesterday and then what they looked like in the morning.... looked like someone had stolen the Pyramids......
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My guide for today was Maged, I was surprised to discover he had been an Egyptologist for 20 years, he was the same age as me and was so full of information that to start with that I was not really paying much attention coz he talked too much but once I was inside the Mastuba of Mereuka I was so engrossed in what he was telling me that I stopped taking pictures.
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Due to the fog my first visit was to Mit Rahina Museum - Memphis, the Colossus of Ramses II is here among other statues, this statue was in a room where I could walk all around it and also the view from above he was a bit legless therefore unable to stand. There were numerous statues here including a Sphinx, my ignorance of Egypt had me believing that there was only one Sphinx which I had seen at the light show the night before, boy was I wrong.
From there we traveled to Saqqara and saw the first pyramid built the pyramid of Djoser and then to the Tomb of Mereruka. This was my first experience of going inside a tomb. With a little bit of a cash incentive I was able to take photos inside. We had a stop ta a rug making institution which is where students learn to make rugs and was taken through the process of making rugs, wow the work that goes on here. As per Egyptian custom I was give a tea, which was very sweet. I remembered the conversation with Nathan about getting a hand made rug from Egypt for our hallway, thankfully we didn't decide to do this, the prices in US was huge and after watching the work go into these I can now understand, lunch was a buffet at a restaurant, this was packed with other sight seer's and lets just say, I am picky with what I eat and nothing looked appetizing to me so I went with the salad.
From there we traveled to Saqqara and saw the first pyramid built the pyramid of Djoser and then to the Tomb of Mereruka. This was my first experience of going inside a tomb. With a little bit of a cash incentive I was able to take photos inside. We had a stop ta a rug making institution which is where students learn to make rugs and was taken through the process of making rugs, wow the work that goes on here. As per Egyptian custom I was give a tea, which was very sweet. I remembered the conversation with Nathan about getting a hand made rug from Egypt for our hallway, thankfully we didn't decide to do this, the prices in US was huge and after watching the work go into these I can now understand, lunch was a buffet at a restaurant, this was packed with other sight seer's and lets just say, I am picky with what I eat and nothing looked appetizing to me so I went with the salad.
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On to the Giza Plateau, the Great Pyramid and Cheops Boat Museum. I had the opportunity to go inside, which of course I did, however halfway up, I had the thought that I could not go any further and was thinking I would turn around, the climb up was via a narrow corridor that went up and stairs had been erected inside, due to it being middle of the day I was sweating and although I don't suffer claustrophobia the walls were very close, but in true me style and the belief I will only be here the once so up I kept climbing, the final section into the chamber was tight, only one person in one direction at a time. The chamber to me was just a room with a stone box. no hieroglyphics and very stuffy. I slowly climbed down and out to the fresh desert air, from here Maged walked me around to the back of the pyramid to view one of the boats that was found in the area, no photos here, these boats were build without nails/screws and held together by the wood of the boat and ropes. A bit more walking and we were picked up and driven to where so many photo's have been taken, for the size of Cairo (24 million plus that live in Cairo) to be able to take photo's without any other building around is hard to understand, as tourism around the world tends to encroach on sights to be seen. The pyramids are on the west bank and all tombs are on the west bank as that is where the sun sets or in the Egyptian mythology, death of the day, this then allows the dead to follow into the afterlife and be reborn with the rising sun in the East. Then off to see the Sphinx in the daylight hours, although there were many other tourists here, the ability to take photo's without people in front trying to take selfies of themselves was fantastic, not much room but a huge drop meant no one pushed past to get a better picture. I noticed a few camels in the area and thought what could be more iconic but a pic with a pyramid the Sphinx and a camel in Egypt
My day over a very short drive to Mena House and to relax for the night.
My day over a very short drive to Mena House and to relax for the night.
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Breakfast at the hotel is followed by a full day tour. In the morning you will be driven to see the Pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx: the most famous monuments of not only ancient Egypt, but of the entire ancient world! These massive stone structures were built around 4,500 years ago on a rocky desert plateau close to the Nile.
After lunch, at a local restaurant, you will be taken to Sakkara to see the very first pyramid ever built; the Step Pyramid of Djoser. You will also get the chance to see some fantastic mastabas, including the mastaba of Mereruka, the largest one built in ancient Egypt. You will then be able to marvel at the Pyramid Texts inside the Pyramid of Teti before heading off to the ancient capital of Egypt: Memphis.
The Colossus of Ramses II dominates the museum here; do not forget your camera! After the visit, you will be driven to the Papyrus Institute where you will see how the ancient Egyptians made this forerunner to today's paper; have a go at making it yourself; and get the opportunity to look at some fantastic examples of papyrus art, with no obligation to buy. After this amazing trip through Egypt's pharaonic past it you will be driven back to your hotel.
After lunch, at a local restaurant, you will be taken to Sakkara to see the very first pyramid ever built; the Step Pyramid of Djoser. You will also get the chance to see some fantastic mastabas, including the mastaba of Mereruka, the largest one built in ancient Egypt. You will then be able to marvel at the Pyramid Texts inside the Pyramid of Teti before heading off to the ancient capital of Egypt: Memphis.
The Colossus of Ramses II dominates the museum here; do not forget your camera! After the visit, you will be driven to the Papyrus Institute where you will see how the ancient Egyptians made this forerunner to today's paper; have a go at making it yourself; and get the opportunity to look at some fantastic examples of papyrus art, with no obligation to buy. After this amazing trip through Egypt's pharaonic past it you will be driven back to your hotel.