We are just beginning a month long trip to the Middle East with our first stop being Egypt. It is 7 hours ahead of us so some struggle with jet lag for the first few days. We flew into Cairo and as we were approaching all we could see was desert…
Cairo is a huge city, the largest city in the Arab World and in the Middle East with a population of 25 million residents. There are also 5 million people who come in every day to work. It is located in Northern Egypt which for some reason is called Lower Egypt and the Nile River runs through it…
The Nile River is considered the longest river in the world stretching from Africa to the Mediterranean Sea passing through 11 countries. It is an essential part of Cairo as it provides the drinking water, water for irrigation as well as for hydroelectric power.
It is also very famous for the many pyramids located throughout the city with the most famous being the Pyramids of Giza…
We hired a local guide whose name was Maha, she was very knowledgeable about the history and culture of her country. Official tour guides in Egypt must attend university for a four year degree in tourism and become fluent in at least one other language….
The site of the three main pyramids and sphinx is very large and well organized, even though there were thousands of people on site it never felt too crowded, in fact it felt quite peaceful…
The classic pyramid picture…
Pyramids are ancient tombs built for the Pharaohs as they believed they would become Gods in the Afterlife. These were built for Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure during the 4th Dynasty between 2600 and 2500BC.
The largest one built for Khufu is about 481 ft…
Its sides rise at an angle of 51°52′ and are accurately oriented to the four cardinal points of the compass. The Great Pyramid’s core is made of yellowish limestone blocks, the outer casing (now almost completely gone) and the inner passages are of finer light-colored limestone, and the interior burial chamber is built of huge blocks of granite. Approximately 2.3 million blocks of stone were cut, transported, and assembled to create the 5.75-million-ton structure, which is a masterpiece of technical skill and engineering ability.
Here you can see the size compared to the bus and people below.The other marvel on this site is the Great Sphinx which is believed to be the protector of the Pyramids and built around the same time. It features a lion’s body and a human head and thought to be built as a tomb for one of the Pharaoh’s mother…it was impressive!
There are many other Pyramid sites in and around Cairo so we visited Saqqara which is about 30 Kms from the city. It was a nice ride there as we got to see some of the life in the countryside…
Lots of modes of transport…
People selling lots of things by the side of the road…they were selling Egyptian pita bread that is made daily…
And this woman local fruits…
When we arrived at Saqqara we were greeted by another vast plateau filled with many old pyramids, in fact they are older than the pyramids of Giza.
Some of them still had a coat of limestone covering them, while others were crumbling…
Don chatting with the guide…surprise, surprise!
The oldest surviving pyramid built a century before Giza Pyramids is located here and it is the largest stone structure in the world. It is called the Step Pyramid and was built as a tomb for Djsoer and has elaborate burial tombs in chambers underground….
There was an opportunity to go inside a pyramid as well so of course we did, it was a long way up…
And down…
Inside we had to climb down many stairs backward and ended up in a large shaft…
To the centre of the Pyramid
It was quite the experience, though it was full of bats and my butt was sore for days!
This site is located in the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis so there are also some interesting buildings still standing including the Colonade which has a polished entryway so that you can see your reflections as you enter.
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- Alabaster Sphinx: This is one of the largest of its kind, originally standing at the entrance to a temple complex. It was discovered buried and is known for its immense size and detail.
- Colossal Statue of Ramses II: The most prominent monument in the Mit Rahina museum is a fallen, 10-meter (33-foot) long statue of Ramses II. A second, much larger statue of Ramses II is also located on the grounds.
Detail of the statue…they often had false beards…
So much for Pyramids and Pharaohs, we also got to sample some Egyptian cuisine. They eat their large meal of the day at a late lunch and it often consists of small plates…soups, pita bread, dips, veggies and a mixed grill…
Lots of good food but no cold beer…not easy to find in this country!
A busy day with lots of history to digest, so back to the hotel and tomorrow there will be museums and markets!
