Let me say at the outset that Egypt is a fantastic place to visit. Its history is all around you and incredibly well documented. And to the layman (including myself and Christi) totally incomprehensible. There is a reason Egyptology is its own science and scholars devote their whole careers to unraveling its mysteries. Christi and I prefer to grasp a few simples concepts rather than attempt to take onboard the entire history of pharaonic Egypt during a day tour to the pyramids of Giza.
So here are the few simple impressions I have of the pyramids of Giza. First it truly is surprising how close to Cairo the pyramids are and how urban sprawl continues to edge closer to this the last of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Second, oh my god there are a lot of tourists and a lot of Egyptians trying to sell them something. Some of the tourist trinkets on sale are utter junk and the Egyptian salesmen are by far the most aggressive I have ever encountered. If buying nick-knacks are not your thing then camel rides are available. The pyramids even have their own tourist police, which in theory protect tourists from the excesses of the merchants, the pyramids from the excesses of the tourists and everybody from potential terrorist activities. Still the police do still find time to run their own rackets, including posing with tourists for a backsheesh or tip. After ‘hello’, ‘backsheesh’ is the most common word I hear. Once upon a time visitors could climb all over the pyramids, but that practice has been stopped due to the ongoing damage. Third, many of the tourists are Eastern Europeans (particularly Russians) on package tours (something we saw in Tunisia also). These folks dress as if they are at the beach all the time, which is a bit culturally insensitive in a Muslim country such as Egypt. I shouldn’t be at all surprised to learn in the future that Egypt had imposed a dress code on visitors to its cultural sites.
OK, here are a few factoids – and only a few: there are three major pyramids at Giza (and many smaller mausoleums). The two biggest pyramids (in essence burial chambers) were built for Cheops and Chephren. The third belongs to Menkaure. Cheops and Chephren were father and son (the second and third pharaohs of the 4th dynasty of the Old Kingdom, dating to 2530 BC). It is quite remarkable that over 5,000 years ago humans had the technological ability to construct something so big and so complicated as the pyramids. I tend to be of the belief that Ancient Aliens provided the necessary knowledge. Either way, the pyramids were an incredible achievement. And while you can no longer scramble to the top of a pyramid, you can (for an additional fee – and the Egyptian government never misses an opportunity to separate tourists from their cash) visit the burial chambers of bother Cheops and Chephren. We get tickets for Chephren and stumble, hunched over, down a narrow tunnel amid hot and claustrophobic conditions until the trail ascends again quite steeply and opens out into a rather unremarkable burial chamber. The only thing remaining in situ is Chephren’s red granite sarcophagus. As usual there are plenty of tourists present and lots of noise. A religious experience it ain’t, but I did learn something. The pyramids of Giza are solid stone apart from the tunnels and a few chambers in the center of the structure. So as Christi and I are stumbling along there are 4,880,000 tons of stone above our heads, which could you one heck of a headache if it ever collapsed. It probably never will, though – those Ancient Aliens were pretty smart cookies (or little green men).
Another amazing artefact on site is the solar barge built for Cheops to transport him into the afterlife. It is in a remarkable state of preservation and remains in situ – a museum was actually built around it. Simply stunning. The good news is that after paying the entrance fee to see the solar barge the place is virtually deserted. Most likely this is due to the fact that organized tours allow insufficient time to truly explore the entire site, but since Christi and I have once again elected to visit independently we can spend as much time as we want exploring the area (our hired taxi driver gets paid whether he is sleeping in his car or driving us around Cairo). Having said that, too much Egyptology causes my eyes to glaze over so we leave the beautiful barge and walk (through quite ferocious heat incidentally) down hill to the enigmatic sphinx, which is believed to guard the tomb of Chephren. The sphinx has suffered over the years, having lost its nose and beard and from the general effects of weathering. It is also the subject of much discussion. Why is it there? Who built it and when? Does it truly reflect the likeness of Chephren? If only the Ancient Aliens would return to Earth and explain it all to us.
Blog post by Roderick Phillips – author of Weary Heart – a gut-wrenching tale of love and test tubes.
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