Egypt Travelogue: The Pyramids and Sphinx - 2 Oct 2006

Saqqara Step Pyramid

It's official. I've been indoctrinated - I'm a real traveler. Yes folks, I have Mummy Tummy. It's not bad, but my goodness, ain't no fun, either. I left Chicago with a flat stomach. Now I look like I'm about to birth a baboon. I've drank water all day, and managed to get down a few forkfulls of plain rice and some salad. Tea is a nice change from water.

Today was our trip to the Pyramids!! They're so magnificently amazing. We met our guide at 7am, before the Monday rush hour traffic and all the tourist crowds. We were the first ones to Memphis and Saqqara. By the time we got to Giza, there were barely any crowds. We went into a pyramid! You know the one, the "Great" Pyramid - the center one. Since we arrived so early, there was no line. Which meant there was no superb

Hugging Khafre's Pyramid

claustrophobia going in. We passed a few people on their way back out, including and elderly woman with a cane.  It made me grateful that I had the means, time, and ability to visit this site while I was still young and in shape. We had to squat to descend and to climb back up into the secondary chamber. If you're claustrophobic, it's no place you want to be. I just focused on putting one foot in front of the other and not looking ahead to the fact that I was surrounded by billions of tons of stone, no windows, and no air. In only a 4' x 4' shaft. When we arrived in the center, we were the only ones in the burial chamber. The construction is magnificent. It's so fine, that you can't even fit a piece of paper between  the stones. You really get an appreciation for 4600 year old construction. There's picture of me hugging the pyramid.

Seeing all this in person... it's hard to describe. It's hard to take in and really feel all of it. It's so grand and historic that it was really hard to wrap my brain around it all, even being inside. Hell, at that point I was just concentrating on breathing and not freaking out. But at the same time, it was cool to be inside of the only standing wonder of  the ancient world. I started to panic before we went in, but knew if I backed out that I'd forever regret it. So I pulled my visor down over my eyes and only stared at my feet on the way in. If I looked up, I'd get claustrophobia. It's a tight squeeze, especially with two-way traffic coming and going inside. At least we beat the crowds. I pretty much had to squat and walk. Some people descended backwards. Think of doing the "crab walk" in gym class, that was about it. Or bent completely in half and then some.

We saw a 4600 year old cedar boat that was recovered from alongside Khufu's pyramid. The wood is in almost perfect shape. The boat is massive. Google "solar boat museum" for info.  Then we went down to the Sphinx. It's smaller than I had thought, but the view is like a postcard. The floors of the temple around it are of alabaster!  As we descended from the pyramid plateau into lower ground where the Sphinx was, we were coming from behind it, around its north side, then pulling around to the front.  I kept my eyes fixed on the Sphinx for just those few minutes. As we drove around front, I gazed upon the face for the first time, and peculiar, eerie feeling enveloped me.  Deja vu.  I felt as though I knew this place, as though I had been here before.  It was an overwhelming sense of familiarity that I had never experienced.  Had I been here before?  Why was this so familiar?  Why only the Sphinx?  Why had I not felt this way when I first saw the Pyramids of which I had numerous dreams in my life?  Why now?  We could get existential here and think perhaps I really was there when it was first built.  Maybe, we'll never know.  But the Sphinx's magic captured me.

Solar Boat

It's a shame, though, the city of Giza/Cairo is built right up to the Sphinx. Step out of the temple complex, and you're staring at a Pizza Hut and KFC not 1000 yards away. Grafitti everywhere from as early as last week. Damn shame. Our guide even yelled at a "guard" at the step pyramid because there was new grafitti. Where is the conservation and protection here? It's a shame. The city just sprouts around the monuments, and they build over farmland and even into the desert, alongside the Pyramids. We came to learn that there is no sense of urban planning or government controls over urban sprawl.


We had lunch at the Mena House Oberoi. It used to be a vacation palace (and former hunting palace), built in 1896. It's about 2000 yards from the base of Khufu. Such an amazing hotel. I ate what I could, despite my condition. Tea, salad, rice.  Looking back, what was I thinking?  The Oberoi is an Indian-owned luxury hotel chain.  Here was some fine Indian food, and I didn't eat it.  I had barely had any Indian food in my life.  Next to that, I had salad.  Again, what was I thinking?  I was already battling Mummy Tummy and here I was eating produce that was rinsed in local water.  I have learned my lesson since, and haven't had any g/i issues in Dubai, Thailand, or Cambodia, if I follow 4 basic food rules: only eat it if it's boiled, peeled, sealed, or cooked.

Interestingly, despite the overwhelming poverty here, everyone seems to have a job or task or a place to go, even farmers. There really aren't any beggars in the streets. Farmers ride donkey carts into Cairo to sell their veggies and fruits in the streets (which it's a pain to get stuck behind a donkey or ox cart).

The western desert is breathtakingly beautiful. Miles of sand stretching to Libya. Just sand and sky. They have funny-looking ants here. Larger, almost look like mini scorpions. People try to peddle their wares (statues, pyramids, little gifts and trinkets), but a simple "le" and they leave you alone.

It's still Ramadan, but it hasn't hindered our tour any. Our guide does not eat with us - normally he would. He retires to another room to fit in a prayer. The restaurants are basically empty during the day save for Westerners dining.  Tomorrow we board an early flight to Aswan then to Abu Simbel, then back to Aswan where we pick up our 5-day cruise. I sure hope this Mummy Tummy passes soon. Luckily it hasn't completely crippled me, but it isn't cozy.

Mena House Oberoi

We watched football on tv last night! Yes, it was 10pm and showing live, where it was about 2pm Chicago time. Got to watch the Dolphins game, then luckily it switched over to the Colts/Jets so I could catch the
last quarter. Did the Bears play? I didn't stay up late enough to know.