Egypt - Day 3, Part 2

"From atop these pyramids, forty centuries look down upon you." -- Napoleon Bonaparte, 1798

I guess that would be more like 42 centuries now. After the Step Pyramid, we went to the Pyramids of Giza. These are the pyramids that everyone is familiar with as we have seen them on television dozens of times. Even though they are familiar, there were still several surprises. First of all, these things are huge. The site is huge, the pyramids are huge - even the individual stones that make up the pyramids are huge. The biggest of the three pyramids is the Great Pyramid of Khufu. It originally measured 479 feet tall at its peak but, just as we humans get shorter as we age, it is now down to about 455 feet. The second pyramid is the Pyramid of Khafre, Khufu's son. As a show of respect for his father, Khafre ordered his pyramid to be built smaller than Khufu's. However, he also had it built on higher ground so that even though it is not quite as tall, it appears to be larger. Yes, even the ancient kings were every bit as vain as today's politicians. The third of the Great Pyramids is the Pyramid of Menkaure. By itself it would be an amazing structure, measuring over 200 feet tall, but unfortunately it has to compete for attention with the two big boys.

The pyramids are designed to be burial sites. At first, this preoccupation with death and the need for such grand monuments seems kind of crazy. But as it was explained by our guide, the pyramids were not so much about death, but instead were about life. Or afterlife, to be more precise. A pharaoh was believed to be a descendant of the gods and as such his reign would continue even after death. The pinnacle of the pyramid was a place between earth and sky from which he would rule in the afterlife. This is why mummification was so important - so the body would stay intact. And even in the afterlife, a king's got to keep his strength up, so they were often buried with food. In one of the pyramids, tens of thousands of clay jars filled with food and wine were found.

The second surprise about the pyramids is how close they are to the city. On the Discovery Channel, it looks like the pyramids are in the middle of the desert and it would takes days on the back of a camel to get there. In fact, they are a couple of hundred yards from Giza. I guess that's why they call them the Pyramids of Giza, huh?

The third surprise is how the government has allowed this place to become such a tourist trap. Really, it's much worse than a tourist trap. The place is crawling with peddlers selling junk and camel drivers offering rides or to pose for pictures. They harass you so much that it really makes it difficult to enjoy the place.

Before leaving the pyramids, we headed over to the edge of Giza, where we met up with our own camel drivers. I have to admit, I wasn't too crazy about riding a camel but it was already included in our tour package so we did it. It turned out to be one of the coolest parts of the whole trip. The ride lasts only about 40 minutes but you go from the edge of the city, zigzag around some sand dunes, and come out below the pyramids. Sure, it was touristy and all but the whole scene with the desert and the camels and the pyramids was amazing.

Leaving the pyramids, we drove over to Cairo for a dinner cruise on the Nile. Dinner included a show with another presentation of the Whirling Dervish and a belly dancer who was so bawdy she could have starred in a Snoop Dogg video.

Pictures are here http://picasaweb.google.com/baamick/EgyptDay3Part2. Unfortunately only one of the belly dancer.