The flight from Luxor to Cairo was a quick 90 mins – speeding us across miles and miles of barren desert. From the sky, the landscape was beautifully sculpted, the sun illuminating its many ridges, ripples and tracks .
For much of the journey we followed the Nile, its banks a vibrant green with vegetation, in stark contrast to the barren brown desert. From the air, it’s easy to see why the Nile is the lifeblood of Egypt.
I got my first look at the Pyramids of Giza from the plane window, three main pyramids small, medium and large in a patch of desert surrounded by the sprawling metropolis of Cairo.
Driving from the airport toward Giza, the two highest pyramids would occasionally pop into view. At 481 and 471 ft high, their stone peaks would suddenly appear behind apartment complexes, office buildings and retail outlets.
The pyramids of Giza were built during the Old Kingdom of ancient Egypt at a time when pharaohs were likened to gods. Not merely tombs, these large stone monuments portrayed the power and authority of these rulers both in life and after death; unfortunately this over the top visibility made the tombs susceptible to grave plunderers throughout history.
We followed a long caravan of tour buses into the archeological park at Giza. As the hordes of visitors spilled out, they were met by comparable hordes of vendors, hawking headdresses, scarves, plush camels, plastic pyramids, camel and horse drawn carriage rides. Amidst the commotion, the Great Pyramid, the tomb of the Pharaoh Khufu, towered in the distance, with its crumbling stone façade. Completed in 2560 BCE at 481 feet high, this is the tallest man-made structure ever constructed in ancient Egypt.
Next to it was the second pyramid, tomb of Khafre, ten feet shorter than the Great Pyramid. Khafre was the eldest son of Khufu and legend has it that as a sign of respect the son built a smaller tomb than that of his father (although the pyramid often looks taller because it is built on higher ground). A small piece of the original limestone casing is still preserved near the peak of Khafre’s pyramid.
We listened to our guide’s short explanation of the history and then left the crowds to walk off in the distance to get perspective on the pyramids. We climbed some tumbled down walls, remnants of funerary temples, and were able to see the line of pyramids and their sizes relative to each other. Buses, camels, horses and people scurried in the foreground and we enjoyed a few minutes of peace and quiet away from the chaos.
The third and smallest of the ‘great’ pyramids is the tomb of Menkaure, too far to walk to and a pyramid we would drive to later. Beyond Menkuare is a string of lesser pyramids built for the queens, Khufru’s wives and daughters.
As we walked back towards our bus, we met a very persistent camel vendor who wanted to give us a ‘free’ ride. We have learned in many cultures, especially in the middle east, that free is the entre to extracting money from visitors. Knowing full well that this would cost us something, but having some extra Egyptian pounds available to spend before we left the county, we consented to pictures and being headdressed.
We were on a tight timeframe so unable to linger long at the pyramids; we had to get to the Sphinx for a private visit and lecture by the famed Egyptologist, Dr. Zahi Hawass. The Sphinx came into view, first the side profile of its large human head minus nose, adorned in a royal headress, then its 240 foot long lion’s body. Very impressive. Interestingly, the word sphinx is not Egyptian but Greek; its original meaning is unknown but has come to symbolize the mysteries of ancient Egypt.
We exited the bus near the wall surrounding the Sphinx that keeps visitors back. Much to our delight, we were immediately escorted to a gated entrance and down a ramp to the base of the Sphinx. Stools were set up between the Sphinx’s paws for us to sit and listen to Dr. Hawass speak.
Reminiscent of Indian Jones and sporting a wide brimmed leather hat, Dr. Hawass is one of the leading archeologists working in both Giza and Valley of the Kings. He discussed some excavation work ongoing at the Sphinx and gave us a heads up that a major announcement would be coming soon. With the use of Japanese equipment, his team had discovered a new passageway beneath the Sphinx, once thought to be a solid sculpture.
After the lecture, we walked around the entire Sphinx with Dr. Hawass, as he described how earlier renovation work had damaged the structure and had to be removed. Then he showed us the area where the secret passage was discovered.
It was humbling to touch the Sphinx, walk around it and to get a paws eye view of this 3500 year old scuplture. Typically visitors can only see the Sphinx from the behind the guard rails above. This was yet another special, amazing opportunity arranged by our outfitter.
While enroute to lunch, we had a few minutes to stop at the smallest of the three main pyramids. This pyramid is the tomb of Menkaure, son of Kafre built between 2532 – 2515 BCE. Although the smallest, it has one of the most complex and best preserved structures. It is distinguished by a gash on its north face; in the 12th century, the sultan of Egypt tried to destroy the pyramids, damaging this one but fortunately abandoning his quest.
Lunch was at the 9 Pyramids, a restaurant with a spectacular view of Giza valley, the three main pyramids and several smaller pyramids of the queens. The family style lunch consisted of hummas, pita, plates of fresh tomatoes, olives and cucumbers drizzled in olive oil, deliciously seasoned skewers of lamb and chicken, rice and an assortment of Egyptian sweets. No losing weight on this trip!
There were several camels outside the restaurant; I climbed on the back of one with a large lump on its neck, held on tightly as the animal rocked forward, unfolded its long legs and stood up. He took me for a short ride, pyramids in the background. Inquiring about the lump, I was assured by the camel’s owner that all was well; this was a benign cyst that the camel has had since birth.
The large ‘Built for Eternity’ sign in the foreground of the Giza valley nicely summed up our experience in Egypt. We often think that our current civilization is so sophisticated and capable, but experiencing Egypt and what this civilization was able to accomplish 3500 years ago, still standing today, with limited access to tools, is very humbling.
Our time in Cairo was too short; exploring the city must be left to another time. We are off to Jerusalem to experience this city’s ancient wonders and crossroads.